36: Short Legs, Long Torso? How Google is Ruining Your Closet

Have you ever searched for style advice for short and have short legs? 

And Google says...

👖Wear high-waisted pants 

👚Tuck in your blouse

🥋Avoid wide belts

Those automated suggestions might work for some Petites. 

But they don't work for all. 

❓What if high-rise trousers make your bum look even flatter? 

❓What if you're not crazy about your midsection and refuse to tuck in your blouse?

❓And what if you have an itty-bitty waist AND belts are your very favorite accessory?

In this episode of Inside Petite Style, style coach Angela Foster is ditching the generic internet chatter to give you a highly specific filter for your wardrobe. 

We'll go way beyond basic pants to explore the exact proportions and styles that flatter short legs—and the ones you should absolutely run away from screaming.

In this episode, you'll discover oodles of helpful Petite tips. Like:

• The "snowflake" brand trap: Why using clothing labels as a tape measure is sending your shopping in the wrong direction.
• The Leg-to-Height Ratio: The simple 3-step process for finding out if you are actually short-legged, or just short and proportionate.
• The "Fancy Petite Hybrid" Celebration: Why having a long torso might actually mean you can shop regular-sized clothing departments for tops, blazers, and sweaters.
• Mastering Your Rise in Inches: How to measure your perfect pants rise at home and why you should pinky-swear to ignore low, mid, and high-rise labels forever.
• Bum-Flattering Hacks: How to wear structured trousers and tailored wide-leg pants to add volume where you want it.
• Beyond Pants: The best silhouettes to try this summer.
• "What the Tuck?": SOOO many options - full tuck, front tucks, side tucks, and on and on. What's a Petite to do???
• Styles to Avoid: While Petites can wear anything, some styles require a whole heck of a lot of extra work to look flattering. If you're not excited about struggling, here are the styles to avoid like you and your puppy avoid the neighbor's dog with fleas.

Petite Resources:

• Short & Have Short Legs? Pinterest Board: Get more style inspiration and uniform formulas on Pinterest. 
• Episode #08: Why Regular Sizes Don’t Fit Petites (and What to Do) Want all the details on Petite V. Regular sizing? Here’s the link to discover more. 
• Episode #32: Petite Proportions: Why Your Outfit Feels Off and How to Fix It Discover one of the most important style concepts for women 5'3" and under, Proportion. It’s a game-changer.
• The Best Petite Boutiques: Need to know the best places for Petite pants? Download your copy of The Best Petite Boutiques. A directory of 50+ stores broken down by career, casual, and curvy styles at 

Be sure to follow the show and never miss a weekly Petite style tip.

Transcript

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Google is ruining our wardrobe. AI might be too, because they all make very specific suggestions so confidently without enough information. Because we are more than just short. Some petites have short legs and a longer torso. When we search for solutions to that, 100% of the time Google recommends wearing high-waisted pants, tucking in our blouse, and avoiding wide belts. Now, those suggestions are fine for some petites, but not all. What if their bum is flat and high-waisted pants make it look flatter and longer? Or what if their waist is itty bitty and belts are their favorite accessory? Or what if they don't love their middle section and refuse to tuck in their top? In this episode, we're gonna do better than that. We're gonna ditch the generic and get super specific on the styles that are the most flattering for petites with short legs. The styles best for you, not every petite with access to the internet on the planet. Plus the styles to stay the heck away from. I'm Angela, your petite style coach, and when you're ready, let's dive in. Welcome to Inside Petite Style, the only podcast created exclusively for women, 5'3, and under. You've built an incredible career. You've navigated all the crazy life changes. And somewhere along the way, getting dressed stopped being easy. Maybe your body's different or your role is different, and your closet, it just has not kept up. I'm Angela Foster, Petite Style Coach since 2018, and creator of the Spark Petite Style Method. And together, you and I will get your wardrobe back in shape. Every week we'll talk about why petite proportions require a different approach. Discover what actually flatters your body shape and works with your lifestyle. And get all the insider shortcuts on where to shop so you're not wasting hours scrolling or even worse, settling for good enough. This is about more than looking good. It's about walking into any room, whether it's a big presentation or client meeting, a family event, or heck, just Tuesday. And feeling confident, polished with a style as smart and savvy as you are. Let's get this style party started. One, how do we know for sure that our legs really are short? Second, when it comes to style, what's the goal when you're long-waisted? Then we'll talk about which styles make us look more proportionate. And since we're not Google, we're gonna go well past pants, and be sure to stay around until the end when we're gonna cover the styles to absolutely run away from screaming. Okay, now bucket number one, how do you know your legs are actually short? Here's what we're not gonna do, or if we do it now, it's time to stop, and that is using clothes as a measuring tape. For example, there was a recent comment that I've measured my inseam and it's shorter than any regular sized pants, so I know that I have short legs. Are you sure that's what that means? Because could the woman who said that just be proportionate and short? Heck yeah. Another recent comment was crop tops are basically bra length, and that that's not a long torso, I don't know what is. It's super important for us to remember that every brand is a special little snowflake, and their sizes, their lengths, what they call mid-rise or high rise is unique to them. Same thing, short tops cropped referred to different lengths depending upon the brand or the designer, and only them. That's why the more we know, the easier shopping, finding clothes, and getting dressed becomes. Let's find out the truth about our legs. There are two common ways to know for sure if they're short. The first is to stand up straight and lay your hand horizontal and flat right underneath your bust. Then stack your second hand directly underneath it. Be sure all of your fingers are touching, by the way. If your belly button is below your hand, then you're long waisted. Now, I have to be honest, I don't love this because there are just too many variables. I mean, what if you have tiny hands or big hands or your belly button is high or low, and probably a ton of other things I'm not even thinking about at the moment. So the second way is best and way more accurate, and that is to calculate your leg to height ratio. Now, if you think you know your height, it might be a good idea to double check because you'll be surprised when I do it with clients how many are off by an inch or even more. The easiest way is how your parents and grandparents mark the door jam when you were growing up. Now, don't feel obligated to ruin your door paint. You can tape a piece of paper on the wall first and then measure to the floor. Now, before we find your leg length, let's clarify one thing real quick to make sure we're all on the same page. Inseam and leg length are not the same. Inseam is the measurement from the crotch of your pants to the bottom of the hem. And most of us have two or three ideal inseams depending upon the style. For example, longer for wide leg pants that rest on the top of your foot, and a shorter inseam for tailored cigarette pants that land at the bottom of our ankle. On the flip side, leg length is super literal, and like it sounds the measurement from your crotch to the floor. Oh, did I did I mention bare feet? Now, I like clients to do this standing in front of a full-length mirror so it's easy to see the number on the measuring tape and easier to be sure we're standing up straight. To start, put the end of the tape measure on the floor and then stand with your heel on the five-inch mark. The reason why is because just in case the machine in the factory that made your tape measure wasn't perfect and started off with less than that first inch, second, we can be super sure that the tape won't move. Next, drag the tape up the inside of your leg. Then, standing up straight, take a look at the number, subtract the five inches, and there you have it. To find your ratio, divide your leg length by your total height, which will give you a percentage. Now, the anatomist who created this formula concluded that legs 43% and below are short, around 45% are proportionate, and 48% and above are long. Knowing your percentage leads to a couple of great things. The first is unless you have a sudden growth spurt, once you have your number, discover your best styles, you never have to give it another thought. The second is if your number is in that 43% range, then congratulations, you are a fancy petite hybrid and will likely be able to wear regular-sized tops, sweaters, and blazers, and only require petite-sized clothes on the bottom. Considering how many retailers are cutting back or have completely eliminated their petite departments, finding tops is going to be a whole lot easier. Now, if you have questions about the differences between petites versus regular, episode 8 will be very, very helpful because we talk about all the ways that pants and blazers and tops are different. I hate for you to waste time hunting it down, so I'll add the link to that episode in the show notes. Oh, wait, wait, wait. There's one other thing for you to celebrate. Shout out if you have a longer torso and a fuller bust, because it's often such a struggle to keep enough distance between your bust and your waist, but not for you, so enjoy. Now that we know for sure that we're short and have short legs, let's level set what we're shooting for, at least from a style standpoint. You might remember from your petite body shape quiz video that we use different styles to create the illusion of a balanced body shape. Same thing here when it comes to proportion. But instead of balance, we're gonna create the illusion of longer legs by moving our waistline up. Now, we talk all about petite proportion in episode 32, and you'll definitely want to add to your play next list. I'll also be sure to add the link to the show notes so we can keep talking about short legs. How do we create the illusion of a higher waistline? I'm so glad you asked. Let's tackle the advice Google gives to everyone, and that is high rise or high-waisted pants are better. Here's the first mistake petite's often make, and that's relying on the brand and what they consider high rise. What they call their pants means absolutely nothing. Some consider a 12-inch rise high, some 15, and on and on. You are the only thing that matters, and the rise in inches that's best on you. The easiest way to know for sure is to measure a pair of pants you already own that are comfortable and flattering. Take your measuring tape and starting where the four seams connect in the crotch of the pants, drag your measuring tape over the zipper to the top of your waistband. Jot that number down and put it in the notes app of your phone. And moving forward, let's Pinky swear to ignore the whole low, mid, high rise nonsense and look for our best rise. Doing that will help us avoid waistbands that hit way too high on our rib cage and are uncomfortable to button or sit down. Alright, let's tackle the whole high rise makes my bum look flat conundrum. Now, while denim is easy because it doesn't take much to find brands that lift your bum or ones that have super exaggerated pockets or even a deep yoke, career wear can be a lot tougher. But here are a couple of things to keep in mind. The first is to make sure the waistband is tailored while the rest of the pants are looser. So picture a pair of loose wide-leg pants. This will emphasize your waist while the looser style adds volume without revealing where your bum actually is. Another tip is to choose trousers in a more structured or thicker fabric. This will add artificial volume to your bum. But what about when you're tired of pants? Great timing, right? We're going into summer and in so many places it's so hot pants feel stifling. So let's talk other options while keeping our goal in mind of visually raising our waistline. Skirts first. It likely goes without saying that high-waisted and high-rise skirts will look fantastic on you. Give yourself extra savvy style points for finding skirts that have a wider waistband or a wider yoke. When that happens, you'll likely have found your new favorite skirt. When it comes to dresses, shoot for ones with a higher waist definition. So for example, like wrap dresses with higher belt placement. Empire waist dresses are also great. And hold on for a nanosecond in case a picture of the ultra-feminine styles a la Bridgeton popped to mind. There are tons of other options. In fact, I was concerned you might be hesitant, so I started a Pinterest board called Short and Have Short Legs with oodles of career-appropriate dresses, blazers, and sweaters. And you don't even have to ask, of course, I'll add the link to that board in the show notes. Let's talk what to wear on top with your new favorite skirt. The word cropped can be a dirty word because they're too short to wear with pants or don't stay tucked in. Cropped blazers and sweaters over a dress are brilliant at creating the illusion of a higher waistline. When you're in the mood to check some out, look at Ellie Tahari. After seeing what he's created this season, you're gonna be so glad that you have the option to wear regular size tops. Let's talk about belts. Just like all petites aren't created the same, neither are belts or the effect they have on us and our outfit. There are wide ones and narrow ones. Narrow ones are easier because they're less likely to interrupt our very limited vertical real estate. There are belts in contrasting colors and ones that are monochromatic and blend right into our outfit. Again, monochromatic is easier because it doesn't cut up our vertical real estate. For petites with short legs, belt placement can make a big, big difference. The higher you rest your belt, the more you'll have visually raised your waistline. In case you're on the fence about whether an outfit needs a belt or not, the best way to decide is to try on the outfit in front of a full-length mirror. Given everything we've chatted about today, you now have a very sensitive proportion meter. So when you ask yourself if your legs look longer with or without the belt, you'll know for sure. The one thing we want to avoid at all costs is to have the belt rest on our hip bones. That will make our torso look longer, our legs shorter, and undo everything we've created with the rest of our outfit. My girlfriend Deanna used to say, what the tuck? But the confusion is real. Everything from do I need to tuck to should I do a full tuck, a half tuck, a side tuck, and on and on. To make things even worse, every petite influencer on the planet has an opinion on tucking based on their own shape and proportion. So let's ignore all that chitter chatter and figure out what's best on you. Now, at the risk of getting too esoteric, the real question should be: is this outfit flattering? If so, how you're wearing it is perfect. Or can I make it more flattering? If the answer is yes to the last one and you've listened to this and the proportion episode, then take the one-third, two-thirds rule for a test drive. For most blouses, tops, and sweaters, a full tuck will be dressier and more office friendly. For casual outfits on the weekend, a side tuck works well, especially when you like to camouflage your tummy. A back tuck works great for high low hems or longer tunic blouses for emphasizing your bum. When doing a partial tuck in front, just be cautious. Not because of you, but because we've likely all seen someone do a super narrow front tuck that creates this weird arrow that highlights their zipper and crotch. So tuck a wide enough section that it doesn't draw attention to all the wrong places. A few styles to run away from screaming, I'm just kidding, sort of. Petites can wear whatever they want. Some styles require more work to make them look good, and some others require a whole heck of a lot more work to be flattering. So it's really up to you to decide how much do you love an item and how much time and energy do you want to spend to make it look good on you. Style number one, anything drop waisted isn't great. Now that we've talked about the proportions and the goal of raising our waist up, it likely makes a whole lot more sense. Why long-waisted petite would want to avoid lowering their waist. Cropped pants are another style to avoid when you want to create a flattering outfit because they chop off our vertical line prematurely and make short legs look even shorter. Anything one piece like jumpsuits, bodysuits, swimsuits, are tough to find. Unless it states otherwise, they're made for the average leg height ratio and will likely end up giving you a wedgie. Okay, do you know what time it is? Yep, it's time for this week's style challenge. First on our list is to determine your height to leg length ratio using the quick three steps we talked about at the beginning. After that, we'll know for sure, do you really have short legs? Or did Google and using clothes as a measuring tape steer you in the wrong direction? Once you know for certain, download a copy of the best petite boutiques. It's a directory of 50 plus stores and brands that make or carry petite size clothes. It's broken down by career, casual, and curvy, so it doesn't matter where you're going. It will give you all sorts of places to find petite pants that work for your short legs and small height. You can get your copy at angela stylecoach.com forward slash BPB for best petite boutiques. Before you leave, be sure to follow the show so you never miss out on a petite style tip. Thanks so much for hanging out, and I will see you back here next week. Thanks for tuning in to Inside Petite Style. When you're ready to create a wardrobe that fits your hype, flatters your body shape, and makes getting dressed fun and easy, head over to insidepetitstyle.com and take my free Petite Style quiz. You'll get personalized tips and strategies made just for your proportion and your hype. And hey, you know that girlfriend who's always rolling up her sleeves and hemming her pants? Share this episode with her. She needs to know she's not alone and that there are real solutions. See you next week. Until then, have fun and stay stylish.