Definition of "short legs"

[carla]

keira just looks like a normal girl in that pic - heaps of women are 'out of proportion'. Who is to say what is the correct proportion anyway?

I'm 5'4 -5'5 and have a 29 inch inseam (with no shoes on)

 

[tifa]

i'm 5ft 2 and i've been told i have long legs for my height. most of my skinny jeans are a 30 leg length but i have to get a 32 if i'm wearing trainers as 30 would not go over my shoe.

 

[softgrey]

pictures without credits will be deleted...sorry!

 

[lola belle]

I'm 5"7 and a bit and have a 33" inseam. Which is an incredible pain in the *** when regular jeans are too short, and (some) tall jeans drag a little still.

 

[cyberfruit]

I'm 5"7 and a bit and have a 33" inseam. Which is an incredible pain in the *** when regular jeans are too short, and (some) tall jeans drag a little still.

I have a 33" inseam, too and yes, it does suck .

 

[Bluestar07]

^ Yep, it's all about proportions. There is such a thing as "too long" legs as well. If you look like a meatball on stilts, well...

Or an ostrich.

Yonks ago I read of some way of measuring your upper half of the body against the lower half and if the lower half measurement exceed the former, then obviously you have long legs. But I forget how to take the measurements. I think it is from top of head to widest part of hip (upper half) and widest part of hip to floor (lower half). I could be wrong.

Also another reason (not definition) that the legs could look short especially in a swimsuit is if .... uh, this is kind of embarassing .... it's if you have a longer um... crotch area ... Dunno if you guys know what I mean. It gives the illusion of shorter legs immediately. Also thick knees / ankles make the legs look shorter.

 

[rearviewmirror]

measure the distance between your bottom rib, and your hipbone.

though, I'm not sure what length determines if you have long legs, or a long torso; but maybe if everyone shares their answers you can get a better understanding.

 

[lordevan]

i think girls have relatively longer legs than guys or something. I see all these girls, well under 6ft, wearing or "claiming" they're wearing 34"ish jeans. For guys, most store don't even stock anything more than 34.

 

[cyberfruit]

^ Men have longer torsos than girls.

 

[Trista]

I'm 5'6" and even though I am pear-shaped and thus have extremely short legs, I fake them being long and people say that they look long. Just think long.

 

[rearviewmirror]

men also have a longer rise on their pants, for obvious reasons.

 

[Stylephox]

if the length from your knee to ankle is longer than from your knee to hip then you have the illusion of long legs whether the total length is or not. Just something I remotely remember my ballet teacher saying...I have quite long thighs in porportion to my lower legs and it really irks me

 

[larichg]

I'm 5'9 and usually buy "34 inseam in jeans

 

[Andrea.RL]

almost 5"8, and 33"/33"and a half legs. But I feel like they are short and, talking about proportions, compared to the rest of my body they are what I have biggest. (and I always was wondering about the proportions about thigh measurements... Does anyone know?)

 

[theprettycat]

I'm 5'6" and even though I am pear-shaped and thus have extremely short legs, I fake them being long and people say that they look long. Just think long.

*thinks long*

My inseam is about 31" and I'm about 5'8.5... Wish they were 2 inches longer, I look so stubby

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Heels are the answer ...

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

I'm not sure how long I'd consider my legs. My legs easily look long in comparison to people from my mother's side of the family, but I would assume with a long torso and long legs I would be taller than 5'5". I guess mine might be more like medium legs since they're not short either.

 

[Andrea.RL]

well it's also compared to how "thick" you are. because people that are bigger look smaller, so they can look long. being 5"5 isn't a problem.

 

[GasolineRainbow]

I'm 5"5 (1.65), short-waisted and long legged. I'm average in height, so I don't think anyone would take note of my "long legs", but having short or long legs has to do with your individual proportions, not how you measure up against taller or shorter people. It's taken me a while to figure out what silhouettes look good on me. At first I thought it was my height that was the problem, but I'm not that short. Clothes I try to avoid:

- Defined waists on clothes hit far too low on me.
- Waist-length coats, vests, and jackets hit below my bottom instead of above as they're designed to.
- High-waisted pants and skirts are a little too high-waisted, though some can work.
- Belts look awkward, because my natural waistline is high up and not that defined (long legs usually indicate a straightish waistline). Only elastic belts that create the illusion of a waist *sometimes* work.
- Jumpsuits and any all-in-one type of cut has too much excess fabric at the torso for me.

Perhaps others can share tips for their torso/legs proportions?

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I'm also 5'5" & the reverse--long waisted, short legs. I wear long skirts and long wide-leg pants with usually 100 mm heels. This can completely even out my proportions visually. I can wear cropped/waist-length jackets & they're fine. I don't wear tunic kind of things so much. I guess come to think of it, I wear waist-length (or a bit below) cardigans & jackets quite often. Sometimes I wear a 3/4 coat with a longer skirt.