This top is too short for pants, right?

Sarah A

I wore this yesterday purple shirt and tan/green sweater with the skirt (#3) yesterday but put on jeans (#1, #2) when I got home to lounge as I was chilly after the day. I think this top, (and others like it in my closet) are too short to wear with pants/jeans. Can you give my a quick yay or nay to that effect to make sure I have got this calibrated right? Thanks!

yay - too short
nay - looks ok

ETA: please excuse the sock feet....

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12 years ago

Dressing

13 replies

Latest reply was from Sarah A

sarah

Veteran

I'm not very good with this, but I'd say the plum shirt is just a tad short, and the sweater is too short, but the eye is tricked by the shirt layering, which helps hide the fact that the sweater is too short.

I know Angie has a post about this somewhere - have you searched for it?

12 years ago

Sarah A

Veteran

Yes, I believe her post it says looking for 1-3 inches above the crotch point and to me this is closer to the high end of that range when standing properly but less if standing slouched (as per my usual... need to work on that...) She also says that the more straight the hip is the more a shorter length looks alright (although not ideal still i am sure) and the more pearlike not... so I am trying to decipher since I have a pretty straight hip and this seems "borderline".

12 years ago

Sarah A

Veteran

Here is her post if anyone wants to help for reference:

http://youlookfab.com/2008/04/.....ver-pants/

12 years ago

pil

Veteran

What Sarah said makes sense. If I saw you in this walking down the street I wouldn't say to myself "her sweater is too short" - of course I need more help than the average YLFer : )
The green and purple are really nice together.

12 years ago

ElleH

Veteran

I think the longer shirt under it makes it look fine with pants to me. Love number 3, even though your question wasn't about that one.

12 years ago

Adelfa

Veteran

To my eye the sweater is okay with pants when worn with a shirt, but the shirt is a couple inches too short--there is not enough differential between the sweater and shirt lengths. Love that sweater, no way would I stop wearing it.

12 years ago

Lyn D.

Veteran

Lovely length with the skirt!
A longer untucked shirt layered under the sweater would work well with pants too, I think.

12 years ago

Marley

Veteran

I agree with those who say that your purple blouse needs to be longer - then I think the sweater would be fine with pants! Love the combination of the sweater with the purple blouse - great colors!

12 years ago

Diana

Veteran

Yes, just a longer blouse underneath would fix it!

12 years ago

Lyrebirdgully

Active Member

There are a few aspects that add to the "short" feel of the sweater with the pants:
1> The sleeve cuffs finish at a lower point than the sweater hem - makes your arms look overlong. The rolled up cuffs in #3 look more balanced to my eye - did you try this with the pants?
2> The lime green diamond pattern ends quite a bit higher than the actual hem of the sweater.So, visually the sweater appears shorter because the end of the diamonds is an "attention" point higher up at your waist.You would not get this effect with a plain jumper.
3>The" waistline" effect of the lowest row of diamonds works to your advantage with the skirt, as the silhouette is a longer one than for pants, so you are getting shaping. Not all sweaters will do this with a skirt.
4> The purple shirt emphasises and draws attention to where the sweater hem finishes. As an experiment, have you got any pants in beige (try them without the purple shirt under), or a beige shirt that you could put under the sweater? it would be interesting to see if the sweater feels as short, when you style it so that the line of demarcation at the hip is less obvious from a colour viewpoint. Just for comparison.

12 years ago

Mona

Veteran

Wow! what a wonderful analysis of the problem from Lyrebirdgully! Have you tried with a longer blouse underneath, Sara?

12 years ago

Beth Ann

Veteran

I struggle in this area, Sarah, because it's hard for me to find long enough shirts! I think this is not optimal length, but it's not bad either. I wouldn't run out to purchase a new shirt for an extra inch of length, and the fit of each item is otherwise very good.

Love the modern prep look on you!

12 years ago

Sarah A

Veteran

I appreciate all the opinions on this tricky proportion.

Lyrebirdgully, that is a masterful analysis. I dont have any tan pants, but do have a couple longer tops i might try with this sweater and see how it looks if i have some closet playtime tomortow.... or perhaps i will wear the sweater mainly with skirts as you did illustrate why it is so flattering paired that way.

12 years ago

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