Can you make legs longer? Optically yes. You can visually alter your body proportions. All it takes is a few styling tricks and tips to make legs look longer. To do this, you’ll want to look for specific features in your clothing. You’ll also want to style your outfits in particular ways.

20 Styling Tricks for Women to Make Legs Look Longer

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Wear a Belt the Same Color as Your Bottom
If you wear a belt the same color as your bottom, you extend the leg all the way to the top of the belt. Add a wide belt for extra length for your legs. If you were to wear a belt in a different color than your pant, you would visually chop your legs off at the bottom of the belt. That would make your legs look shorter.
Wear High Waisted Pants
High waisted pants are perfect for making your legs look longer. They will also make your torso look shorter. This is a great way to visually alter your proportions for a long waisted woman. But, anyone who wants to make legs look longer will truly love high waisted pants.
Match Your Shoe Color To Your Pants
Matching your shoe color to your pants elongates the leg past your pant hem all the way to your shoes. The colors don’t have to be a perfect match. Similar tones and shades will work almost as well as a perfect match.
No Gap Between Shoe and Pant
If your pants leg goes over your shoe with no skin showing between your hem and the shoe that gives an unbroken line all the way to your toes. Boots, booties or other high vamp shoes work well for this styling trick. Also tucking skinnies into tall boots means no skin showing and therefore no break in the vertical line. This achieves the same result as wearing pants over shoes or boots to make legs look longer.
Match Your Shoe Color To Your Skintone With Short Dresses
Matching your shoe color to your skin elongates your exposed legs when wearing short skirts, short dresses and shorts. It pays to spend time finding a nude shoe as close to your skin tone as possible. It makes a big difference if the shoe matches your skin rather than being lighter or darker.
Roll Jean Cuffs: Fold Under, Then Over
If you’re going to roll or fold up your jeans, do it in such a way that the fold shows the same color as your pant. This will cause less of a break in your vertical line. To do this, first fold your jeans under then fold up so the front side of your jeans are showing on top of the fold rather than the underside (which is typically a lighter color.)
Wear A Belt over Your Top Above Your Natural Waistline
You can cheat where your waist is when you wear a belt over a top or jacket. Wear it a little above your actual waist and you can make legs look longer.
Pointed Toe Shoes
Pointed toe shoes will make legs look longer than round or square toe shoes.
Wear Long Pants As Long As You Can
Every inch longer you wear your pants, the longer your legs look. Boot cut, flare and wide legged jeans and pants allow you to wear your bottoms longer than skinny jeans and pants. Cropped styles can be trendy and fun, but they tend to make your legs look shorter.
Empire Waist Top or Dress
By wearing an empire waist tunic top or dress, you create a division between your top and bottom higher up on the body than your natural waist. This illusion will make legs look longer.
High Heels, Wedges and/or Platform Shoes
This one is fairly obvious. But, keep in mind you don’t have to sacrifice comfort. If you’re not comfortable in heels, try a platform wedge with a low heel. Starting with a platform and adding a low heel can be equivalent to a high heel. And, if you really want to look as tall as possible, wear a platform with a high heel. But, be careful, these are not easy to walk in.
Diagonal or Curved Hems on Blazers and Tops
Instead of wearing a blazer with a straight hem, opt for one that has a curved hem. This makes legs look longer than a straight hem which cuts the line lower on the legs.
Stripes or Vertical Lines
Vertical lines make objects look longer. To make legs look longer opt for pants or a skirt with a vertical stripe pattern, a vertical seam down the middle of each pant leg or a stripe down each side of your pants. A column of buttons or an exposed vertical zipper in the front also acts as a vertical line.
Wear a High Slit on a Skirt or Dress
A high slit is a form of a vertical line which will make legs look longer. If showing your thighs is not appropriate for the occasion (like work) or if you don’t like showing so much leg, there are slits that have a layer underneath. My dress in the photo below is an example of a high slit with a layer underneath.
Wear a Gradient Color Top
Wear a top in which the lower portion matches your bottoms and then the upper portion can be a different color. This keeps the leg color going up which in turns makes your legs look longer.
Avoid Cuffs on Pants
Cuffs on pants break your vertical line and therefore visually shorten the leg.
Avoid Low Waists
Low waisted pants and skirts make your legs look shorter.
Avoid Drop Waist Dresses
A drop waist makes your legs look shorter and your torso longer.
Don’t Wear A Shoe Color Contrasting With Your Pants Color
A contrasting shoe color will make your legs look shorter. Instead of a long line down to your toes, you’re stopping the line at the hem of your pants.
Stay Away From Horizontal Lines
Horizontal lines make your eyes look back and forth instead of up and down. This tricks our minds into thinking your legs look shorter. Avoid any type of horizontal lines including whiskering on jeans.

You can combine some of these styling tips to make your legs look as long as possible. I often use 2 or more of these styling tips in one outfit. A favorite way to make my legs look longer includes at least 5 of the styling tips all together in one outfit. My outfit would include high waisted boot cut or flare pants with matching color shoes, no gap between the hem and the shoe and a matching belt to the pant. Another favorite way to dress for me includes 4 of the above styling tips. This outfit is high waisted dark skinny jeans with dark knee or over the knee boots and a belt that matches the color or tone of the jeans.

These styling tips are good for any women who wants to make her legs look longer. If you’re long waisted (like me), these tips will make quite a difference in visually altering your body proportions. Long waisted means your legs are short in relation to your torso. These fashion tips will truly help make your legs look longer.

For more style tips on how to look taller and thinner, check out How To Look Taller and Thinner With a Column of Color.