How to Look Taller

I, like many others I know, am not tall. I stopped growing in about the eighth grade and if my jeans hadn't frayed and there was some way to keep my stick-thin fourteen-year-old body, I could still wear the jeans I wore six years ago. The hiking boots I got in sixth grade still fit and in short, I'm just not tall. I think I'm average short—not so noticeable short, but no one is telling me "wow, you're pretty tall" either. Despite being vertically challenged, I've found many ways to create optical height illusions.

When you're at the shorter end of the height stick, it's not hard to move up to the other end. The primary way is through shoes (which are always fun!), however use discretion when selecting tall shoes. You want them to be high enough so it actually makes a difference, but you don't want them to look trampy or be completely useless for everyday activities (like walking). This is where taste comes into play—you have to make the call. You probably don't want to opt for heels higher than three-and-a-half or four inches. First they would be really hard to walk in and second, the risk of looking too "streetwalker" is higher. You'll only want to wear the highest shoes on special evening occasions.

You can also use your clothes to make you look taller. I've found that for casual occasions, wearing a nice dark wash boot-cut jean with a good heel really elongates the leg and definitely makes you look taller than you are. Apart from the heel, the long, slightly flared pant leg stretches your legs and makes you look like you have more legs than you actually have.

For more a more professional setting, long dress pants with a slight boot-cut over nice dress shoes succeed in giving you height. You sometimes have to be careful with dress boot-cut pants, though, because you don't want the pants to have too much of a flare. A better way to go with business-wear is with a straight, wide-leg pant with perhaps a pinstripe to really accentuate the length of the leg. If you want to wear a skirt, choose a knee-length one and wear it with cute heels. With high heels and bare legs you'll look super cute and look sophisticatedly tall!

The short people of the world are in a good place I believe. They can be short if they so desire, but if on a day when they need some height to give them fuel, they can be tall. With simple solutions to toggling between short and tall the possibilities are virtually limitless to different styles, outfits, and looks!