How To Look Tall In Flat Shoes
Long days on your feet and hard surfaces in the city make wearing high heels a painful choice, but choosing flat shoes can sometimes make us feel like we’ve just ruined our outfit. I wanted to focus this weeks video and post on how to look tall in flats and share my tips for keeping your outfits looking sharp while making as much use of your height as possible. This post and my video covers two main areas, firstly, what flats are most flattering if the goal is to look taller, and what are some outfit styling tips when wearing flat shoes that will make you look long and lean. Let’s get into it!
If you’re looking for the shoes featured in my video, you can find them here.
Best Flats To Make You Look Taller
Flats with a low vamp will expose more of your foot and make your leg appear longer, mix this with a pointed toe and you’ll add a few centimetres to your leg length which will make you look taller.
Sling back styles can be very flattering, especially if the shoe has the pointed toe shape and a low vamp. Shoes that don’t have thick ankle straps will look best, if you really need a strap to keep your foot in, due to its shape or comfort, opt for a flesh-toned thin strap or a flat that is a Mary Jane shape. The more we cover up the top of the foot, the shorter you’ll look, so try where you can to keep heavy or chunky details off the vamp if you wish to look taller.
How To Style Your Outfits With Flat Shoes & Still Look Tall
Wearing flat shoes won’t ruin your outfit if you have a few handy styling hacks up your sleeve. You’ll see in the video above how I’ve demonstrated these tips but I’ve also created a pinterest board full of flats outfits using the same techniques. Every time I’m putting a look together where I’m trying to make a client look tall in flats, what I’m really doing is trying to bring attention up the body.
Here’s how I do that:
Roll Sleeves:
Rolling your sleeves up to 3/4 down your arm will bring attention to your waist and make your arms look longer, which will lengthen your upper body.
Open A Neckline:
If you have a collared shirt, open your neckline, that exposed skin will bring attention to your face. If you are wearing a high neck or a turtleneck, you can use a necklace instead to bring attention up the body.
Wear High-Waisted Bottoms:
High-waisted garments are designed to lengthen your legs, so when you’re not doing that with a pair of high heels, try it with flats. If the pants are long, make sure they’re not dragging on the ground - dragging hems will not only ruin your pants but it will also bring attention to your feet which will make you appear shorter. If you’re wearing cropped jeans, try rolling them up one hem length in the summer to expose a touch more ankle. This distance you’ve created between your hem and the start of the shoes vamp will lengthen your leg.
Tuck In Your Tops:
If you can, tuck in your top, this will bring attention to your waist and lengthen your leg, plus remove excess fabric that might bring the eye down the body.
Wear A Waist Belt:
A waist belt will, you guessed it, bring attention to your waist while elongating your leg. Don’t just use these with jeans and pants that have belt loops, wear them with looser dresses, skirts, anything that sits on your high waist.
Add A Long Layer:
A longer layer added over your outfit will create two vertical lines up and down your body which will lengthen your torso and legs. Think trench coats, long cardi’s, long blazers and gilets.
Monochromatic Outfit:
Pick a colour and wear it in different shades across your outfit, this tonal look is very slimming and calming and if you incorporate my other styling tips from this post you’ll have the perfect lengthening outfit for flats.
Shorten The Hemline:
A shorter hemline, whether it’s from shorts, skirts or dresses, or even cropped pants and culottes will always make you look tall in flats. Add in some of my other tips with this like belting your waist or rolling up your sleeve and you’ll nail the outfit.
Long-Line Outfit:
One trick I use all the time, often for those bloated days or for clients who want to slim their mid-section is the long-line outfit. Wear a top and bottom that is the same colour and add a contrasting jacket over it. It will nip you in and lengthen you at the same time, it’s the perfect combination for looking taller in flat shoes.