I wrote this a while ago (i’m 5’6″) but it comes up ever so often that I figure I’d have a thread for it.

Style choices I’ve found useful as a short dude

• Right off the bat, wear boots with thick soles. Any type of combat boot 

  

  , Red Wings 

  

  , Wolverine 1000 miles 

  

  , Doc martens 

  

  , etc. A couple inches of sole thickness can make a world of difference. CDB’s are okay, but Timberlands 

  

  are similar in price and give a bit more heel-height.

• This is super important: Make sure you get your upper body/lower body porportions right. If you long torsoed, wear hi rise pants (501’s). If you’re short torsoed, low rise (511’s. 514’s) works better. Again, everything is proportion.
• Related to the last point, Go with cropped outerwear like peacots, Levi’s denim jackets or moto/double rider style leathers. If it looks too short for the model, then it’s just right for you. Blazers in Small/Medium/Large sizes from a place like H&M or Zara aren’t going to look right; instead, go to a store that sells formalwear, get one in a a “short” size and get it slimmed.
• Wear tapered jeans/pants. Always. You want to avoid like you’re standing on two rectangles.
• Don’t tuck your jeans into your sneakers/boots, it’ll cut off your leg and make you look shorter. Cuffing and stacking do this too, so if you want to cuff/stack your denim, do a single, small cuff rather than a chunky triple-cuff or something.
• Make sure your shirts and pants fit slim “Relaxed” or “slouchy” items (espeically knitwear) aren’t flattering to shorter guys.
• Don’t bother wearing button downs untucked unless they’re tailored (or from a brand like Band of Outsiders). Buy a nice belt and tuck them in instead. In general, this looks better if the top block of your jeans aren’t super tight, so consider sizing up a size on the waist.
• Shorter guys should stick with vertical lines or no pattern when it comes to their clothes – it will help you look taller. Checked patterns will disrupt the flow of an onlookers gaze to the left and right, which will make you seem wider, not a desired effect for short guys. (Via Madforpancakes)

Other considerations:

• Gain a bit of muscle, but not too much. The idea is that you don’t want to look insubstantial but you don’t want to look like a short meathead either. The nice thing about being short is that a little bit of muscle goes a long way on your smaller frame, so you’ll reach your goals a LOT faster than someone who’s 6′.
• Have good posture.
• Most importantly: don’t worry about being short. Like weight, the numbers are often misleading, and how you present yourself goes a long way. Focus on the things you can change vs. worrying about things you can’t.

source: http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/qp4jb/mini_guide_tips_for_short_guys/

author: http://www.reddit.com/user/GraphicNovelty