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Let's face it. Not every day is an occasion for wearing stiletto heels or even pumps. If you have short legs and want to wear flat shoes, you can compensate with the cut and style of your clothing. Choose clothing that visually elongates your lower body, and you can rock those flats with style.
Coordinate Colors
Outfits with color-blocking visually chop your body into segments. Instead, wear a single color on the lower half of your body. Creating a seamless line down your legs to your shoes creates a long, vertical line. Match your hose or tights to your shoes to make this look work. Another similar trick is to wear shoes that match your skin color.
Pants That Lengthen
Your jeans and pants have the ability to make you look petite or long-legged. Begin with the cut and the fit. Straight leg jeans, a timeless style choice, work better than capri pants, cigarette pants and other cropped or tapered cuts. Nix cuffs, flares or bedazzled trims, all of which interrupt the smooth vertical line you want to create between your waist and your toes. Long boot-cut jeans and trousers make the grade, especially if you want to create balance with wide hips or a rounder belly. If you have an average or long torso, high-waisted pants give you leg length. Choose ones with dark pinstripes for a menswear inspired look, or go corduroy for weekend casual.
Show Some Leg
Even though you want to camouflage short legs, that doesn't mean you should hide them behind yards of fabric. Cut the bulk and shoot for a body-skimming dress or skirt that stops at the knee or slightly above the knee. Empire-style dresses that drape from your bust line are also good options, as they disguise the point where your legs end and your midsection begins. A sheath dress in a single color looks hip with matching tights and flats. Aim for softer fabrics that flow across your body rather than bulky knits.
Sexy Shoe Shapes
Skip the sneakers except when working out. If you want your legs looking longer, you need sexy shoes cut to show off some toe cleavage. Look for a v-shaped opening around the toes. In addition, pointy-toed flats and boots add some length. Skip horizontal straps, ankle-wrap straps, bold stripes and any other features that interrupt the flow between your legs and the tips of your toes. The sleeker your flats, the better.
