9 Easy Styling Tips for How to Dress When You're Tall

Lizzy Capps
by Lizzy Capps

Here I’m going to be showing you how to dress when you’re tall. I am five foot ten, was the tallest in my friendship group at school, and being the height I am, I understand a lot of the tall girl problems, a lot of which are kind of clothing-related.


When it comes to tall-girl dressing, I'm not just talking about the fit of things; I'm talking more about what you feel comfortable in. There are certain techniques that you can use when you dress that don't accentuate your length and I’ll share them with you here.


Should tall girls wear high-waisted?

1. Go high-waisted

The first pointer I have for my tall friends reading is high-waisted is your friend. If you are tall and lanky, you may have a straight figure without many curves. If this is you, you want to do everything you can to accentuate the ins and outs of your figure. Belts, and particularly accent belts are a really easy way to do that. They draw attention to the waist which helps break up your silhouette and gives your a very definite upper half and lower half where it's not just all merging into one which will accentuate your length.

Thigh-high boots

2. Opt for high boots

My next tip is to reach for thigh-high or knee-high boots instead of booties. If you've got a lot of leg going on down there like me, you don't just want to kind of stick something on the end of it, you want to utilize all that space that you've got. A person on the shorter side may want to stick to an ankle boot because that's proportional, but if you're a little bit taller you want a taller boot.

What clothes to wear if you are tall?

3. Don’t be afraid to wear pattern

Next, don't be afraid of patterns; they help to fill up the canvas. If you're wearing a plain top and plain trousers, you are just accentuating all that empty space you've got going on, whereas a pattern will make your outfit look a little more concentrated and compact.

Square toe flats

4. Go for a square toe

Next is to do with your shoes again. If you have a lot of height, you probably have a slightly bigger foot, and I know quite often that if you are tall you don't want to reach for a heel and add even more height. So flats are an obvious option, but I find that round-toe pumps can sometimes look slightly cheap. A pointed-toe flat is also problematic as it can just elongate your foot even more. So the perfect medium is a square toe flat. This style of shoe cuts off straight after your toes, which means it's not adding any extra length to your foot yet it still has that unique shape which makes it look maybe a little bit more expensive and stylish.

Oversized cardigan and sweater

5. Oversized jumpers are your friends

Oversized jumpers, sweaters, and cardigans will help you avoid the problem of sleeves that are too short. I not only have really really long legs, but I also have really long arms as well, so finding sleeves that don't cut off above my wrist can be difficult. But, if you opt for a couple of sizes up you will get the right sleeve length and you can just rock it oversized. Better to go for something on the larger side that actually fits rather than looking like you’re trying to squeeze into something too small for you.

What not to wear if you are tall?

6. Avoid cropped trousers 

Similar to the previous point, cropped trousers just look like you're trying to squeeze into something that you are too long for; you're practically just showing off all that extra limb that you have. If you do have a pair of crop trousers that you like though, you can just pop on a tall boot to go with because that will hide all the extra ankle space, and it will look planned essentially.

How to dress when you're tall

7. Choose shoes that tie up the ankle

My next point is if you are going out and you're wearing a pretty dress or a jumpsuit, something that would normally be worn with heels, I find that the best alternative is something that ties up the ankle. The purpose of a heel is to elongate your legs and make you look a bit more elegant. Popping on any normal pair of flats can often take away that elegance, whereas having something that ties up the ankle is still giving you that lengthy elegance without actually adding any height.

Styling tips for tall girls

8. Layer to break up your figure

When you’re tall, you want to break up your silhouette. By having layers, particularly jackets, you are adding multiple kinds of stop points to your outfit which will break up the line of vision and draw attention away from your height.

Kitten heels with high waisted pants

9. Find your perfect kitten heel

Kitten heels look really cute and have been a bit of a trend these past few years. They're obviously much more comfortable than wearing six-inch stilettos on a night out, but I think it can be trickier to find ones that look good on a tall person. Again, because of the proportions, if you have a super tall body and put on a tiny heel, it can look a bit odd. But this is where I encourage you to shop around until you find the shape, height, and style that suits you and what you feel comfortable in. 


9 Easy styling tips for tall girls

And that, my fabulous tall friends, is all the tips I have for you. Hopefully, using some of these tips will help you to feel more comfortable with your height. Although I used to be self-conscious of my height when I was younger, I’ve now learned to embrace it and wear things that will suit my shape. 

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  • Terri perry Terri perry on Jul 06, 2022

    Love the tips particularly wearing oversized tops and square toed shoes. Those two really resonated with me!

  • Roberta D Treichel Roberta D Treichel on Jul 07, 2022

    You are tall and you are beautiful. Are you bending over backward to try and appear shorter? It is not necessary. Your tips for tall girls are dead on correct and you rock the styles!


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