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Proportions

Anonymous

I was busy running errands this morning. I caught a glimpse of myself in a window and was so disappointed.

I was wearing black cropped pants (my camera didn't capture the entire image, but you get the general idea). The top ended at the absolute widest portion of my body. I thought the top also flared away from my body in an unflattering way.

But the most disappointing part was the 1:1 ratio. Perhaps this is the sole reason I find cropped pants so unflattering. I can't figure out how to achieve that 1:3-2:3 ratio.

Is there a solution? Would a half tuck have helped? Do we still half tuck? I haven't seen anyone doing that on the Forum in a while.

Dressing

31 replies

Latest reply was from Vix

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

*I* half-tuck and I think it makes a huge difference.

Also, It's a bit hard to tell, but could the shirt be a little long? I try to find shirts that end at about the middle of my pants zip, which puts the hem above the widest part of me.

Anonymous

I feel like the half tuck helps on me and am still doing it as it is a useful tool. Angie's suggestions of footwear that helps fill the gap of cropped pants and low contrast may also help.

minimalist

Veteran

I'm tucking into my high waists, yes. Often full, sometimes half, occasionally experimenting with two or three small tucks.

Having (and looking at) unflattering pictures of myself from several angles in a not-conventionally-flattering outfit prepares me for any chance glimpses of reflection when I'm wearing it. Recently a fashion blogger featured here showed images of her in an untucked top which optically widened her upper thighs by about a meter. And you know what? She looked happy and put-together anyway. That's what I'm embracing lately.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

It is hard to tell from the photos how the effect was, Sterling, but you are so fit and strong that I am sure it looked much better than you fear.

I don't see your "widest section" as wide. But it's more important how you feel.

Lower contrast between bottoms and tops, tucking or semi tucking all help with this. I use all three strategies. I almost never wear a top untucked at all except on the hottest summer days.

Sal

Veteran

I do know the feeling, but I don't see this looking at the image.

I rarely tuck or semi tuck, but I do wear columns of colour regularly.

I suspect this top is better in motion as it has movement and is loose - static like this it does look a little boxy. However with ankle showing I suspect it looked very nice in reality.

Brooklyn

Veteran

I do think a tuck or half tuck helps with cropped pants. Or wearing a shorter top. Or a column of colour, as others have suggested.

Liz

Veteran

It would be easier to tell if we could see a photo that included your feet. Keep in mind that shop windows might distort your reflection (like fun-house mirrors) and what you saw may not have been accurate.

Anonymous

I can't tell anything from this photo either as there is no total body perspective . I can't tuck in anything so I'm no help with that , but always go longer or column-of-colour . I hate seeing that no-man's -land between hip bone and crotch point . On me , anyways . You have great arms .

Gigi

Veteran

I have to tuck in my tops with my cropped pants to achieve the correct proportions. If you want to keep the shirt untucked, perhaps try wearing footwear the same color as the crops, to "extend" them.

Style Fan

Veteran

I tuck my tops in and my pants are high waisted. This helps with creating the 1:3 ratio or Golden Mean. I also keep my top lighter than my bottoms. My Jesse Kamm pants have a button on the waist that is like a focal point to draw the eye up and away from my thighs (or at least that is what I think it does).
I also match my footwear to my pants to extend the line.
I can't see your picture so I don't know what to say about your outfit but I find I am harsher on myself than others are on me.

Staysfit

Veteran

I don't see the pic, so I can't make a suggestion. I assume you really hated it!

Anonymous

I did not realize I hid the photo. My apologies.

To Staysfit's comment. Yes. I do think I hated this outfit once I saw it in the mirror. I couldn't say why I hated it so I took a picture and analyzed the proportions. It had to be the proportions, right? 1:1 does not suit me. Whenever I find I accidently wore an outfit with those proportions, I never repeat it. Yet, this accident keeps happening.

Style Fan -- what got me wondering about this outfit is I saw a teenage girl size me up and frown disapprovingly. I sought out a mirror in an attempt to see what she saw (so there was no "accidental" anything). I was too embarrassed to admit I cared so much about a perfect stranger thought of me.

I have the hardest time with cropped bottoms. I am trying to make them work for me, but I can see I have continuing challenges.

Gigi, Brooklyn, Joy, and Suz -- I will try this same outfit again this evening with the shirt tucked. I'll take a second picture and see if that solves the problem.

LisaP, Sal, and Liz -- I can't seem to get a full body picture when I use my camera. I know it throws everything off when you can't see the whole prospective. I hadn't thought of using the column of color to address this problem. I'll start incorporating it this very evening. Thank you for the complement on my arms. You made my day.

Thank you, Minimalist. You make an excellent point. Embracing ourselves with all our imperfections has been a personal goal for me. There are times when I think we are so cruel and unfair to our fellow women that I am making it a crusade to change that in my every day life. I am also trying to be kinder to myself.

But I seem to have some personal hate for cropped pants. This feeling is so nebulous, it might date back decades. I decided that this was the Summer I was going to address that hatred and put it in my rear view mirror. Sunday was not a success, but I remain hopeful.

Emily K -- Your comment made me smile. I am glad to know that we still half tuck. I haven't seen it much on the Forum and no one in my real life half tucks. You bring up a good point about the length of the shirt. I hadn't considered that. Perhaps it is too long.

In conclusion. Repeat the outfit trying a half tuck. Take a picture and see if that brought the proportions more in line with the Golden Mean. If this doesn't work for me, don't give up. Other options are still available. Try columns-of-color (probably my next attempt), footwear the same color as the bottom for visual extension, and shorter lengths of top.

Remain open minded this entire Summer. There will be failures, but there will be successes as well.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

The angle of this photo is inaccurate, and I do not understand the ratios either. But I would like to help.

OF COURE we still semi-tuck.

Anonymous

Thank you, Angie -- I certainly need your help.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I think a simple semi tuck might make the difference to your eye! But sometimes it's not really even the outfit but our mood in a particular day.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I think it would help a lot to see a wider angle photo including your entire legs and feet. But I think I know what you mean, and it may be part of why I don't like wide crops on myself.

I do still semi-tuck because fully-tucked tops don't look good on my short torso. But sometimes untucked tops just look too long and shapeless, and the hem creates too much of a horizontal line across my wide hips.

I suspect that the effect you're not liking in this outfit is created by the high contrast between light top and dark pants, resulting in a strong division across your body, and the horizontal stripes and boxy cut of the top emphasize that. I would try other tops with the pants before you give up on this style.

Anonymous

Thanks, TexStyle -- I might have been feeling insecure about my outfit. I was happy with it at home, but it didn't seem right while I was running errands.

Janet -- You are probably right. I thought the horizontal lines would be "fun." Perhaps they threw me off. Sad because that top is so lightweight, you can't even feel it on your body. It is opaque and has really good coverage. I was thinking it would be perfect for Summer. Now I am thinking it will be designated an "at-home casual" top.

shiny

Veteran

I think I know what you mean, Sterling, as I have some tanks like this, and to my eye that look better paired with full-length bottoms. For cropped bottoms, I prefer the same type of tank, but in a tunic length. Probably because of the ratios?

I also like pairing tanks like that with a knit pencil skirt that tapers.

Style Fan

Veteran

Now I see the picture but I can't see where the pants end. When I wore my Jesse Kamm pants in Florida I got some very strange looks. Really strange. Skinnies were everywhere. When I went shopping in Hamilton all I saw were skinnies. I am a loner out there in my wide legged cropped pants.
You have great arms.

LaPed

Veteran

Shirts have been getting longer and longer and longer. I'm a short-torso person, so it's really noticeable on me. When I compare tees and tanks from a decade ago with tees and tanks today there's often an extra 6+ inches of fabric. These longer shirts, often with extra room around the hips, are great for skinny pants and leggings, but they look not-so-great with crops and wider legs. I'm starting to see some shorter tops out there -- mostly boxy, but some more fitted. I do way better with a higher rise and a shorter top, so this is a really promising market shift for me.

Also -- you could try layering a cropped sweater or other topper over this tank, if you want to put more emphasis on your waist and less on your hips. If the weather is cool enough for an extra layer, of course.

Anonymous

Can you wear a topper at this time of year?
I would try a cropped topper and see if that helps to create the 1/3rd look on the top.

I do believe in the rule of thirds. It really works on me.

Anonymous

Oh, and btw, everybody has bad days. I'm sorry you had that glimpse of yourself that look less than stellar. It happened to me too over the weekend. I was shopping in H and M with my daughter and realized how shleppy looked. My note to self is to dress up to go shopping!

Anonymous

Laughing with Smittie. I never thought I would consider shopping an activity that I had to dress up for, but the truth is, people in my region dress up to shop. I made the decision to finally join suit. I will be dressing up to go to the mall from now on. I have had too many instances where I have run into friends and acquaintances and been embarrassed to not consider adapting to the new normal.

Smittie and LaPed -- I love the idea of a light-weight topper. The heat will circumvent that idea for me. I get overheated as it is. Although I did see a woman in the office wearing the cutest lightweight cardigan. She looked great.

LaPed -- I was shocked to hear that tops are six inches longer these days. That is certainly not something I noticed. I would really like to find some shorter, somewhat fitted, sleeveless tops for summer. I once resorted to buying petites to achieve this goal.

I look forward to a market shift. There was a time that I felt any market shift did not start appearing in my retail stores for a full two years after hitting the main market. A full two years. That has changed and I think trends start showing up much sooner.

Style Fan -- I love those pants on you. They were literally made for you. I have a shy component to my personality. I could never wear wide legged cropped pants in a sea of skinny pants. I would be so self conscious and the strange glances would send me to the hotel room to change pronto. I admire your self confidence. Is it the constant chatter about wide legged cropped pants on YLF that makes you feel confident or have you always been so self assured??

Shiny -- I have yet to try a tunic length with my cropped pants. I have a couple of longer tops. I might try them later today out of curiosity. I am sure they are long enough to create the 1:3 ratio, but I understand exactly what you mean and can shop with a more concrete goal.

Right now I am experimenting with a long column of color (black with dark navy top). The top is slightly longer too.

Stripes at the hips. What was I thinking?

Staysfit

Veteran

Sterling, I have to say, that I appreciate that tops are longer because it used to be nearly impossible for me to find a top! DD is the same height but has a slightly different build than me, she is more pear shaped and has a shorter waist, or maybe she is hourglass? In any case, she often shortens her tops. I'm not sure how much it costs to hem a top?

A cropping story: I thought it was silly, but one year DD had 10 identical IZod style uniform tees that she wanted cropped by about 7 inches before she went to her summer art camp (Overnight). Who cares about the shirts that are going to get paint splattered?! My DD of course. There was no peace in the house until they were cropped to proper size. She was 12. The tees still fit her until she graduated HS and stopped going to the camp. I guess it was worth the price of tailoring.

Brooklyn

Veteran

Shorter tops can be hard to find. At the beginning of last summer I had 3 of my tops cropped by a tailor. It was fairly inexpensive. Worth considering.

https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....ng-my-tops

RobinF

Veteran

I hate it when that happens. Walking around feeling like I look good and then a glance in a window and I'm like, what was I thinking? I imagine it happens to most of us!

What kind of shoes were you wearing? That could make a huge difference. And I agree that a lower contrasting top and bottom usually works better for me. Don't give up on crops just yet!

Anonymous

Sterling - I have found it useful to wear something you like when you shop. That way you can compare how you feel in it vs what you try on. If it's not equal or better, I pause and consider if it's better to walk away.

Anonymous

Thank you for sharing that story, Staysfit. It was the right thing to do to send your 12 year old suitably dressed to her taste. I hope my Mother would have done the same for me at the age of 12. I think she might have if it seemed important enough to me.

Great idea, Brooklyn and Staysfit. I knew pants could be shortened. It never occurred to me to consider the same treatment for tops. One more tool in my arsenal.

Robin F -- I was wearing these. Yet one more step toward informal. I could try to defend myself, but I knew better. I was just lazy and thought I could get away with quick little errands in and out of stores.

Great idea, Delurked. I wasn't actually shopping. I was returning some hiking socks I bought at REI. I discovered I already owned multiple pairs and decided I didn't need yet another pair. I might have thought that REI would have been a bit more forgiving, but it was a couple of hours after Church let out so there were several couples that were dressed very well. I obviously was not.

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Vix

Veteran

Hi Sterling --

Ok, lots of ground already covered.

You're being way too hard on yourself, here.

Main things I'm repeating from above, speaking from experience --

this kind of flowy top looks better in motion or person, wide in 2-D; bringing it in closer to the body (via a tuck or taking in the sides a bit so it skims) will help

the stripes aren't a problem re widening (research has actually found otherwise with this type of stripe pattern) but the high-contrast of light top/dark bottom will visually shorten

I'm having trouble seeing this as a 1:1 ratio...that point is usually going to be lower

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