Stop Dressing Shorter Than You Are — Do this instead

If you are petite, have a fuller figure, or simply feel like your outfits always make you look shorter or bigger than you actually are, gosh do I have an outfit recipe for you. When an outfit doesn't look good, we immediately assume it's us, it's our body, nothing looks good on us, something is wrong with us, and we just have to accept it. But I'm here to tell you, none of that is actually true. And I'm not saying that to make you feel better or to be nice, I'm saying that as a personal stylist who knows how the same body can look significantly different by just applying the few principles that I will be sharing with you in this video. Here is everything that we will be covering today. By the end of it, you will have an outfit recipe that you can never go wrong with. It will make you look slimmer, taller, and most importantly, more proportionately balanced. It works well on different body shapes, you can use it in the winter, in the summer, and you can even customize it to your own style and preferences. I will show you the classic recipe first, then give you ways to maximize its effect and make it your own later. I call it the three lines formula. And it has two ingredients, a monochromatic base, and a vertical outer layer, that's it. And because it's very simple, there isn't just one way to use it. But now instead of me explaining how and why this formula works, I rather just show you. So let's go over the three most common mistakes that I see all the time that are quietly working against your figure and show you how you can use the three lines formula to fix them. Mistake number one, the bigger is better myth. When we're working with body shapes, looking slimmer and taller is all about optical illusion, playing with lines to create a specific shape. And there are three types of lines, vertical, horizontal, and diagonal. In this video, I'll be focusing on the first two. I'm sure you know that to look elongated, you need vertical lines in your look, which is true. However, in most cases, it's not that you need to add vertical lines to your look. It's that you need to reduce the horizontal ones. So you might hear things like wear a striped shirt or a miniskirt or a long line coat. And all of these things are great. They're great recommendations. But the reason why you look shorter isn't the absence of a striped shirt. It's the presence of horizontal lines in whatever it is that you're wearing. I see this most with ladies who are on the fuller side or those who have problem areas like the midsection or arms. Our instinct in this situation is to go bigger, which on the surface, it seems like a logical thing to do. However, if we were to map out these kinds of silhouettes, it is clear that they are dominated by horizontal lines. And horizontal lines read as wider. And when you look wider, you also read shorter. So in these cases, by simply reducing the horizontal lines in your look, you will notice a huge shift in how your figure appears. That's optical illusion. That's what we will be playing with in this video to make your outfits appear as flattering and as balanced as possible. But now, look at what happens when we do add vertical lines. By applying the three lines formula here, suddenly, vertical lines dominate. The body shape didn't change. The weight is the same. The height is the same. But she looks significantly different. Leaner, taller, and more proportionately balanced. That's what we're after. And that's not just my personal opinion because I asked you ladies on my Instagram story and 93% of you agreed. Now quickly, before we go further, if you're just starting to dress more intentionally and develop a more elegant style, I put together a free guide on how to look elegant in every situation and in every room. It covers elegance principles, color combinations, and it has outfit inspirations for the seven most common life scenarios. And it's free. You can grab it from the link below. Mistake number two, the cutoff. This one is sneakier and it can happen with many different items, mainly Bermuda shorts, ankle strap shoes, or bottoms that end at the wrong spot. What all of these items have in common is they stop the eye. And when the eye stops, the figure reads as shorter. Notice Sabrina Carpenter's outfit here. Starting from the top, the sleeves are creating horizontal lines and widening her frame. And at the bottom, we've got three horizontal lines with the dress ending in an awkward place. And what's left showing from her legs got chopped up by the shoe style. So there is no wonder why she looks shorter than this image where she's wearing a long dress, creating a long uninterrupted line and making her appear taller. So what's happening with all of these items is you're creating horizontal lines. But instead of doing so by wearing bigger pieces like we saw with number one, you're doing so by wearing pieces that chop you up into sections instead of making your body appear like a one continuous unit. And just to be clear, none of these pieces are wrong or you should never wear them. But if you're specifically dressing for the purpose, for the goal of looking elongated and balanced, these pieces won't serve you. Even if you are a tall lady, they would still make you look shorter. And the same goes to baggy pieces or oversized pieces. Even if you are a slim lady, they would still make you look bigger than you actually are. So it's not that there's something wrong with you. And as your punishment, you can never wear certain pieces. It's not that. It's that these kind of items serve a completely different purpose than the one that you're going after. Let's take this outfit as an example. Notice where your eye goes when you look at this picture. Because the Bermuda shorts are wide and they take up a lot of visual space, your eye stops exactly where they stop, making the figure appear shorter than it actually is. If we swap them for capris, same length, slimmer shape, you'll notice that the vertical line continues past where they end. But they still have that horizontal line at the end. So they won't give you that full elongation effect that you're going after. But if we apply the three lines formula here, we get this beautiful elongated vertical line, not just from the pants, but all the way up from the neckline. That's why our lady here looks much taller in this image. Not just to me, but to 94% of you. Mistake number three, the color break. Horizontal lines aren't just created by fabric edges. They can also be created by color. When the top and bottom are two different colors, your body gets divided horizontally. And that division can make you look shorter and wider, no matter how stylish the color combination is. And again, I'm not saying that this is wrong or you should never dress this way. We all dress this way. There's nothing wrong with it. However, again, when you are dressing for the purpose of looking extra elongated or when you want to hide certain areas, that division won't be the best approach here. So let's apply our formula. Again, same person, same body, but somehow the second version looks slimmer, taller, and more balanced. This one was a bit more divisive when I polled you. And I think it's because of the way I phrased this question and I wasn't being specific. So let me clarify. When I say this version looks more proportional, I'm referring to the relationship between the top and bottom, where neither of them is dominant. The green pants in the original look take up more visual space because of their cut and they're visually divided and separated from the top. And again, there's nothing wrong with that. But if I'm trying to look taller, I wouldn't go for a combination like this. Now, I want you to notice what the three lines formula is doing here. We're still using color blocking, but we're doing it vertically instead of horizontally. The contrast between the monochromatic base and the outer layer is doing two things here. One, it's creating the vertical lines that we love. And two, it's making the center of the body appear slimmer. And that's why this formula is so powerful. It uses color, vertical lines, and optical illusion all at the same time to create a more balanced outfit. Now that you have seen how the classic version works in three different scenarios, let me show you how you can maximize it even more. You can maximize it by choosing the monochromatic base in a darker color than the outer layer. Again, it's not mandatory, but as you can see, it makes a huge difference. You can also maximize it by going for a v-neck, especially if you have a fuller chest or a midsection. If you have a longer neck, though, I would skip this one. Bonus points if the pants are pleated or have central seams, because guess what? That's another opportunity to add vertical lines. Also, if you're wondering whether the monochromatic base has to be the exact same shade or similar shades of the same color, you can do both, but for maximum impact, I would go for the exact same shade. Why? Because that helps the eye travel from the top to bottom with no interruptions whatsoever. And finally, let's make the formula your own. The monochromatic base can be a top and trousers, a top and skirts, or it can be a dress. They all work well. The outer layer is where you get to have a lot of fun. You can do a blazer. You can do a long light coat. You can do a cardigan. You can do a crop jacket. You can do an open shirt. Or if you don't want to wear a third piece at all, you can even drape a scarf over your body in a vertical way. Basically, anything that will create two vertical lines on the edges of your monochromatic base. For formal looks, a structured blazer gives you the most defined vertical line. For casual days, an open over shirt or relaxed cardigan give you the same result with a completely different energy. In the winter, you can do a long line coat. In the summer, you can do a linen shirt or a scarf, as I mentioned. The recipe doesn't change. The ingredients just adapt to your life. Once you understand what you're actually doing, eliminating horizontal lines and maximizing vertical lines, you stop guessing and you start dressing in a way that works with your body lines, not against them. I hope you found this video helpful. Let me know below if you'll be trying this formula and which version you'll be going for. Grab the free elegance guide below if you haven't already. And make sure to subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. I will see you in the next one. And until then, see you!