In a recent thread on Reddit I discussed some possible articles that I could tailor to the Male Fashion Advice Subreddit. For those unaware, this community is a great place to start if you have an interest in dressing better and want a helping hand from a 16,000-strong userbase.
In the thread in question there was an overwhelming response asking for articles on all sorts of men’s fashion tidbits, but the clear favourite was an article on how to dress for short guys.
Many of my clients have been shorter gentlemen and I have a great deal of experience working with this body type. The more astute readers may have noticed that I’ve split the title of this article into two parts; while short men are, without a doubt, the most likely candidates for clothing tips to look taller, these tips can be used for anyone who wants to add a bit of length to their look. Even I, at 6ft4in, use some of these methods in my own wardrobe to show off my giraffe-like figure.
So while this article is geared towards the shorter gentlemen who happen to come across it, it can be used by any man who wants to appear taller. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that’s you or not.
Using Clothing to Look Taller
Step 1: The Length of Your Jackets
Public enemy number 1 when dressing to look taller is, without a doubt, the length of your jackets and blazers. This is an aspect of clothing that, I daresay, most men have never even considered before – but it is, absolutely, the most important thing to look for when adding the next item to your wardrobe.
There are several different guidelines we use to determine whether a garment is the right length for you. Without further ado, some pictures:
As the pictures above dictate, the ideal length for a jacket is, with your hands by your sides, between your sleeve-length and the first knuckle of your thumb. Cropped jackets (that is, jackets whose length is roughly the same as your sleeve length) are best suited for men who want to make their legs appear longer, while full-length jackets (which reach the first knuckle of your thumb) are best suited for men who want to diminish the length of their legs in order to appear more “normal” in size.
Anything outside of these two lengths will either make you look as though your clothes have shrunk in the wash, or as though you’re wearing oversized clothes that originally belonged to someone much bigger than you.
Step 2: The Length of your Jumpers and T-Shirts
As above, there are some simple guidelines for jumpers and t-shirts. For tighter jumpers (sweaters, for our American friends), it’s a good idea to keep the sleeve length around the base of your wrist, similar to your ideal shirt sleeve length. For baggier examples, such as the jumper I’m wearing here, it’s fine to have some bunching up around your wrists.
Step 3: The Length of your Pants
Pant length is quite finnicky, and unless you’re incredibly lucky, each pair of pants that you buy will have to be altered at the leg for optimum length. The main things to look for as a short man shopping for pants is where the base of the leg falls on your shoes. Ideally, this will be right along your laces, with minimal bunching around your calves.
Step 4: Wearing Pants at Your Natural Waist
Perhaps the easiest thing a man can do to increase the his perceived height is to wear pants at the natural waist (that is, up around your belly button) rather than at the hips. Examples abound:
Step 5: Don’t Tuck Your Jeans Into Your Boots
As a short man, you need to do everything in your power to increase the perceived length of your limbs, as this adds “flow” to your body and will make you appear longer in every respect. One of the worst things you can do, then, is to diminish your leg length by tucking your jeans into your boots. Compare the leg length in the pictures above with the leg length here:
(plus, tucking your jeans into your boots makes you look like a bit of a douchebag)
Step 6:Patterns and Fabric
The final part of this guide for looking taller deals with the materials you surround yourself with.
As for specific fabrics to look for: really, most things will be fine on you, but as a general rule plain, unpatterned fabrics are best. Similar to the pattern advice above, fabrics that are thin and intricate (think a thin marino wool jumper) will look far better on you than those that are large and chunky (think thick cableknit jumper).
Final Words and Other Considerations
Short men inherently know the pangs of finding clothes that flatter them. Whenever one of my diminutively-stanced personal styling clients is faced with the proposition of trying on some new clothes, I see a twinge of fear flash across their face; years of ill-fitting clothes have burned the unfortunate idea into their mind, that most clothes simply won’t suit them.
There are, of course, other considerations a man could make to appear taller: Cuban-heeled shoes; constantly positioning yourself on higher ground to your conversational partners; having your bones broken and re-set to add a few precious inches of height. The general rules I’ve given here, however, should form the basis of your wardrobe from now on and will allow you to instantly see the difference between clothes that will make you appear taller and clothes that will diminish your height completely.
I sincerely hope this guide has been helpful to you; please feel free to leave any comments or questions below, and follow me on Twitter @jvgallichio