Do you ever feel self-conscious about your height? Unfortunately, not everyone is born with blessed vertical genes. If you want to look taller, there are things you can do with your clothing that will give the illusion of extra height.
Here are some basic tips you can use with your clothing to make people think you’re taller than you really are. You’d be amazed how much of a difference these tricks can make!
1. Avoid Baggy Clothing
You might think that wearing baggy clothes will make you appear taller, but it actually has the opposite effect. Baggier clothing will make you appear stumpier, which is exactly what you’re trying to avoid! Instead, focus on wearing properly-fitting slim clothing.
2. Don’t Wear Long Shirts
A long shirt will make your waist appear lower, which will make you look even shorter than you actually are. Instead, opt for a shirt with a higher hem to shorten your torso and make your legs seem longer. Like so many other things in the world of style, it really comes down to making sure your clothing fits properly!
3. Wear Low-Contrast Shoes
Avoid shoes that contrast heavily with your pants. White sneakers with dark jeans may be a great look, but dark jeans with dark shoes will make your legs and feet blend together and create the illusion that your legs are longer than they actually are. The shoes don’t need to be the same color – you just want to keep dark shoes with dark pants and light shoes with light pants so they flow together seamlessly.
4. Longer Coats Will Help
Unlike shirts, a long coat actually helps to elongate you. You’ll want a coat that falls around the middle of the thigh to achieve the maximum effect.
5. Don’t Wear Pants With a Low Crotch
Wearing pants that fall low on the crotch will make your legs seem shorter. Instead, make sure your pants sit higher in the crotch area to give your legs as much length as possible. Getting pants that actually sit on your waste and aren’t too big will make it easy to keep the crotch high and tight.
6. Avoid Low-Rise Pants
Low-rise pants might be popular, but they’re better worn by the taller among us. This is more important if you’re wearing an outfit in which your shirt is tucked, but it’s a good rule to follow all the time. After all, you don’t want to waste money on trousers that can only be worn with an untucked shirt.
7. No Breaks in Your Pants
Keeping with the pants, you don’t want to wear pants that are too long, as the break at the bottom splits your legs and feet and undoes the previous tip about wearing low-contrast shoes. Instead, make sure your pants sit right in a position where they won’t break and you’ll create a seamless flow that elongates your legs.
8. Vertical Stripes Are Your Friend
This is one of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to looking taller (and slimmer). Throwing on clothing with vertical stripes will make you look longer than you are. It’s probably the quickest and easiest way to add height to your look.
9. Wear V-Necks, Not Crew Necks
If you have a short neck, you should definitely consider wearing v-necks because they elongate your neck. The overall goal here is to give your body the illusion of being longer, and a v-neck shirt can make your neck (and thus your body) look longer.
Tip: You can also check out our guide to men’s shirt patterns to learn about the best ways to wear a T-shirt.
10. Accessorize Your Upper Body
For anyone with short legs, you’ll want to keep people focused on your upper body. A great way to do this is with accessories. Pocket squares, hats, pins, scarves, and all kinds of other accessories can create more visual interest in your upper body, which will keep the attention away from your shorter frame.
Regardless of Height, Confidence Is Key
At the end of the day, it’s all about being confident in what you have. Sure, these tips will help make you look a bit taller, but it’s more important to be confident in what you have! Whether you’re short or tall, wear your clothes with confidence and your height won’t matter nearly as much as you think it does.
Image credit: Unsplash
