How to make yourself look taller

[reallylittlelass]

I am a very tiny lady, 4'10 to be precise. What I want to know is what kind of styles and clothing would make me look taller? I am so embarrased of looking so short, oh I wish i looked taller. It makes me sad how some shallow people really take the piss out of snooki and call her a dwarf and midget.
www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2255520/JWoww-towers-Snooki-girls-dress-impress-glittering-gowns-leading-stars-welcoming-2013-Twitter.html
I am a size 10, am looking for an outfit for my friends wedding, ideally I would like to wear a dress. I know it sounds odd, but am fed up of wearing heels.

[ElectricMonkBelievesInSanta]

There's nothing wrong with being petite! However, some things I've discovered which have tricked everybody into thinking I'm of average height rather than nearly 4" below it are:

1. Get a flattering haircut - long hair (i.e. below collarbone) will make you look shorter. An elegant updo with some mild backcombing at the crown (maybe a french twist or gibson tuck) will look sophisticated, draw the eye up and give a tiny bit of height, making you look taller.
   
2. Match your tights colour to your shoes - black tights with black shoes, or nude tights with nude shoes - to make your legs look longer.
   
3. A dress with a short jacket or cardigan (finishing on or ideally just above the waist) will make you look tallest, as it again draws the eye upwards and has the additional benefit of fewer horizontal lines than a top and skirt so "chops up" your figure less.
   
4. Pick a dress colour that blends well with your tights - it doesn't have to match, but dark with dark or light with light. That way your figure isn't being chopped up into distinct sections (which would make you look shorter and draw the eye down).
   
5. Choose a cardigan/shrug/jacket in a light or bright colour, or which has lots of embellishment - it will draw the eye upwards, again creating the illusion of greater height. A statement necklace/scarf with a light or bright but plain top works well too.
   
6. Always choose clothes which are well tailored and close fitting, as they will make you look taller and slimmer. Get them modified to fit you well if necessary - clothes which were obviously designed for somebody a few inches taller will make you seem even shorter than you are, as the lines will all hit in the wrong places.
   
7. The most important thing is posture - you should look and feel relaxed but still stand up straight, with your shoulders back and slightly together.
   
   Hope that helps!

[ElectricMonkBelievesInSanta]

Oh, and the best place for your dress/skirt to finish is right below the knee (which works especially well with low heels, of 1.5" or more).

[reallylittlelass]

Electric thank you so much for that, it has been very helpful, and makes alot of sense, things that i wouldn't think about. The only downside is that my hair is below my shoulders, it's not really long but it's abit more than mid length. I really don't think short hair suits me.

[reallylittlelass]

Christina ricci is 4'11 i think, but somehow she looks taller.

[MyChildDoesntNeedSleep]

Ha! I have the opposite problem at almost 5'10"!

I sometimes do my hair in a bit of a quiff at the front which made one man this week complain I'm trying to making myself look taller. (Sorry,mate ).

Also, nude heels are supposed to elongate the legs, and seem to have been in forever (although I don't like them).

I've always kept my hair long as I feel this balances my height, so the opposite for you? (Expose neck/ears, perhaps?)

One colour from head to toe I definitely avoid...I feel this makes me look even taller.

My child told me I look taller when I wear all black.

I think wearing heels that are too high will accentuate your lack of height, but obviously heels are a good idea.

[MyChildDoesntNeedSleep]

Christina Ricci wears a lot of all-black outfits, doesn't she?

[reallylittlelass]

mychild yes I think she does, but i think maybe because she is really slim, which may make her look taller.

[MyChildDoesntNeedSleep]

You don't have to answer, but what size approx are you?

[reallylittlelass]

Size 10

[reallylittlelass]

Size 10 top and bottom

[notMarlene]

But what's wrong with being wee?


blue
love this, would be great with (leg lengthening) seamed stockings, this in black and simple black heels anlong the lines of these

[reallylittlelass]

marlene the second dress is lovely, as is the hat. I am usually confident about my height, it's just when someone says "ahhh you're so little and cute".

[reallylittlelass]

And it wont be long before my daughters friends are towering over me, she is 9.

[ElectricMonkBelievesInSanta]

You're welcome, reallylittlelass - and I wouldn't worry about mid-length hair making you look shorter, very long hair would but long-ish is nice. If you are looking for a flattering style, have you considered having it graduated at the front a bit like <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1138&bih=553&tbm=isch&tbnid=mjjzb20JKLYt6M:&imgrefurl=www.haironthebrain.com/2009/10/hair-inspiration-blunt-bangs-long-hair/&docid=YkEUrOC9d1zgDM&imgurl=www.haironthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/anne_hathaway_hair_styles_bangs1.jpg&w=267&h=400&ei=s1rjUMjPLs600QWYnYDgDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=100&vpy=124&dur=380&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=103&ty=144&sig=110823896521347232036&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=95&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:118" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">this? That's exactly how I have mine, and I definitely noticed that it made me look a bit taller when I first changed it - I think it's because it leaves more of my collarbone and torso uncovered even when the front bits are hanging forward.

[reallylittlelass]

electric this is my style and length
www.celebrity-hairstyles.org/jessicaalba/jessicaalbahairstyle.shtml

[ElectricMonkBelievesInSanta]

Oh that hairstyle is lovely, and it's a great length for a petite person!

[reallylittlelass]

Thanks electric

[notMarlene]

Yeah, that must be really annoying!

Avoid all things vaguely cute, sweet or mousey, go glam and let your personality do the talking, I'd say. Red lipstick is is permanent feature here and I've found I feel taller since I've started dressing more distinctively. I recently had my hair cut into a razor sharp graduated bob with a short, blunt fringe and it definitely makes me look taller than it did when it was long (bra strap length). This sort of <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.nl/imgres?start=129&um=1&hl=nl&client=firefox-a&sa=N&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1173&bih=542&tbm=isch&tbnid=gm7erv-I4spAgM:&imgrefurl=www.how-to-cut-hair.co.uk/blog/&docid=G2DQG1y-TYjbTM&imgurl=www.how-to-cut-hair.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Steep-angled-bob.jpg&w=427&h=640&ei=ql7jUJbjKsel0QW5s4EY&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=791&vpy=104&dur=300&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=123&ty=137&sig=117994937117526150460&page=6&tbnh=149&tbnw=100&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:60,s:100,i:184" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">thing. Any potential harshness is negated by the innate 'sweetness' of my being small. My hair is dead straight though.

[notMarlene]

x posts, that hair looks fab!

It's just long hair that discuses the neck length that's a problem, I think. My neck is dead short (and stocky) and my new hair does wonders for it.

[pickledsiblings]

great hairstyle really

Online shopping (esp John Lewis or other shops with free delivery/returns) makes it much easier to find clothes that fit/suit. One thing I have to be careful of is just buying things because they fit. I am about your height but not quite as slim and things that make me feel confident in how I look are:

1. good quality footwear - it's worth investing in this, wedges work on me, stilettos not so much, and not too high, that extra inch won't make much different to how tall (or not) you look and may make you look uncomfortable and teeter-y
   
   
2. well-fitting jeans of the ankle grazing variety (although I tend not to fuss about a bit of bunching at the ankles)
   
   
3. a flattering coat that's on trend - be prepared to try on lots
   
   My DD is 11 and she is already towering over me . I've stopped dressing specifically to look taller as even with a few added inches I'd still be small. Instead I wear what suits me, in colours that work and fabrics that flatter and I like what I see when I look in the mirror (prefer sitting down photos when I'm with my tall friends though).
   
   Good luck with it all really.

[justasecond]

There is a well dressed petite mum I see at school. She looks best in non fussy simple outfits and she has a short bob with sharp fringe. Not too much pattern. She wears mainly skinny jeans with dark coloured ankle boots with a block cuban heel. Jackets finish at the hip. She does have a knee length coat with quite a bold pattern which drowns her a bit though. Blimey I feel like a stalker now

[reallylittlelass]

justasecond
Thank you ladies, I feel much better now. I do usually feel confident until someone starts saying how small i am, usually my daughters friends.

[soaccidentprone]

this would draw you eyes vertically and help to appear taller and more svelt

this?

this?

this?

the proportions of the coat look good

you need to think about proportions, small patterns would be better than large patterns, try to draw the eye vertically not horizontally is tights and shoes or trousers and boots the same colour, don't wear one colour top, the a different colour on the bottom, then different colour again footwear!

hope this helps

[soaccidentprone]

sorry' managed to post the same item twice, and now can't find the dress I had posted!

however http://m.johnlewis.com/mt/www.johnlewis.com/355303/Product.aspx this would be good for a wedding? with tights and shoes or boots the same colour as the dresses background

[soaccidentprone]

this!