You definitely need a measuring tape and need to look at your overall proportions. I'm (slightly) long from neck to bust, but also slightly short from bust to waist (so, short-waisted.) Meanwhile, I have a long rise. Still, my torso length overall is more or less average for my height. And I used to believe I had very short legs!
How come? Well, my egs *feel* and to some extent *look* shorter than they are -- partly because of that long rise, and partly because my calves are short in proportion to my thighs. And my thighs are not slim, but muscular, so on the "rounder" side. Plus, I now have slightly swollen knees from arthritis. (Sigh).
Knowing all of these things and considering them in a non-judgemental way -- it's just a skeleton, after all! -- has helped me make smarter choices about which styles will prove comfortable or flattering to me, and what I might need to do to style things that seem mysteriously "off." I have found that (for me) knowing my proportions has been more valuable than knowing my body shape (horizontal measurements). That's useful for fitting clothes, too, of course, but for me, less enlightening over all.
So -- while I'm just on the borderline of petite at 5'4" -- and my legs are not super long -- I can't wear petite pants (due to the rise, and often the length as well). I *can* sometimes wear a petite jacket, especially if I size up and the sleeves are ruched or not meant to be full length. (That's my short waist.) Sometimes the stance on jackets will be fractionally "off" on me, not so much because of my height but because of my short waist. I almost always have to hem pants. In my opinion, I look better in a knee-length skirt than in knee-length shorts, because a skirt disguises the rise. (I still wear long shorts, though -- because practicality rules in the garden!)
Anyway, this is way more detail than you want -- but it gives you some idea of how you can put your new knowledge to work when you shop.
