Since I got no comments on the post about high waisted skirts, I’m wondering whether the whole length balancing thing is boring you. Shall I give some more examples?
- This previous post describes length balancing in trouser outfits.
- Here I explained basic length balancing and how it works with a knee-length dress (or anything that is one color or pattern from neck to knee).
- The post concerning high waisted skirts illustrated how to split up the neck to knee expanse (2 to 3). Inverting the proportions also works.
- With cropped pants or mid-calf skirts use 2 1/2 to 4. Go back and look at the picture of me in capris. If you split up the pants into 4 vertical segments, you could fit approximately 2 1/2 of those into the length of the top. Is that why ladies who wear their t-shirts tucked into the (high) waist of their pants tend to like their capris shorter?
Is this helpful at all? Maybe I’d feel better if you asked some questions.
I never really thought about balancing the bottom and the top in this way. I always thought that you try to detract attention from a “bad spot” on the body(let’s say, short legs) by making the leg line appear longer with a shorter top. I think I heard this on “What Not To Wear.” You know, I love that show because they don’t always just do perfect body shapes.
I didn’t know we could wear high waisted skirts. Are they back in style again? I don’t want to wear them right now. I’m enjoying the mid-rise which gives my belly more space rather than sucking it into those high waisted things we used to wear (I was skinnier then).
~Jody
don’t despair over the lack of comments! i’m finding this all completely fascinating, and i’m learning a lot. what i’m not learning, i’m glad i can come back to later. what a service, for someone to kindly educate the rest of us on all this, and without making me feel like a moron for not already knowing it. Which? hello, i knew NONE of this gold goodness you’re sharing!
Jody ~ I love that show, too. Unfortunately, I don’t get to watch it often (we don’t have a TV).
March Vogue had a whole lay-out on high-waisted skirts. I actually have one very like Agathe’s. It’s coming, but no pressure. Wear what you like.
HolyMama! ~ Do you have the spiritual gift of encouragement? (It’s okay, you don’t have to answer.) Thanks for the nice comment.
I subscribe to your blog in a reader, and I haven’t seen any of these commentless-posts come through my reader.
Your post about how to wear high-waisted skirts says it was published in May 2006. Is that an error?
If so, then that’s why nobody is commenting–it’s not showing up in our readers or on the main page.
Yes, high waisted skirts are coming, but there are plenty out there that can be worn about an inch or so below the waist. This offers a bit of torso lengthening for short-waisted women, and de-emphasizes the hips for pear-shaped women.
I think length balancing is an interesting concept. I’m less mathematically inclined and so I tend to go with what “looks good” without fully considering the why, but clearly there are some basic principles going on there.
As you know, Rebecca, I’m all about a visual assessment.
But to contribute something to the discussion, I’d say women with small waists but a little extra tummy padding can have some difficulty with high-waisted looks.
I guess it’s just me but I love that high-waisted look – I’m talking about *above* the natural waist and not just not low-rise – but I really didn’t like the black skirt with black shoes with black hair with short expanse of green tee. I would like it better with an open longer-length cardigan so it becomes an all-black outfit with a liberal dash of color. Two pieces are hard for me to get my mind around anyway as I almost always want a third piece, though that could be a quite large handbag.
I wasn’t so crazy about any of the dress looks. The “don’t”s didn’t look bad to me but OTOH the “do”s didn’t look so good to me.
You talk about the length balancing but what about balancing with volume: amount of fabric visible.
Wouldn’t a full skirt or a blouse with long and possibly full sleeves make some kind of difference?
I like the high waisted look in this picture.
However.
I am VERY short-waisted and large-busted. So I have embraced the lower rise styles with abandon. I haven’t tucked a shirt in in about 10 years. And when I see pictures of myself back when I did tuck in (and I was as skinny as I’ve ever been at that time) I shudder. It was an awful look on me.
So my question is, is the high-waist thing something only certain body types can wear? Or is there a way to wear this look on a person of my proportions?
Rebecca, every time I read on of these length-balancing posts, I think how clever you are. My mind, alas, isn’t good at this kind of thing. (Maybe I should assign my dh, the physicist, to length-balance my outfits!) Instead, I have a few standard lengths and proportions that I know are flattering, and I just eyeball it if I want to try something new. In the winter, for instance, I tend to wear long, A-line skirts, with relatively fitted longer tops; in the summer, I like straight skirts at the knee, with somewhat shorter tops. Inadvertent length-balancing? I NEVER tuck anything in, because I am tall but shortwaisted, and tucked-in tops make my long legs look like a deformity!
I find your length-balancing posts VERY useful! I missed the latest because I got a flu and stayed away from computer for a couple of days, but today I got to your blog and even started surfing the archive links about length balancing.
I’ve known about the golden ratio for quite a long time, but I somehow never thought of applying this to clothes! You literally opened my eyes to that 🙂 Now I know why some of my outfits looked really bad and what should be done about that — big thanks to you!
About a month ago my mother-in-law gave me one of her skirts in which she doesn’t fit anymore — it’s high-waisted and grayish-rose (what is this color called, I wonder?! Ash-rose?). Beautiful — and difficult for finding color and length combinations. Your posts enlightened me, so now I’m hoping to make this skirt one of my wardrobe staples. Thank you 🙂
Kacie ~ you caught me! This post was rather old, but I thought it contributed to what we were talking about now – so I reposted it. he hee.
Oxanna ~ you are exactly right and the ones just below the waist are so versatile! And easy to find in the thrift store in great quality and colors.
Wendy ~ do you think that body shape does better with a fuller skirt?
Vildy ~ I do think fullness and volume makes a difference. Thinking about civil war fashions recently has got full sleeves on my radar. What’s surprising to me is thinking how long it’s been since I’ve really considered them. More to come, I’m sure! 🙂
dcrmom ~ I’ll have to think on that some more, but I’m thinking there must be a way to do it, but it probably wouldn’t ever become a staple for you. Skirts or dresses would be better than pants; monochromatic or darker color on top would be better than white blouse with black skirt.
And it’s always okay to just pass on a style that isn’t for you.
Sheri ~ you are the clever one – because you have figured out what works for you! 🙂
Victoria ~ thanks for the encouragement!
Me, I was really confused by the length posts. Maybe I dived into your blog too late, and missed the introductory posts, but when I read the latest one, I was just like, “What does this mean?? Why does this matter? 3 head lengths..??” Balancing lengths is a GREAT thing to take into account, but it’s also more complicated/complex of an issue for fashion (the numbers really makes it look more like a chemistry formula) and it takes to time to think about it and figure it out. I tend to skim the fashion blogs I read, so when I saw all the numbers and everything, I think I ended up just skipping the posts to maybe figure out later. Don’t feel discouraged, though, I think it’s VERY useful information to have. 🙂
Pingback: The Space Between My Peers » High Waists for the Short-waisted