Is anyone else short-waisted but with a long torso and short legs?

Jen

I know it's much more common, if one is short-waisted, to have a short torso and long legs. But not me. I can fit only one hand between my chest and my waist, but then from the waist to the top of my legs is at least three more hands, if not more! My legs and arms are both short.

Does anyone else share these crazy proportions, and, if so, how do you dress for them?

6 months ago

Body Type

12 replies

Latest reply was from Staysfit

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Jen, some of my clients and friends are very long in the rise, but short in the waist so you're in good company! This makes their bodies longer, and their legs relatively shorter. Some of the clients are petite in height too.

What's your height?

My guess is that you prefer a longer rise in pants, jeans and shorts.

6 months ago

kinnick

Active Member

That is my body type as well. I also have very broad shoulders.

Pants are hard to fit for sure. I usually end up buying more of a boyfriend jean that is meant to ride lower on the hip. I wear untucked shirts that just cover the top of the pant and are of similar color value. I try to follow the ratio of shirt length 1/3 and pants 2/3. I also like to wear a long (thigh length) slim fitting shirt with a knee length skirt or pants. Shirt dresses (without belts) are your friend as long as they fit closer to the body.

I am looking forward to seeing other responses.

6 months ago

kinnick

Active Member

Angie, I just saw your response. The problem I have with longer rises in pants is that I have “high hips” also called figure 8 body shape so the waist of the pants has to make it all the way up or it is too tight. If I pull the pants up so the waists match they can dig in below.

6 months ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I have the short rise + short torso overall issue. My niece shares your issue of shorter waist and longer rise, but with wider shoulders and proportionally narrower hips with a less defined waist. Even though we are the same height and have been roughly the same weight at times through the years, we rarely fit into the same pants! Yesterday she was lamenting that even though there are lots of high rises out now, she’s having a hard time with pants because of her wider waist — so many of the longer rise pants are cut too narrow in that high waist. And the cropped tops that are prevalent now work well for me but are a disaster for her.

She does really well with tunic length tops (again, mostly a disaster on me LOL), worn with bootcut pants that are not too wide or overly flared. Dresses are a godsend for her too. She looks really good in a structured jacket or blazer over an untucked top with jeans or trousers too. She, like me, usually prefers some structure in her outfits, and she’s struggling a little right now with all baggy unstructured looks that are trending. We chatted a little about how to introduce some structure (ie a small shoulder pad not to add width but just definition, showing a bit of skin on arms and neckline, ways to give the illusion of waistline, etc). It made me appreciate once again how every body type has some challenge to dressing!

6 months ago

Jen

Active Member

Thanks, folks! Angie, I am 5’5” but often buy petites because of short arms and legs. I like the look of high rises (though not always in the back), but can’t wear them because they give me acid reflux ever since getting a meno-belly (a whole other topic for complaint!). I like a 9-inch rise. But I think the proportions explain why I like dresses so much, since there I can have a waistline at my actual waist without it pressing on my stomach. Tunics over bootlegs is another great solution, Janet!

6 months ago

April

Veteran

Jen, I'm right there with you on all counts. Add wide shoulders for me.

Commiserating on fit - very tricky to get right. Also, my torso is only long on the lower half. From shoulders to waist is not long, so things like the shoulder straps on camisoles are always bizarrely long on me.

6 months ago

Jen

Active Member

April, yes! Never even thought about that side of things.

6 months ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Jen, a 9 inch rise is short! Bordering on low rise. I have a short rise, and find a 9 inch rise a little short. Sooooo, it makes sense you're having fit challenges with a long rise. You're looking at, at least 11 or 12 iches, and probably a straighter cut so that the waist line is not defined for comfort. Also elastic and half-elastic waists can help with comfort.

Yes to dresses offsetting the fit challenge!

6 months ago

Ket

Veteran

Yep, me! For years I thought I had a long/er torso and short lets. Late last year I finally figured out that I have a short waist, deep/high rise, and regular length legs. I'm 5'10.5" but can still wear a 32" inseam with flats.

Like kinnick, I have a very high, definite hip shelf and am considered a figure 8 type body shape. (This is similar yet very different from an hourglass shape.)

I also have a lower set bust, very long arms, and a long neck. Just to add to the fun ha! I buy tops in talls when I can, and sometimes I'll buy talls for tunics and dresses. Even though I have a shorter waist, I'm tall enough that some extra general torso length does help--as does extra sleeve length.

6 months ago

kinnick

Active Member

Jen, you might want to look at Angie’s advice for an inverted triangle. I found it helpful.

6 months ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I am late to respond but I am close to your height and also have a short waist, long rise, and regular length legs. I do wear high rises and enjoy them, as well as mid-rises. But I don't have the high hip issue so much, so maybe that is why.

Skirts and dresses are great to disguise the long rise, as others have said. Oddly, I look awful in tunic/ leggings but I think that is to do with other body modifiers for me -- the shape of my legs, etc.

9 inches is more or less a mid-rise on someone of our height, and is getting easier to find again if that is your preference.

Like Kinnick, I do like a BF style jean and I have found that wearing tops/ bottoms of similar value can help disguise some proportional challenges, though I do like contrast so tend to wear it anyway.

6 months ago

Staysfit

Veteran

I’m going to look up figure 8 body types. I have some width at the high hip, my shoulders are wider than my hips and I definitely have proportionally short legs and a long rise. My rise measures 14 inches.

I try to avoid waist definition and almost never tuck my tops. Dresses are excellent for hiding proportion issues because you can’t tell where legs start. Jackets and cardigans are also good for covering over or drawing the eye away from my high rise. Even though my legs are short in proportion, I’m 5’9”, and my inseam is 33”, so I need tall sizes on the bottom. I often need them on top because of my arms although that can sometimes lead to the torso being too long. My waist is regular to slightly short but because of my height and the long rise, I do not suit anything that’s cropped. My odd proportions also make it tough for me to wear cropped pants.

The length of tops becomes very important for me. High hip or just above my low hip. If tops are too long my legs look short.

6 months ago

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