How to Dress to Make Your Legs Look Longer

It is possible to create the illusion of longer legs by dressing with strategy. Longer legs gives the impression you are taller than you really are. Women who are shorter tend to have short legs too but with the right clothing lengths and proportions, shorter women can appear taller with longer legs.

High waist pants and skirts

High pants and skirts raise the natural waist line and makes it look like you have longer legs. Cinch the waist with a belt or scarf to accent the waist and make it look smaller. High pants and skirts have been trending in the last few years and come in many styles, fabrics and colors. Pair raised waisted pants and skirts with a short cropped top or by tucking in a longer top into the high waist. A high waist is meant to be shown off. High pants with flared, straight or tapered hems, look well with high heels. The only down side to high waisted pants is that they are not forgiving on women with heavy hips and pear shapes. High waisted skirts however do well on most shapes.

Wear shorter skirts

This is another trend that shows more leg, or should we say nearly all your leg. For those comfortable showing leg, try shorter skirts and shorts that cuts above the knee. Showing more leg does make your legs seem longer. For skirts, do a bend test to check if the skirt is revealing to much. This is done by bending over, and looking back at a mirror. If skirt hikes back in the back so much that it shows your underwear, the skirt is too short. Wear short skirts with boy shorts or boxers to avoid accidents. A full short skirt works well with straight shapes with slender boy hips. Most body shapes will do best with a slender skirt or an elastic hip hugging mini.

Wear short shorts

Same concept as short skirts, short shorts makes the leg look longer by simply showing more leg. Shorts have had a bad rep lately for looking informal and inappropriate for the work place. Sometimes shorts are best left to house clothes, gym outfits and weekend clothes. But some trends have tried to extend shorts to the office by creating office shorts. These are shorts that use patterns and fabric typically reserved for office clothes. So you get shorts in plaids, stripes, and neutral colors in fabrics like polished cotton, linen and wool. Wear office shorts with a nice silk blouse and a blazer. Go bare legged or with stockings. Do not wear long socks.