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Ask Angie and others: short torso dressing

Roxanna

Veteran

Hi all - I've been contemplating body proportions lately and realized that being petite with a high waist and high set hips, I have a short torso (only one hand width.)

Lately I have been going with JFE looks so this hasn't mattered as much. But as I wear layers in the fall and all my cropped, boxy cardigans and jackets come out, I am struggling with how to make this look JFE. These cardis and jackets tend to fall right where my hips begin, covering up my small waist and making me look like a big rectangle.

In summer I can show my legs, arms or ankles to give a little structure and make it JFE - but not so in winter. Any tips for making this look work? I'm thinking low contrast top and bottom and heels (ugh) address two ways to go.

Also - is short torso the same thing as a short waist?

ETA: Does the hand trick mean 2 have from bust to navel or bust to natural waist? I thought natural waist but dinner of the responses are making me think differently..

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Dressing

29 replies

Latest reply was from ZoeyGirl

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I think torso is from shoulders to crotch?- that is, not head and not limbs.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Fellow short torso/short waist person here! Proportions can look really wonky on me too, maybe even more so because my legs are long in proportion to my height and with pronounced bust and hips, I can look very squat in the body if things hit me in the wrong spot. I am short in overall torso measurement, and in the waist (not much real estate between my navel and my bra band).

For cropped toppers, I often have to play with a semi-tuck or untuck tops underneath, to fool the eye into lengthening my torso. I also usually keep the top and bottom low-contrast to help elongate the torso and again camouflage where the waist is.

I find that cropped toppers are best on me if they are fitted and structured. I don’t wear cardigans but I guess the concept would be similar.

I think both of your photos look great — I don’t see any issues with proportions there. The jacket photo in particular is really lovely.

Sal

Veteran

I am short waisted - mostly from my bra to my naval. I can wear high rise jeans and they sit at my waist so my rise seems to be more proportionate to my height. I have long legs for my height.

I have changed strategies. I tend to either wear slightly cropped fitted jackets or longer ones. I think both your toppers here look good in terms of proportions.

I think slightly cropped pants can help especially when looser in style. I like long pants but when they are loose they emphasise my short waist.

Other strategies - column of colour or low contrast, great fit at the neck and shoulder. I also love tops that are designed to not be tucked that sit just over the waist. Three of mine are below.

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Anonymous

I am in the very same boat . This is precisely why I won’t wear cropped cardigans etc with wide leg pants . I just don’t like the the silhouette it gives me .

SarahD8

Veteran

I think both of the pictures you posted look great! So you are definitely doing something right.

I have a short torso, too. My strategies are:
-lengthen the torso by not tucking tops.
-long over lean silhouettes (probably also facilitated by other body modifiers, eg straight hips, small bust, and no defined waist to worry about highlighting)
-high contrast between top and topper with topper worn open (basically creates a long rectangle at the center of my body)
-cropped toppers worn over long tops (short over long over lean)
-i also like to button just one button on my toppers, right at or just under the bust. This creates diagonal lines/ X shape on my torso that I think is flattering. Also creates illusion of a waist, but higher than my natural waist -- the creates an overall effect of "lift" imo

Synne

Veteran

Hmm.. I am wondering if I have the same, or opposite issue, long or short torso (relative to body). Either way, I ALSO struggle with this silhouette. Cropped topper over cropped wide pants. Not an easy look! Not a fan of it on my self. I think wearing tall boots in the same colour as the trousers would add a harmonious longer line? Following this with interest!

slim cat

Veteran

You are on a right track- both outfits look good ( jacket is fab! ). I have short waist and often go for low contact, or add short necklaces to bring the focus higher.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

The jacket look especially works to my eye...jacket has more structure at the shoulder line, which helps.

I'm short waisted (one hand plus a little finger between bust and natural waist) but my overall torso is regular length, because I also have a long rise. (Jenni is correct, I think - the torso as a whole = crotch point to shoulder). A person can be also regular waisted or even long waisted and still regular or short in the torso (if they have a short rise).

As SarahDB and Janet implied, other body type modifiers make a huge difference in what will work and how well. I have a small bust, a square shoulder line, and I'm a not very curvy hourglass/ rectangle, so my tricks might not be appropriate to you. My figure flattery priority is not to make my legs look too short (because, ironically, despite being short waisted, I'm also verging on short legged for my height (that long rise again, sigh) and I never want to shorten that line deliberately.

Anyway...first thing is that my cropped toppers often have to be more cropped than what a regular-waisted person could wear. I literally have one from the children's department which works. I also prefer cropped jackets vs. cardigans for the structure.

A column of colour or pattern beneath jacket can help because the eye doesn't know where one part of you starts and one stopes. Pattern especially fools the eye. Think dresses or two piece dresses or matching pants and top.

Longer tops with diagonal hems worn beneath the jacket can work.

I like bottoms that do show some ankle....if you can't show skin (and I get how that helps!) then a fitted bootie vs. a loose one can be good. Heels, yes -- but not necessarily heels. It will also work with low contrast footwear.

Roxanna

Veteran

This is all so helpful. And the discussion of body modifiers is especially helpful. Like @Suz, I think I have a regular length torso (thanks for the clarification@Jenni!) , With a short waist and a regular rise. Except I have sloping shoulders and a curvy hourglass figure with high chest and high hips.

I don't want to get too caught up in figure flattery here but my, this does help in figuring out why some things are harder to style (like boxy cardigans!) And what I should maybe stay away from in the future (@Janet you said it exactly right - I hate looking 'squat'.) I love @Janet and @SarahD8's suggestions of long top underneath. Or @Suz's suggestion of asymmetrical top. I don't like tops that hit below the hip bone on me - maybe because, as @Suz mentioned, with a longer rise, it shortens my legs? The suggestion of boots that are fitted at the ankle is a great idea.

I never go to this level of analysis, so hearing all of your personal body shape modifiers and FF priorities is so helpful. Makes me realize that I need to be more selective in what I buy!

rachylou

Veteran

I’m short waisted too. I think that blue blouse Sal posted is genius. And i like welted jumpers. To make boxy tops work - that’s when I’d bring out the high-waisted skinnies. Or a pencil skirt.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

This is a very instructive thread! First off, I do think both outfits work beautifully on you, but of course they both show your ankles (and agree the shoulder structure of the jacket adds more - which is why I tend to like jackets vs. sweaters). Agree that low contrast, more fitted footwear can do the work of bare ankles in colder weather.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Sounds like you are shorter in the waist, Roxanna.

LOW CONTRAST is the way to get around your concern. That said, I Iike how you styled these high contrast outfits here. The proportions look great. Leaving the toppers open creates vertical integrity too.

Also, a more cropped cardigan as Suz suggests is a look you might like too.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

We have different builds, so I don’t have useful suggestions here, just want to say how fun it is to follow along and learn as you tease out what you want to emphasize and how to do that.

You mentioned heels in your post; no one has picked up on that so far. It seems to me that if the issue is that too much of your height is below your waist, then heels adding height to your legs wouldn’t help. But like I said, I don’t know what I’m talking about here.

My recollection of Angie’s post (earlier this year? I’m on phone so can’t look it up) is that you measure whether you’re short or long-waisted by checking how many hand widths fit between your waist and your armpit.

Joy

Veteran

I am short waisted. I try to lower the waist visually by low contrast top snd bottom, matching a belt to the top, and wearing open jackets and other toppers. High rise pants or jeans are more mid-rise on me, so no cropped tops. My legs are long for my size and in the years of mini skirts, I wore them really short. Now at nearly age 75, I like knee length. No maxis as they look wrong for proportions. No heels ever or even wedges. Dressing a short torso or waist is tricky but doable. Tops that are too long add to a weird proportion. Know your best measurements and carry a measuring tape. It will save you from trying on what will not work.

Gigi

Veteran

I'm short waisted too. The only way I have found a way to make looks like this work (more voluminous bottoms that are cropped) in the winter is with heeled boots or booties. Which is why I don't wear looks like this often in the winter...love them for summer, though.

I find that as a short-waisted person, I need my jackets to be very cropped. I have very few toppers because it is hard for me to find ones that are short enough.

I am also always on the lookout for very cropped sweaters for winter wear. I wear a closely fitted cami underneath them in a color that goes with my outfit, since the tops are cropped enough that skin would be exposed when I'm moving around, and I don't relish that when it's cold out.

Sally

Veteran

I am short waisted too and like you often wear a cardigan over a top when I have tucked it in or wear a top untucked. I find I have to be careful around cropped jackets which I find easier to style with a dress or a longer top rather than a skirt or pants.

gryffin

Veteran

Although by measures I'm normal waisted, I feel visually I'm a bit short and I have a slightly short rise. So I visually change my proportions. First both my high rise and mid rise pants run a rise about 9.75" I can wear up to a 10" rise and am not comfortable less than 9.5" It's the cut that determines how the pants look as far as the rise. Two match belt to top to visually lower the waist and highlight the curve. Three wear jackets that cut in at the waist - I'm looking at you VB and Gibson riding jacket. I do wear a long of thin tunics with drap and leggings so they settle down on the body, I always add a hip belt with a buckle that hangs lower which visually creates a very long torso the belt is low contrast to the top so only the v of the buckle is prominent. Since I have long legs this evens out my proportions which I prefer to be classically flattering!

Irina

Veteran

I’m short waisted, too. Like SarahD8, I like to wear longer tops under cropped, boxy jackets to balance it. If I had a short cardi like yours in picture #2, I would wear it buttoned up. Shrunken style cardigans work better with wide leg pants, imo.

Jonesy

Veteran

I think the hand trick specifies the distance from bra line to natural waist, but for some people, I'm guessing that their waist is right at their bellybutton?

I too am short-waisted (with a high waist and high hips) but I also wonder if there is a second intersecting issue of your body shape? You mention your hourglass shape and small waist, and how those are obscured when you wear a boxy top or sweater.

I note this because though I am short-waisted, I have an IT body shape, with not much of a waist to speak of, so my short-waisted-ness isn't really an issue in terms of wearing boxy tops because I am never interested in highlighting my narrow waist, IYKWIM. Other than avoiding pants or skirts that sit at my natural waist (which I find very uncomfortable anyway), I don't really have any issues with dressing in relation to my short-waisted-ness. So maybe it's more about (or at least equally about) the body type piece of the puzzle, in terms of how boxy tops work on you or make you feel re. JFE proportions?

With the two pics you show, I absolutely love the first one! With the second one, I notice that the bottom edge of the sweater sleeves hits right where the bottom of the sweater hits. This is one of the shapes I tend to avoid with tops and jackets, because I don't care for how it looks--it automatically creates a "box" effect because the whole garment cuts across the body right at the same level at the bottom edge. I will usually not buy something with this shape, but if I have a top with this shape (bought because I was seduced by the color, print, whatever, despite the shape), I will scrunch or cuff the sleeves or wear a low-contrast layer underneath (to extend the sleeve length or the torso length a bit), so I disrupt that straight line. But this box effect happens with any type of body shape it seems to me, so it's not something that I necessarily connect to a particular body shape or short-waisted-ness.

ETA: Just read the responses and I see I am echoing a lot of what Suz already said :).

Roxanna

Veteran

Gosh- I just can't tell you all how helpful this is! @irina and@jonesy, you have both given me a lot to think about and I love both your tips and tricks. I am taking notes!

@gryffin - you have such a refined sense of your style, so your tricks are so helpful (as is knowing how you dress for your body shape.)

Seeing everyone's FF priorities and clear thinking around this has really given me some good grist to refine mine as well. I have a focused color palette and am very clear about what fabrics I will or will not wear, but I think I need to get clearer about the types of shapes I wear and how I wear them. This helps so much.

Anonymous

I'm short waisted/high hip too and could be one reason I struggle with layers! I don't like to end anything right at the waist, nor tuck, and generally keep low contrast.
I like the first outfit more, probably cause the jacket has more structure and the heels.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

This thread is brilliant! Will reread later to make sure I have absorbed everyone's excellent advice.

Runcarla

Veteran

I’m not built like you, but I do have a high hip, and my narrowest part/natural waist is just under my bust. If I’m wearing something that puts the focus on having some waist definition, I have a specific (Wacoal) bra made from woven (non stretch) fabric that does a nice bit of gravity defying work that results in a few more inches of ‘waist’ IYKWIM.

Roxanna

Veteran

Oh. My. Gosh. SO much wisdom here!!

Big ahas:

1. I have a short waist and a regular to long rise! I didn't know that - esp about the rise (thanks@Suz!) Wth my curvy hourglass figure, this can make me look squat in boxy looks if I am not very careful about lengths and structure. My FF Priority is keeping my legline long - even if that means my waist looks a bit shorter.

2. I need to avoid all horizontal straight lines. They don't work with my curvy figure, my curly hair or my face full of curves (my nose, lips, cheekbones are all curvy - which is why straight stripes dint look good on me but organic patterns do)

I summarized all the advice that applies to me below and put it in a note on my phone for easy reference. Feel free to copy yourself - it's a goldmine! Thank you Fabbers!!

For cropped toppers, semi-tuck or untuck tops underneath, to fool the eye into lengthening my torso.

keep the top and bottom low-contrast to help elongate the torso and again camouflage where the waist is.

cropped toppers are best if they are fitted and structured - jackets or cardis. great fit at the neck and shoulder.

wear slightly cropped fitted jackets or longer ones.

Looser wider pants are best slightly cropped to lengthen leg line and add structure

lengthen the torso by not tucking tops. For me: tops should be longer than hipbone and never straight across - makes me look wide and squat. Asymmetric hems, faux tuck or tops that sit just over the waist welted jumpers. Be careful to keep legline long

-long over lean silhouettes (for me: tops that drape against the body (not boxy), neat shoulder neck fit for structure, expose neck, and asymmetric hems to keep me from looking squat)

-high contrast between top and topper with topper worn open (basically creates a long rectangle at the center of my body) Leaving the toppers open creates vertical integrity too.

- Boxy cropped toppers worn over long tops (short over long over lean)

button just one button on my toppers, right at or just under the bust. This creates diagonal lines/ X shape on my torso that I think is flattering. Also creates illusion of a waist, but higher than my natural waist -- the creates an overall effect of "lift"

tall boots in the same colour as the trousers would add a harmonious longer line. Note: very important to get a tailored ankle fit wth tall Boots (no slouching or bagging.) to show structure at ankle. Do not buy online

add necklaces to bring the focus higher - short or long to lengthen silhouette

My figure flattery priority is not to make my legs look too short (because, ironically, despite being short waisted, I'm also verging on short legged for my height (that long rise again, sigh) and I never want to shorten that line deliberately. - ME TOO! I have a host waist and regular to long rise fior my height, which is why I can look 'squat" easily in non-tailored looks. FF Priority: keep long legline

first thing is that my cropped toppers often have to be more cropped than what a regular-waisted person could wear. I literally have one from the children's department which works.

A column of colour or pattern beneath jacket can help because the eye doesn't know where one part of you starts and one stopes. Pattern especially fools the eye. Think dresses or two piece dresses or matching pants and top.

To make boxy tops work - high-waisted skinnies. Or a pencil skirt.

Match a belt to your top to lower the waistline

Know your best measurements and carry a measuring tape. It will save you from trying on what will not work.

wear jackets that cut in at the waist - I'm looking at you VB and Gibson riding jacket.

short cardi - wear it buttoned up. Shrunken style cardigans work better with wide leg pants, imo.

Avoid straight horizontal lines at all costs. They don't work for my curvy body or my curly hair or my face full of curves.

bottom edge of the sweater sleeves hits right where the bottom of the sweater hits. This is one of the shapes I tend to avoid with tops and jackets, because I don't care for how it looks--it automatically creates a "box" effect because the whole garment cuts across the body right at the same level at the bottom edge. Cuff/scrunch sleeves so no horizontal line

Lift up the girls wth a hardcore bra to give me a few more inches of waist

Star

Veteran

Thanks Roxanna! And all the Fabbers who contributed. This helps immensely as I am short waisted and thinking lately that I am also high hipped. Just one thing above, match a belt to 'what' to lower the waistline?

Roxanna

Veteran

@star - it should say 'match a belt to your top!' fixed.

rachylou

Veteran

Ok: right thread…

Right. I need to print out the compiled list!!

Column

Veteran

Taking a stab at this, Roxanna: I am long-waisted and short-legged…which means I try to dress as though my body proportions are more like yours. Lengthening my leg line is my priority, too. So my only tips beyond what you have are these:

1) match belt to pants, not top, for longer leg line

2) shorten toppers (or wear dusters) to just below ribcage or to top of pants a la Suz. Your pics look great bc we can see the tucked shell, but I would take up jacket hems to top of pants for me. Children’s jackets and sweaters can indeed fit this bill.

You are looking stylish as ever!

ZoeyGirl

This IS a gold mine! Thank you everyone!
Love,
Another short waisted Gabbers