9 Simple Steps to Your Longest Legs Ever

Jennifer Connolly is our savior for always teaching us easy tips and tricks that make us feel fabulous! Read more from Jennifer on her blog. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/spera-designerschuhe/16204286229

How do you make short legs look longer?

It’s not rocket science.

It’s a matter of fooling the eye with color and proportion.

I’m short, with a longer torso than legs. I have to wear flats most of the time, which makes my legs look even shorter! I do better in skirts, but today I’m sharing some tricks for pants.

Try some of these if you have a longer torso, than legs = short legs.

1. No Cuffs

   They are not your friend, ever. Even that 1/2-1″ roll you put on the bottom of your jeans to look stylish, chop your legs visually and make you look shorter.

2. Don’t Go in the Pooling

   Those little wrinkles that form when your pants settle on the top of your foot or shoe. Don’t go there. Hem them to the correct length. Men have a “break” to their trouser leg, but for women with short legs that’s not a good look.

3. Forget low-rise pants

   These are fatal for the woman with short legs. Thankfully high-rise pants and jeans are well on the way to being standard again.

4. Never low back pockets

   It may seem a trivial point, but if your back pockets are placed low, they make your butt appear lower, ergo your legs are shorter. This is true no matter how high the rise is. I don’t know about you, but my butt needs no help looking lower:)

5. Similar shoe color

   Aim for low contrast (similar depth of color) between shoes and pants. The eye slams to a halt where color changes dramatically. Black pants? Black or dark shoes. White pants? Light or pale shoes. Michael Jackson wore black pants and shoes with white socks so you would look as his footwork, while dancing.

6. Pointed toe shoes

   These elongate the foot and make the leg appear longer.

7. Shorter toe box

   Shoes that end high on the foot, shorten the look of your leg. A ballerina flat is more elongating than a driving moccasin. Booties can be incredibly shortening unless they are the same color as your pants, and there is no break in the line. (No skin or sock showing.)

8. A Nude Color Shoe

   Nudes vary, so it needs to your nude. (Similar tone as your flesh color.) The effect is to be invisible and so they lengthen the look of your legs. You’ll notice above, that my shoes are the same color as my skin.

9. High heeled shoes or boots

   This is so obvious… but we can’t all wear them. If your feet can tolerate them, hem your pants so just the toe peeks out which will make your legs look longer. If you can’t wear heels, check out How To Look Chic In Flats on Pinterest, for some inspiration.

Do you have any tips to add, that I have forgotten?