How to Look Shorter Than My Real Height

There is no way to change your body height. However, if you are tall and want to appear shorter, there are a few ways to do this. You can change the way you dress, choose your shoes, your hairstyle, and how you interact with people to appear shorter. However, the most important thing is that you have to believe in yourself. Confidence can make people forget about appearances.

Table of Contents

Choose clothes that can make your body look shorter

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Split your body with layers of clothing and different colors. Anything you can do to divide your body into segments instead of emphasizing length with a fabric will help you appear shorter. You can wear layers with different colors and textures.

For example, you can wear a pink shirt with a pair of jeans and white shoes. You can even wear a cardigan or a waistband for an extra layer. A belt with a prominent buckle or a pair of shoes with eye-catching details can also make you appear shorter. ^{[1] X Research Source}
Or, you can wear two layers in different colors and lengths. Layers of shorts and different colors will divide your body into segments, making you appear shorter.

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Wear pleated pants. Pants that fold up or down can make you look shorter. ^{[2] X Research Source} Try buying pants with a sewn-up hem, or simply roll the hem up to ankle level or just above the ankle.

To roll up the hem of your pants, fold the hem up so that the inside side turns out. Fold it up once or twice, depending on how short you want the pants to be.

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Wear clothes with horizontal stripes and a variety of colors. Clothing with vertical stripes in different colors can make you appear taller. Instead of wearing clothes with vertical stripes and the same color, choose horizontal stripes and a variety of textures and colors. Horizontal lines highlight the width instead of the height, and this will make you look shorter.

Navy themed outfits often feature horizontal stripes.
A shirt with patterns and bright colors will draw people’s attention to the upper body instead of the legs. ^{[3] X Research Sources}
A skirt or pants in a different color from the top will help cut off the height of the body.
You might also consider wearing a textured textile (zigzag pattern, embossed grain) and a gilet jacket. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Wear a wide belt over the skirt. A wide belt is great when you wear long skirts and want people to forget about your height. The belt will divide your body in two, creating the illusion of an hourglass figure. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

The bigger the belt, the better. You can wear belts over long dresses and tunics.

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Try on capri pants, mini skirts, and flared pants. Any outfit that can segment the image of your legs will make you look shorter. You can achieve this effect by wearing capri pants, knee-length skirts, and flared jeans. These outfits can erase the impression of leg length.

For men, this outfit can be long shorts.

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Wear aodai. Long tops like sweaters, jackets and shirts can reduce your height, as long as it is a different color from the pants or skirt. This will make your legs appear shorter.

You can also wear a waist-length jacket to separate your legs and upper body, especially if you have a long back. ^{[6] X Research Sources}
Men can also wear ao dai over their pants, for example by not putting the shirt under their pants. Remember to wear a different color shirt than the pants.

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Carry a big bag. The small bag will highlight your height; On the contrary, you will look shorter if you carry a large bag. ^{[7] X Research Source} If you carry a bag, you can choose a large bag to store your personal belongings.

Try carrying a large slouchy bag, messenger bag, or another big bag.
If you have a laptop, you can carry a laptop bag with your personal items in the briefcase instead of a bag.

Choose shoes to reduce height

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Choose shoes that cover your feet more. You will look taller if your shoes show a lot of skin on the upper part of the foot and around the ankle. ^{[8] X Research Source} Instead, choose shoes that cover more or cover the midfoot.

For example, you can wear open-heeled shoes, oxfords, boots, open-toe shoes, or sandals.

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Wear flat shoes. ^{[9] X Research Source} Flat shoes are clearly the right choice for tall people. Flat shoes, even sneakers with low soles will not increase your existing height. You can coordinate many outfits with flat shoes, such as pairing with tight jeans. Most casual men’s shoes are flat shoes, so you just need to choose a pair of thin sole shoes.

Most women’s flats don’t have insoles, so if you’re going to wear flats, either use insoles on the inside of your shoes, or don’t walk a lot or stand a lot.
Wearing flats without insoles for long periods of time can lead to injury, reducing your ability to work and enjoy life. ^{[10] X Research Source}

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Choose the right shoe heel. If you want to wear heels, even though they add height, choose shoes with ankle straps. Your aim is to segment the length of the foot, ankle, and leg. You should also choose heels with rounded toes to make your feet look smaller. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Men’s shoes often do not have ankle straps, even those with higher heels. Men who want to be a little taller can simply wear western shoes with a higher heel.

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Wear knee-high boots. For girls, a knee-length skirt with a pair of knee-high boots will create a more pronounced separation between the top and bottom of the legs. This look not only makes you look shorter, but it’s also fashionable and makes you feel confident. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Women can wear shorts instead of skirts. You just need to pay attention to leave some skin between the boots and the clothes.

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Choose style shoes for men. Although not suitable for the work environment, men’s style shoes are also a good suggestion. Style shoes make the feet appear shorter, and since most tall people have large feet, this feature also makes you appear shorter. Stylish shoes will also draw people’s attention to your feet instead of your body. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Look for shoes that are patterned, embossed, and colorful. Leather shoes will usually meet these characteristics.

Styling your hair to make it look shorter

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Choose a layered hairstyle. Since long straight hair creates the same effect as solid-colored fabric and vertical stripes – making you appear taller – you should choose a layered hairstyle. A haircut with many layers of alternate lengths and lengths will help distract people from paying attention to your height. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Curls can also achieve this effect.
If you have naturally curly hair, you can use gel to keep the curls.
Use a curling iron, roller or hot roller to curl your hair naturally. You can even just use a hair dryer and a round brush to create wavy curls.

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Create layers of hair without cutting hair. If you have long, straight hair that you don’t want to cut, try clipping it up in a variety of ways to create layers. You can do this by pulling back only the top section of hair or by clipping different sections of hair up.

You can also try the braiding technique to create a layered hairstyle. ^{[15] X Research Source}

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Avoid puffy hairstyles. Avoid hairstyles that add a few inches to your height such as pompadours and high volume hairstyles. However, you can puff the hair at the bottom of the head and not push the hair above the head. ^{[16] X Research Source} Similarly, you should also avoid messy buns on the top of your head.

If you want thicker hair, you can use a hair product on the sides of your face.

Staying in shape makes you look shorter

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Practice maintaining correct posture. A slouchy figure may seem to help you look shorter, but that’s not good. Maybe you meant to make yourself shorter, because slouching causes your back and shoulders to droop. This makes you shorter by a few centimeters but also makes you look unwell or lack confidence. The sloppy posture looks unprofessional, and can even cause pain and permanent spinal damage. ^{[17] X Research Source}

Instead, practice good posture to appear confident, and this will be better for you. Confidence is key when it comes to both men’s and women’s fashion. ^{[18] X Research Sources}
Roll your shoulders back and relax.
Look in the mirror and make sure that when looking from the side, you can draw a straight line from ear to ankle.

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Sit more. You should take advantage of sitting whenever possible, especially in a social environment where there are few people as tall as you. No one will remember that you are tall, because when sitting, everyone is almost the same height.

If you have a long back, try to find a chair that is lower than others, or look for a bar stool or office chair that can be adjusted in height.

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Stand at the same height as everyone else. Note your position relative to the person you’re talking to. If you are standing on a platform higher than the other person, step down. Even if you are still taller than the other person, if you stand on the same level as them, it is still better than standing at a higher position.

For example, when stopping to talk to someone on the stairs, take a few steps down.

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Stand near tall people. To make people less aware of your height, you should stand next to people who are as tall as you. For example, in gym class or on the playground, find tall people and make friends with them. Finding people of similar height also helps you to feel less guilty and more confident, so you also have to stoop less.

If you can’t find someone of the same height, find the tallest person there.

Appreciate your height

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List the advantages of being tall. Many people envy tall people because of the advantages of their height. ^{[19] X Research Source} Write down all the advantages of being tall that you can think of and revisit that list every time you feel down about your height.

These advantages can be personal, such as being more attractive to the opposite sex.
These advantages can also be in the area of expertise, such as having an edge in sports like basketball or volleyball.
These advantages can include everyday activities such as picking up items placed on high shelves.

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Find other qualities that make you special. Height is not the only thing you have. Think about your interests, values, and personality traits and write them down. ^{[20] X Research Sources} Your list may include things like:

Your taste in music, books, movies, fashion or other personal tastes.
Your interests and hobbies, such as playing sports, baking, painting, or writing.
The points that you appreciate are diligence, creativity, and originality.
Your personality traits such as honesty, loyalty, and kindness.

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Record how you feel when you think about your height. Journaling is a great way to relieve stress and express emotions. ^{[21] X Research Source} To express how you feel about your height, try starting a journal and writing down any time you feel guilty about being too tall.

For example, if someone made fun of you because of your height, you could describe what happened and how you felt at the time.

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Talk to someone you trust. Talking about how you feel can also be a helpful way to appreciate your height. Try talking to a trusted friend or family member.

Talk to someone who is willing to listen to you and empathize with what you have to say.
You can also try talking to someone who is as tall as you and ask if they are going through the same thing as you.
You can also talk to your school counselor or therapist if your height is causing you to lose confidence or avoid certain situations. For example, if you always avoid attending social events because you are afraid of being too tall, it could affect your life.

Warning

There’s no way to really lose weight. Don’t try to do anything with that hope. There is no food or medicine that can help you to lose height.

Steps