Many men are searching for ways to take their style to another level and look great. While it is important to know how to dress your body type, it is important to have a good approach to it.

Often, you will see in men’s publication’s articles that address dressing for short men that try to teach you how to look taller, which, in our opinion, is a an approach that, while it might be useful at times, is generally bad, because it is based on complexes and not on the desire to look good.

The main thing that needs to be said is that short men should stop see themselves as “short” – of course, there is an average which we use as a reference point, but it’s an artificial one: there is no absolute medium height, so in a way, it doesn’t make sense to see yourself as “short”.

Here are some essential tips for short men who want to dress well for their body type:

 

 

Fit

 

 

 

The absolute number one fashion rule for every man out there is to wear only clothes that fit. Clothing that fits refers to garments that are tight, but that still allow you to move freely and not to feel constraint in any way. Don’t wear clothes that are too tight or too loose, as you will look like you are lacking proportion and balance. Which brings us to our next point…

 

 

Proportion

If you are a shorter man, and, especially if you are also a thin man, you should always go for details and accessories that are proportionate to your body size. In this sense, shorter men with narrow frames should go for skinny ties, small collars, narrow belts, etc. Wearing things that are too big for you will make you look like a boy wearing his dad’s clothes.

 

 

Colors

 

 

 

The colors you wear have the power to shape your look in interesting ways. For example, wearing colors that are highly contrasting will make you look very broken down into pieces, which can result in you looking shorter than you are. While we’re not saying that you should wear only monochrome outfits, we are saying that at many times, mixing colors that lie close to each other on the color wheel (red and orange or blue and green) is a better way to go than wearing a color combination made of highly contrasting colors (green and orange).

However, if you prefer high-contrast combos, you can pull them off if the pieces fit very well.

 

 

Patterns

The rules of patterns short men should follow are quite simple and encapsulate pretty much all the rules we mentioned so far:

The prints you wear should be proportionate to your body (don’t wear prints that are too big and heavy) and you should wear printed clothes only if they fit you well; otherwise, you might look like you fell in a drape and dragged it along.

 

 

Places

The last thing you need to cover is a detail that can make or break an outfit and refer to where you place certain elements. For example, pocket squares should always be visible on the upper half of your pectoral muscle; your belt should always be around your waist, etc. Having elements such as these placed in other places (too low, too high, etc.), will make you look like you’re sagging and are very misshaped.

 

 

Don’t’s

We generally think that people should embrace the way they look and dress it the best they can. Therefore, we don’t enjoy it very much when we see men try too hard. For example, so-called “risers”, meaning shoes with high platforms, are usually not very flattering on men.

 

In the end, these tips are general fashion tips – staying fit, wearing well-made clothes that are proportionate to your body and accessories that are placed just where they should be should, will make you look like a million dollars. Don’t try to think that dressing for “short” men means dressing to appear taller, it means dressing for your body type, whichever this may be. Believe us, it’s not worth thinking like that – life is too… short for that.

 

Fraquoh and Franchomme

 

 

 

 

 

Further reading:

Fashion tips For thin men {+Can you change your body type?}

P.S. We want to hear from you! What are the issues you’ve encountered when dressing up? What did you do to your disadvantage? Do you break the rules to make yourself look better?  Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!