If there's one thing I've learned about a pencil skirt, it's that it's a tricky piece of clothing. It's imperative that it's the right length and fit. If not, it will end up making you look fat even though you're not {pencil skirts have a wonderful way of highlighting your stomach} and look too trashy if it's too tight. If the length hits you at the wrong point of your legs, it'll make you look short and wide. And if it's too tight, you can't walk or sit comfortably.
But what I also learned recently is that a patterned pencil skirt is so much better than a plain one.
This is because of many reasons-
1) Like I said, a pencil skirt shows the curve of your belly but a patterned one will hide it because the eye is drawn to the print and not the shape of your body.
2) The print elongates your silhouette and makes it look narrower, so you look tall and slim.
3) It looks so much more interesting than a plain one!
I had given up on pencil skirts for a few years but decided to try them again, and I bought a cheap black one online just to try. I wore it in this post. When I was sure they still flatter my figure and I don't mind wearing them again, I asked Sajida of Saji's Couture to make a pencil skirt for me in printed material.
She made this skirt for me and I love it! The zigzag design makes my legs look longer. Because the pattern is made up of thin lines, it takes away from the bulk of the shape of the skirt, which any small print does for any piece of clothing. Since it's only in black and white, I can wear any coloured top with it. The length hits me just below the knee, which is very flattering and again, very lengthening and slimming.
I wore a fun tee with the skirt for a semi-formal look. This tee was gifted to me by a friend in LA, who knows just how feministic I am, haha. The soft pink of the tee stands out against the black-and-white of the skirt. Because the top is a basic tee with a round neck and short sleeves, it lends that effortless je-ne-sais-quoi-chic to the whole look. I love semi-casual ensembles such as these where a very casual item is paired with a very formal piece. Think t-shirt, pants and blazer, a very elegant and formal top worn with a pair of blue jeans, or even simply, funky boots with a sophisticated ensemble. These outfits give you a relaxed, laidback and fun air, but also look very stylish because putting such an outfit together needs a good fashion sense or it can end up looking mismatched and awkward.
The boots make up the third element of the outfit. Since the skirt is slightly longer and covers my knees, these knee-high boots were perfect. The hem of the skirt covers the top of the boots, elongating the entire silhouette even more and making it look very streamlined. If there were a gap above the boots and my legs could be seen under the hem of the skirt, it would make me look shorter as that would break the bodyline from the skirt down to the legs.
So if you're wearing tall boots with a skirt, remember that it's more of a flattering look when you let the top of the boots go under the skirt's hem. Ankle boots would, of course, look very chic with such a skirt or even a shorter one for that matter, as then the length of your legs from the knee down adds to the overall length of the look.
I chose these particular boots as they have a simple and classy- tan leather with a stiletto pencil heel, which makes them very sophisticated. They're a no-brainer for me when it comes to wearing boots with work clothes. The thin heel makes them (and me) look longer, while the folds at the ankle make them look relaxed and expensive, as only good quality leather will be supple enough to fold like that.
Keeping with the lengthening theme of the outfit, I wore long tassel earrings. The dark green adds more colour to the outfit and contrasts with the soft pink of the tee. I finished with a structured rectangular bag in a pastel blue to match the pastel of the tee and to pop against the skirt. And of course, oversized sunnies will always help you add more of the effortless, mysterious flair.
T-shirt: Gifted, Skirt: Saji's Couture, Sunglasses: American Eagle, Boots: Aldo, Earrings, Bag: from India.
To sum up how to look tall and thin, here are my pointers again:
- Wearing a small, busy pattern on the lower half of your body draws the eye down and makes you look slimmer. Small prints are also great to camouflage any part of the body that you don't want to show off.
- A zigzag or diagonal pattern makes you look thinner by taking away from the width of your frame.
- Skirts that are slightly longer than your knees will lengthen your legs and lower half.
- Wearing tall boots with a longer skirt that covers the tops of the boots will give you a streamlined look.
- Vertically long items such as long earrings, pencil skirts, tunic tops, V-necks, vertically rectangular bags and tall pencil heels, will all give the illusion of length and slimness to the body.
- Don't "break" your body- don't have horizontal breaks in the outfit like a small gap of skin showing.
- Choose straight cuts over billowing and bodycon shapes.
I hope these tips help you the next time you want to look tall and slim or just want to feel taller for that extra boost of confidence. Let me know if you'd like me to include style pointers in my outfit posts. Leave me a comment after this post or on my Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
I give lots of helpful style tips in my book, Loving Yourself In Style, as well. I show you how to choose the best sunglasses, clothes and shoes for your face shape and lifestyle. The book retails for BD 3.500 in Bahrain {email nada(at)najlaqamberdesigns(dot)com for a signed copy} and $10 online.
Until next time,
xoxo
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