Dcrmom asks:
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?
I’ve been thinking over this and, while I’m not sure I have a definitive answer, I want to post a few thoughts and get reader’s input:
- I suspect that when the style was everything high-waisted you didn’t look as bad as you do to yourself now when you look back at the pictures. Does that make sense?
- Here’s a picture of a high waisted trouser look that works. The top blends with the model’s head and the pants contrast (note also she’s wearing flat shoes).
- And here’s what I said before: 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.
Lately I’ve also been thinking about those elegant little jackets, especially the ones with the vertical or diagonal trim or seaming. It seems to me, based on observing someone with a similar figure to yours, that those can be exceedingly flattering, and could potentially be combined with a high waisted skirt look to make a very elegant ensemble.
Neither of these jackets is exactly what I was thinking of, but they’re both cute and might work with a high waisted skirt. I also think some of the seaming and so-forth breaks up the expanse of the chest, creating a more proportionate appearance.
Readers, do you think high waisted styles are only for the long waisted?
ooh, err that’s a hard one. I love the high waisted look despite my big boobs, but I do have a fairly long waist. I suspect that a highish waist pencil skirt would work on most people, and high waist pants with wide legs would work as well. High waist with skinny legs however is a very hard look to wear unless you are stick thin.
That is a really good point – to try a wider legged pant. Balance the b**bs, so to speak. 😉
As with any trend, I don’t think high waisted garments are for everyone. The joy of fashion right now is that there are many options. You might modify the trend (I wear my highwaisted denim skirt with a t-shirt or cami worn over the waistband), or look for a garment that gives a nod to the trend, but doesn’t fully embrace it (so not low rise, not super high waisted).
I think it’s like the color advice to wear “your” white – that looks white on you but may not be chalk white. DCRmom would just wear “her” high-waisted look that sits at or just below her natural waist, has no waistband, and would look like a higher waisted skirt or pants on her.
And, as Oxanna mentioned before, there are lots of nice skirts that can be worn an inch or so below the natural waist.
I have exactly that same type of body and I own one pair of high-waisted pants, pure stubborness. They are black denim and I NEVER tuck my shirt under. I think it’s not the best option for us, the same way other trends might not be good for other bodies. Of course, for a model, it’s all good. But we are not models, we are not 1,70 tall and 45 kg (at least I am not!), hence we have shapes, whichever it is. I passed on this trend after those denim pants and I am planning on being happy with that. It’s so much more elegant to know your body and be fashionable respecting your shapes and taking advantage of them!
Hi Andrea! Welcome to the blog!
You’re right, it’s very liberating to just choose to pass on those trends which don’t flatter us. Perhaps dcrmom will want to check out your blog for some good ideas for her body type. 🙂
I also do not like a wide legged pant on me. I have wider hips and thin legs, and I feel like wide pants emphasize the widest part on me. My best look, in my opinion, is a slight bootcut. My favorite dress pants even have a slight bootcut and are cut “just below the waist” – – in other words, right at or under my belly button. The Loft “Ann” pant fit with bootcut is ideal. And I can wear their Marisa pants as well (slightly lower rise) but unfortunately they often come in a wide leg. The sales associates who have helped me agree with my assessment on the wide leg trousers.
Therefore high waisted and wide legged seems like a horrendous combination. But I haven’t tried it, so I’m not entirely sure.
Rebecca, I, too, see the higher waist more as the classic than the trend, which is why I am afraid I may eventually have to embrace it. Although at the present time, it’s possible to find a variety of styles in the stores, I fear that the low rise will be a thing of the past in a few years. GACK.
Like dcrmom, I am busty and short waisted. I am also borderline petite (5’4″) and reasonably slim, with a type X (hourglass) figure.
I love vintage, ladylike styles that emphasize my waist, and have shied away from most of the trapeze silhouettes that have been trendy lately. Long story short: I really wanted the new high waisted looks to work for me. Unfortunately, in high waisted styles, I look more or less like I have boobs, legs, and nothing in between. Also, the proportion of a high-waisted skirt that hits at the knee (…and I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t think they look good much shorter) is simply not flattering on my body: it’s an overwhelming amount of fabric.
I hope that the current high-waisted trend is a general step away from trapeze silhouettes and towards more waist-conscious styles… a girl can dream, right? Therefore, I will be interpreting it by wearing tailored tops and sweaters with narrow belts at the waist, dresses that are fitted through the torso, and belted trench coats.
Emily, you are the voice of reason and good taste! While I have been known to be wrong, I predict the trapeze styles are short-lived – who do they look good on, anyway? – and the waist-conscious styles you mentioned, of which the super-high waist is an extreme expression, are going to be around for the long haul.
I agree those skirts look best knee-length. 🙂
I realize I’m too late to comment on this post, but I’m short-waisted and hate low-rise pants. Aside from my thinking that they look ugly and slutty, they are also very uncomfortable for me. I probably have other figure issues that make them such a problem for me. My torso is very long and the tops of my hip-bones stick out. Low-rise and even mid-rise pants are hard for me to keep on, to the point that I have to belt them too tightly or wear ones that are too tight, and it can hurt. My underwear and backside will show if I don’t! I’m young and like to be stylish while being independent of trends, and I don’t want high-waisted jeans to look as ridiculous on me as I read they will (“mom jeans”). I prefer to wear tops (also hard to find) that come down below the waistband of even low-rise jeans, so my friends tell me that even high-rise jeans will look fine on me, since they’ll be hidden. I hope that they will become more common, especially in the slim-fitting bootcut I like to wear. So…anyway, I’ve been desperate for new jeans lately, saw this topic, and was inspired to rant. ^^;;
I am terribly short-waisted. Regular waisted pants hit my bra strap when I sit down. I definitely think high-waisted pants are only for the long wasted, because I hate trying to breathe with my pants around my ribcage.