Dress Your Body Type: Short

How To Dress A Shorter Frame So You Always Look Your Best

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This article marks the third installment in our Dress Your Body Type series. For more, check out our advise for large body types, skinny body types and tall body types.

Looking your best is largely about figuring out which garments, cuts, color combinations, and fabrics play up your best assets. However, when dealing with height, that can be a series of difficult tasks at hand, especially for short men.

In North America, a man is considered to have a short body type when his height is 5'6" or less. With regards to frame, men with short body types may be slim, muscular, athletic, or heavyset. A short body type also means that either your legs or your torso are shorter than average.

Here we review what you should add to (and what you can toss from) your closet if you have a short body type. We’ve also included an easy-to-use guide and the top retailers to shop at, so when the time comes to upgrade your closet, it'll be crystal clear what you need to stock up on in order to enhance your appearance.

Related: Dress Your Body Type – Tall

The Guide: Dress Your Body Type

Fit

At any size or height, the fit of a man’s clothing is the determining factor in the impression his appearance leaves on others. Proper-fitting clothes convey professionalism, good taste, attention to detail, and a certain authority. Ill-fitting garments, alternatively, suggest character traits such as sloppiness and laziness, even if you don’t actually possess those qualities. Take certain factors into account when shopping for your ensemble.

Blazers: When shopping for blazers, favor those that are ventless and cut short, meaning that they end at or just above the curve of your butt, as this style will extend the line of your legs.

When shopping for blazers, favor those that are ventless and cut short, meaning that they end at or just above the curve of your butt, as this style will extend the line of your legs. Coats: The same rules apply here as with blazers.

The same rules apply here as with blazers. Pants: Take every pair you buy, including jeans, to the tailor so that your bottoms are always the correct length. Your pants should also have a plain hem, as cuffs have the effect of breaking a smooth seam, thus, visually cutting inches off your frame.

Take every pair you buy, including jeans, to the tailor so that your bottoms are always the correct length. Your pants should also have a plain hem, as cuffs have the effect of breaking a smooth seam, thus, visually cutting inches off your frame. Tops: Shop for pieces that visually draw the eye up toward your face including dress shirts with straight-point collars and blazers with peak lapels. To help elongate a shorter torso, wear your shirts untucked whenever possible. Shirt cuffs that are too long will have the unfortunate effect of making you look like a boy, so ensure that only about half an inch of your shirt cuff is visible when you’ve layered a button-down underneath a blazer or sweater.

To ensure your clothing belongs in the former category rather than the latter, hunt down the services of a reputable tailor. What you want is for him to enhance the fit, so to avoid any bunching at the bottom of your pants and for your hemline to graze your shoes. At the store, forego extremely tapered or baggy pants, opting instead for pants that sit higher on your waist (without looking geeky) if you have short legs. Choose lower-rise boot-cut or straight-leg pants if you have a short torso relative to the rest of your body.

Avoid anything that focuses attention downward, such as deep V-necks or double-breasted blazers and sweaters. Finally, when in doubt, defer to your tailor and have your dress clothes custom made. That way, your shirts will fit properly around your armpits and you can also ask your tailor to set your breast pocket higher on your blazers and your trouser pockets slightly lower for a superior, elongated look.

Colors and patterns

In terms of choosing colors and patterns for short body types, what will look best on you may be more determined by your weight and frame than your height. For example, short men can wear stripes between one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch, with wider-framed men wearing stripes spaced further apart. Short and stout men should also stay away from heavily textured weaves like herringbone or houndstooth, as they add bulk and draw the eye down, though slimmer men shouldn’t feel shy about wearing these patterns. Dark, solid colors will help heavyset men look slimmer while lighter colors are more appropriate for lean men.

Regardless of what the number on your scale says, however, there are a few points related to color and pattern that short men can keep in mind. First, whether you’re wearing dark or light colors, short men benefit from wearing ensembles in which all the garments come from the same color family as it creates a fluid, elongating line (this is called monochromatic). More specifically, a stark contrast between your top and bottom half is not recommended as it will visually cut you in half. Finally, short men should wear shirts with small prints and patterns, eschewing large windowpane checks or oversize plaid.

Accessories

Short men can also make use of a few tricks in the accessories and grooming departments to help them look their best. To begin with, simple accessories are better because they won’t overwhelm your shape, and this uncluttered look will also keep attention focused on your face. The best ties for short men are those that are narrow or midsize rather than broad. Wide belts are also a no-no for short men, so select narrower waistbands and belts. To lengthen the vertical line of your body, you can experiment with hats, dress shoes with a slight heel and short hairstyles. Finally, find inspiration for how to dress and what to wear by checking out shots of style icons from your grandfather’s generation, as they tended to be shorter and you’ll learn a lot from their classy sense of style (FYI: Sammy Davis, Jr. was 5'3").

The Stores: Shopping For Tall Men Clothing

Peter Manning NYC

Peter Manning

Praised for its “sharp selection of oxfords, pants, and outerwear,” this upscale clothing label doesn’t just specialize in stylish garb – it tailors it to perfection. Peter Manning NYC sells some of the most detailed and true-to-fit clothes for men standing at 5’8” and does away with what it’s coined the “Tailor Tax,” which represents the extra cost of what shorter man usually pay to fix their wardrobe. Each piece feels as premium as it looks, and in the rare case something doesn’t fit, the company provides free exchanges or returns.

Find out more at Petermanningnyc.com

Silas Jackson

Silas Jackson

One of the fresher faces on the scene, this New York-based brand has been likened to Banana Republic and J. Crew, but for the shorter man. Silas Jackson focuses solely of creating garb for guys under 5’8” at super-affordable prices. The company promotes a full wardrobe of clothing that includes blazers, button-down shirts, polos, khakis and more, starting at $24 and up. It’s proprietary sizing system is also specially designed to help you get “two sizes away from what you are used to.”

Find out more at Silasjackson.com

Ash & Erie

Ash & Erie

The former Indiegogo campaign has transformed into a full-fledged apparel brand that focuses on delivering clothes of superior fit and style at an affordable value. It definitely shows in the details, as the brand employs a variety of unique design techniques such as adjusting shoulder seams and scaling down cuffs to achieve premium results. The company has size charts available online for all of its clothing categories, so to look over and determine your best fit before splurging. Working with the right budget, you can come out like a stylish bandit shopping on the site.

Find out more at Ashanderie.com

Jax Everett

Jax Everett

From premium dress shirts to sweaters, Jax Everett offers men 5’9” and under some sleek tops made from quality materials. Button-downs are available in “black, white and light blue with an added contrasting trim,” while short-sleeve tops take on a narrow body silhouette to promote a slimmer fit. The Linen Collection remans a favorite for its use of breathable materials and high-grade pure linen fiber, which provides a plush feel. A Style Tips section is also promoted on the site to educate guys on proportions, style and more.

Find out more at JaxEverett.com

Pros And Cons: Dressing a Short Body

Dressing any body type is always about accentuating what’s great about yourself and downplaying features that you don’t love. In several ways, dressing a short body type can be easier than one that’s very tall, as it’s always easier to have clothing shortened to fit you, but it’s near impossible to have garments lengthened.

Additionally, shorter men are in luck these days as shrunken coats and trimmer fits are not only back in vogue, but appear to be here to stay in some form or another, making it easier to find flattering, fashion-forward clothing. Particularly if you happen to be lean, there are a wide variety of designers that produce clothing suited to your body type. For example, to find really sharp, sophisticated clothes, seek out European labels; for cool, urban threads, look to Japanese designers who turn out style-conscious lines that fit the proportions of their countrymen, who are on average slightly shorter than their Western counterparts.

Having a short body type often means, however, that mass-market clothes, particularly those found in American chains, will be too large for you. This clothing tends to be geared toward a restricted number of body shapes, so finding your size in these stores will prove more difficult. Additionally, the more you deviate from average height, the harder clothes shopping will be.

Checklist: Wardrobe Staples

Two-button coats and blazers

Boot-cut or straight-leg jeans

Slim ties

Straight-point collar button-downs

Narrow belt

Single-breasted, ventless blazers

Sleek suits

Sweaters in thin fabrics

Leather jacket, motocross-style jackets or bomber jackets

Shoes and boots with ½” to 1” heel

It’s a rare man who can throw on virtually any outfit and seem as though he just stepped out of a fashion spread, so if you’re like most men, you know that a bit of effort is involved in achieving a stylish look. Everyone has to take certain aspects of what they were born with into account when dressing each morning and if you have a short body type, now you know exactly what you need to do (or not do) to make the most of yourself.

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