Fashion is something which is non-lasting; it's ephemeral
- Lapo Elkann
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In part three of my series on clothing proportions I wanted to take a look at the lower half of our bodies and the most common (visual) mistakes that we make when dressing.
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If you have short legs, having a low-rise on your trousers will give you the appearance of being very top heavy, especially when paired with a tucked in shirt. On the other hand, if someone with longer legs wears a pair of pants with a higher-rise they will look as though their torso has been dramatically shortened.
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- Lapo Elkann
Lapo Elkann
Ryan Gosling with low rise pants making his legs look very short.
Have you guessed what this common mistake is yet? Well to be straight up, I'm talking about the waist line or 'rise' (U-rise to most in the tailoring know how). The rise on a pair of pants can make your legs look short, long, or just plain out of proportion - the 'rise' is the distance from the crotch to the waist line.
In the movie "Gangster Squad", with a medium rise. Visually lengthening his legs.
If you have short legs, having a low-rise on your trousers will give you the appearance of being very top heavy, especially when paired with a tucked in shirt. On the other hand, if someone with longer legs wears a pair of pants with a higher-rise they will look as though their torso has been dramatically shortened.
I couldn't help myself with this one!.
Proportions are the main focal point of a suit and once you have these correct you can start to add more complex design features - there's a lot more to tailored suit than just taking simple measurements and putting it straight on.
Nicola Ricci, more on the shorter side but with a perfect rise even though his pants are cropped.
Roberto Mararo, on the taller side with a medium/regular rise in perfect proportion.