5 Style Tips to Make Your Legs Look Longer (If You Have Short Legs)
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Avoid Low Rise Bottoms
- Go For Ankle or Lower Shoes
- Say No to Buckled Hems
- Skip the Dropped Waists
- Be Wary of Tunics
- Conclusion
Introduction to Making Short Legs Look Longer
Having short legs can make finding flattering outfits challenging. However, with some simple styling tricks, you can create the illusion of longer legs. In this article, we'll go over 5 things to avoid in your wardrobe if you want to make your legs appear longer.
We'll also suggest more leg-lengthening alternatives so you can highlight your best assets with confidence.
Who This Article is For
If you feel your legs are on the shorter side or you have a longer torso in proportion to your legs, the tips in this article are for you. Even if you just want to enhance your leg length for aesthetic reasons rather than anatomical proportions, the advice here will help.
What We'll Cover
We'll go over 5 types of clothing items and styling choices to bypass if your goal is creating the illusion of longer legs. For each category, we'll also recommend better options to try instead that will maximize leg length.
Avoid Low Rise Bottoms
Low rise pants seem to be making a comeback in current fashion trends. However, if you want to make legs appear longer, avoid this style. Low rise anything, whether jeans, trousers, shorts, or skirts, will cut you off at the wrong point and make legs look shorter.
Instead, go for high rise bottoms. They'll reach near your natural waist to elongate your lower half. If high rise feels like too much fabric, aim for at least a mid-rise style. But typically, those who feel they have shorter legs also tend to have a longer torso that balances proportions. So for many body types, high rise is the most leg-lengthening choice.
Go For Ankle or Lower Shoes
Be thoughtful about where your pants and shoes meet. Shoes or boots that cut you off mid-calf shorten legs visually. Avoid anything hitting you mid-calf.
Better yet, opt for shoes expose the ankle, whether flats, heels, sandals or low sneakers. If you feel confident in them, above-the-knee boots can also look amazing during cooler weather.
This is especially true for rectangle or inverted triangle body shapes. But find what works best for your proportions. Showing ankle elongates the leg line.
Say No to Buckled Hems
Oversized and loose trousers or jeans are on-trend. But if they buckle at the hem, they'll undermine your goal of longer-looking legs.
Solve this with 2 solutions: For looser jeans, wear them over heeled shoes to avoid bunching hem lines. Or get your tailor to shorten the jeans perfectly to your exact height. Ask them to reattach the original hem rather than fold up the edge. This will look like the jeans came at that ideal length for you.
Skip the Dropped Waists
Dropped waist dresses and jumpsuits do no favors if you want to appear taller. They cut you off at the wrong spot, which shortens the look of the leg.
Instead, look for high waisted dresses to enhance leg length. If you suit an empire waist style, that can work too. Just avoid dropped waists.
Be Wary of Tunics
Tunics share a similar issue. They make both legs and upper bodies appear shorter proportionally.
If you love tunics, keep them monochrome with the rest of the outfit to avoid cutting your vertical line. But for maximum lengthening effects, opt for tops that provide more balance.
Conclusion
Avoiding these 5 styling pitfalls can help you enhance leg length, even if you feel your legs are on the shorter side. Play with higher waisted bottoms, ankle-height or lower footwear, eliminating mid-calf cuts, skipping low waists, and minimizing tunic shapes.
Instead, try high rise pants, exposed ankles, precise tailoring, empire waists, and balancing top-to-bottom silhouettes. With small wardrobe tweaks, you can highlight your best assets and create great proportions.
FAQ
Q: What if I like wearing low rise jeans?
A: Try opting for a mid-rise jean instead as the lowest rise. You can still style them to be a bit lower on the hips.
Q: Can I wear boots if I have short legs?
A: Yes, go for ankle boots or taller above-the-knee boots to elongate your legs.
Q: What kind of dresses work best?
A: Look for high-waisted dresses or empire waist dresses. These styles highlight your waist rather than cutting your torso short.
Q: What colors should I wear?
A: Monochromatic outfits that are the same color top to bottom can help elongate your frame. Darker colors like black can also slim your shape.