Today's question: "I see young women wearing dresses with black short boots, and it looks so cute. Is that something I can wear after forty? My legs are not very long from the knee to the ankle, and I am only 5' 3" tall."
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| Dress by Karl Lagerfeld via Dillard's. |
Wearing black ankle boots with a dress always makes the person appear shorter and wider. This trend is not very flattering for most women since it adds horizontal lines that visually shorten your body rather than lengthening it. Whereas if you wear shoes with a low-cut vamp that shows more of the leg and the top of the foot, it visually lengthens the leg.
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| Dress by Karl Lagerfeld via Dillard's. |
The vamp is the portion of a shoe that cuts across the top of your foot at the front. A low vamp cuts across the toes' base, while a high vamp can come up the foot even up to the ankle. A heel height of only two inches lifts the body and makes clothes fall better, which gives a slimmer appearance.
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| Calvin Klein pumps. |
If you want to make your legs look longer, seek out pumps or boots with slightly pointed toes and slender heels, as opposed to square-toes, chunky styles, or thick ankle straps, all of which can give the appearance of a shorter, stockier leg.
13 comments:
I'm 5'4" and I successfully wear ankle boots all the time. I love the look and don't care if I look shorter......but I don't think I do.
You said it sooooo much more diplomatically than I could have. I see even young women wearing this new trend and shudder. It completely cuts you in two and needs a 40 pound, 6 foot 18 year old to pull it off.
I am a true petite at 5' and I love my booties but only wear them with full length trousers. And they have very pointed toes and heels. When I first saw them, I fell in love; so much so that I bought a second pair in the same colour. Difficult not to love booties made from soft, Italian leather!
Try wearing them with black tights... they are fun!
Funny. As I read this, I am wearing a gray and black tweed skirt and gray sweater with black tights and black short boots. It works.
The look reminds me of winter shoes in summer.
To me is just looks so wrong.
Thank goodness I'm not the only person.
I can no longer access your Facebook page without joining Facebook myself. Did you change your settings? So glad I can still see your blog.
Lindy, I believe Facebook has changed something about how we can access their site. I have not changed anything.
I'm 53, 5'2 and overweight. I love your style. My issue is that I live on Maui. It is too hot for nice jackets or layers or accessories like scarves. Most of my shoes are "slippahs" or sandles. Any suggestions on how to look classy without overheating?
Oh lucky you Maui woman! I wish I could visit you when the weather gets cold and gloomy here. Color can make all the difference in the way you look. Try wearing all one color and then a pretty necklace in another color in contrast. For example a simple dress in coral and a bold necklace in turquoise. Nude sandals can make your legs look longer and leaner.
I am so glad you commented on this. I don't like seeing the short boots with a dress..To me it makes you look cit off. I just don't understand the appeal.
I agree with you - the pumps look so much better with the dress. Besides, the young ladies wear the boots with sheer attitude - so you don't really even notice the dress sometimes. LOL We see that a lot here in the PNW - but unfortunately most of the dresses are covered up with rain coats until they get inside and then they just end up looking like a hot mess. :)
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