What is the best pants rise for me?

Marmee

When I look at my WIW photos, I feel like my legs look super short and my upper body looks large. I have mostly mid rise skinnies in my closet, although I have a few pair of sized up high rise jeggings. A friend who looked one of my WIW photos said that my mid rise jeans looked like low rise. She suggested that my legs would look longer with high rise jeans. I tried some on at Nordstrom last weekend, and none of them fit right. They fit in the hips and legs, but were too tight in the waist.

Ideally, I would wear high heels to elongate my legs, but I have foot issues, and really can't wear more than 1.5", and even then, only for special occasions. Also, according to my friend, boot cut and straight leg pants would lengthen my legs, but I have wide feet, and generally wear boots during the winter. I find dainty shoes difficult, especially when it's cold and rainy.

Thoughts on what would be most flattering on me? I am 5'3.5" with muscular legs (thinking very strong, not about size!) and an IT. Also, I measured my seated height as directed in this formula http://ladyshortlegs.blogspot......tions.html and found that my leg length to total height ratio is average.

Also, should I try to tuck my shirts/sweaters, or leave them hanging. I can see how tucking would show more pants, perhaps elongating, but then I wonder if wearing longer sweaters hides actual leg length (if a sweater falls over the crotch of my pants, who knows how long my legs are?)

Thanks!

11 years ago

Body Type

9 replies

Latest reply was from Marmee

minimalist

Veteran

I have some of the same issues, but feel that low-rise looks best on me. (That's open to revision, of course, as I learn more.)

I feel less torso-bulky / short-legged when my outfits are all dark, and more so when there's contrast between top and bottom. I never full-tuck either way.

Shoes-wise, I'm about to buy a new pair of clogs for every day wear, and look for non-jean bootcuts long enough to cover them. That's for comfort, but the slight platform means the effective heel is about 1.5" while giving me much appreciated extra 2" or so leg length.

11 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Marmee, I know you also posted for photo help and we mentioned that the camera looked a bit high in some of your photos - that will make your legs look shorter than they are IRL. So that could affect your perception of what rise will work best for you.

Leg lengthening doesn't have to be a priority. A long torso can also be great!

I think it's tricky to prescribe about the rise based on leg length alone. Some depends on your own personal rise (are you short or long in that part of your body -- just because you have shorter legs -- if you do -- doesn't mean you have a long rise, etc.) and also on other factors like torso shape, whether you're short or long waisted, type of bust, etc. And then it also depends on the style of pant. So...tough to generalize. You might just have to go through the exhausting process of trying stuff on, alas...horrible, I know. But each cut and brand can be so different.

11 years ago

kellygirl

Veteran

You could be my body double in terms of height, build and the big legs! One thing I think helps ITs look longer is to try and avoid horizontal lines (or wear them and keep them low contrast.) I prefer semi-tucking, tops with curved or asymmetric hems. I love boot cuts with a semi-tuck worn with low heeled boots (like Frye Carsons.) When I wear skinnier pants, I try to balance my top half by wearing a sturdy boot too. I don't think high rise jeans are necessarily the answer. I prefer mid rise and I don't think I look terribly stumpy. I think you look very proportional in your WIWs. The height from which you take a picture makes a difference too. I try to take pics from above waist height--that's how most people view you

ETA: Yup, you are almost my double down to the pound! I just read the other post

11 years ago

Gracie

Veteran

Could you post photos (with camera a bit lower) wearing a semi-fitted top and 2 or 3 pants in similar cuts and different rises? I've been considering doing this myself and determine my preferred rise (it might be around 8" I suspect) and avoid shopping mistakes in the future when I fall in love with a pair, then just can't make a it work.

11 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Don't put too much emphasis on the photos. The camera angle is causing your top half to look larger and longer than your bottom half. Your head looks proportionally larger too. Does that make sense?

11 years ago

Greyscale

Veteran

It sounds like our bodies are very similar - so I guess kellygirl and I are body triplets. I've also been searching for slightly higher rises. If you want to check out a few more options, the Citizens of Humanity Elson jeans are perfect on me (more of a slim straight leg, perfect for my muscular legs), and I think the Rag & Bone high-rise skinnies were also quite good.

But, like everyone has said, your photos are not showing your proportions correctly. And you look really great in the photos regardless! I don't think you need to get too caught up in rules about how you should flatter your proportions.

11 years ago

Veteran

I was going to mention the camera angle issue too! You need to put your camera around waist height to see your actual proportions.

That being said, I'm about your height (5'3") and due to a long torso and long rise (I can easily fit three hand widths between the bottom of my bust and belly button/natural waist and another three plus between my belly button and where my legs start), my comfiest trousers have at least 10", which is really difficult to find. 8" is low rise on me, and I find myself tugging up the waist band/having to worry about whether the shirt will cover completely/etc. at that point. You wouldn't think 2" would make that big of a difference but it does, for me at least!

However, rise is mainly a comfort issue for me, as I also almost never tuck into my trousers, so no one else sees it. Elongating my legs isn't a huge priority for me, and I appreciate having a long waist because it makes belting so easy, but somehow tucking into trousers makes me feel a bit weird since all of my extra rise length is on display. The very best way for me to make my legs look longer is to tuck into a high waisted skirt that fits at my natural waist: the skirt obscures my entire rise, and thus implies I have longer legs. It's like magic!

But you could have a short rise, even with a longer torso, in which case none of my experiences would help! I definitely think posting pics and getting feedback is the only route to go here.

11 years ago

Diana

Veteran

For the camera thing, in addition to putting it around waist height, I suggest you put it as far away from you as is practical. Set it at the highest resolution and then crop the resulting image on your computer (although it won't matter too much if you can't see too much detail if you are just trying to get an idea of general shape). You can use the (optical, not digital) zoom if you like. I don't think the zoom distorts very much. I take my photos with the camera probably about 10 feet away.

Re: pants rise. i agree it's tricky, and the best thing to do is try on a bunch and measure them. Measure both the front and the back rise. Back rise matters a lot and people often forget about it. For example, I have a lot of junk in the trunk but a pretty flat belly so I need a big difference between my front and back rises. I like 8-9" in front and at least 14" in back. Also, make sure you sit down when assessing the rises. Sitting down should not result in rib cage digging (too high in front) or plumber's butt (too low in back).

Finally, I think you should completely ignore manufacturer's and store's descriptions of rises as low/medium/high unless they are actually accompanied by measurements. For a long time, most premium denim brands were listing 8.5" rises as high, when in reality they're a solid low to medium on me. Personally, I define low as hitting my hip bone (below which is indecent), medium as midway between hip bone and belly button, and high as belly button/natural waist, but those measurements are going to be different for everybody.

11 years ago

Marmee

Veteran

Oh my, you all are fabulous!! Thank you so much for the time you expended to answer my question!

Amy K. - That's a good idea about wearing a column of color. That would work for me, as I seem to have a lot of black sweaters and dark jeans in my closet! I hadn't thought about the height of clogs, but they do add height!

Suz - I had forgotten about the camera angle. My 12 year old photographer took the last pictures that caused me to start worrying about leg length. Perhaps I'll need to enlist my husband's help until I get a tripod! And very good point about doing a through search/trying different types/brands of pants on. I've been really lazy recently, and have stayed at Nordstrom, but there are lots of other stores.

Kelly - I've been thinking about the horizontal lines, recently. I read your post on my phone while I was in the dressing room at Nordstrom trying on a striped sweater, and it was perfect timing. No, I do not need lines emphasizing width! Also, I have just realized that I like an asymmetrical or curved hemline. The curved hemline makes the semituck easier, too! And so funny about our body double!

Gracie - What a brilliant idea! I will do that this weekend.

Angie - Thank you for your reassurance. I wasn't sure about my head. After looking at the photos, I thought maybe that I had a big head, but I just measured it and looked on an adult head circumference:height chart, and it's in the 50th percentile.

Greyscale - Welcome to our family! I actually love my R&B high rise skinnies, and will check out the Elsons.

E - I will try the camera at waist height! I have about a hand and a half between the bottom of my bust and my natural waist and about three hands below that so I think I share the same rise issue with you. I was on a trip with my husband last month, and wore my pencil skirt out to dinner three times in a row, all three times with a different shirt tucked in. I wondered if it was a dated look, but I didn't really care, because it was so flattering.

Diana - I will try to get some distance between me and the camera. I think Aida posted about zooming too. I hadn't thought about the difference between the front and back rise. I have a generous backside, and there is nothing worse than the feeling of air where it shouldn't be - plumber's butt. Good point about getting actual measurements instead of going by text descriptions.

11 years ago

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