The pear shaped women are known for having wider hips and thighs, and if you are a short-legged pear, it can look more obvious because your frame is shorter. That is why it is critical for you to choose the right clothes that can accentuate your assets and distract from your weaknesses. In this detailed guide, we will take a deep dive to understand your body shape and walk you through the most flattering clothing styles for your shape.
Characteristics
There are usually specific characteristics that will help you know that you’re a pear-shaped woman with short legs. Here are the features to look out for:
- Weight gain is typically around your bum and hips before it flows towards your upper body and tummy.
- A nicely defined waistline accompanied by fuller thighs
- The pear shape is more prominent due to hips that are wider than your bust and shoulders. Therefore, your hips are the widest part of your body
- Round and narrow shoulders
- An elegant neck that looks great alongside your slim shoulders and arms
- Your torso can be long
X-line dress
The name of the dress pretty much gives it away. This is a dress that takes on the X shape and this is a silhouette that’s incredibly flattering for women that have a pear shape with short legs.
X-line dresses are perfect for creating the illusion of an hourglass body frame as they easily accentuate the waistline and draw more attention to your upper body. This is just what you need to keep the focus away from your short legs while the dress skims over your hips and thighs easily.
Therefore, the result of this would be a better visual balance where the fitted bodice of the dress emphasizes a defined waistline while also drawing attention away from your wider hips. Also, you’ll love how comfortable this dress is on your body frame as it swoops from the waist into a gentle flare that minimizes the focus on your hips.
Wide leg pants
Dressing your pear shape when you have short legs means you have to look out for styles that counterbalance this short length of your legs. This means choosing styles that are great at creating a visually elongated silhouette.
One of the top choices on this list that creates this effect is wide-leg pants. They have a gentle wide cut towards the hemline which adds more volume to your legs, thereby creating a vertical line from your waist downwards to make your legs look longer than they actually are.
A huge advantage of wide-leg pants is that they have a relaxed fit that won’t hamper your movement. So, you can comfortably wear them all day knowing that you have a smoother and more streamlined appearance.
A-line skirt
This is another alphabet-shaped clothing that is an amazing silhouette for pear-shaped women with short legs. The A-line skirt of course takes the shape of the letter A and qualifies as one of the most universally flattering clothing styles for pear-shaped women.
It’s great for balancing out your body proportions such that your narrow shoulders, wider hips, and smaller bust take a more proportionate outlook from top to bottom. This has a lot to do with the gradual flare of the skirt which creates vertical lines that are perfect for visually elongating your legs so that you look taller and slimmer.
So, if you’re looking to pull off an almost hourglass-like silhouette, this is a great place to start. Shop across the wide category of A-line skirt styles available in today’s fashion market and you’ll be surprised at what you find.
Dress with chest ruffles
Ruffles are great for adding more details to certain aspects of your body. As a pear-shaped woman with short legs, you can use this stylishly and to your advantage. Since the goal is to draw more attention upwards, wear dresses that have ruffles placed strategically across your bust area.
Well, the first thing you would be thinking is that “Won’t this make my small bust look nonexistent?” However, this is so far from the truth. Wearing dresses with ruffles placed strategically across your bust will create the illusion of fuller breasts while making your wider hips appear slimmer.
Adding this much-needed texture to your outfit around the bust line will instantly transform your look more than you can imagine. Remember to avoid dresses with ruffles around the lower half of your body as this will make your hips appear wider. Limit this to your upper body and you’ll love the look.
Deep v-neck top
Yes, I mentioned the v-neckline earlier which is just a slight dip downwards. However, the deep v-neck top is much more different from this. If you’re in the mood to look absolutely sexy and dial it up so much, deep v-necks are the way to go. This is an incredibly flattering style for your pear body shape, especially if you have short legs.
Remember that it’s all about drawing attention to the right part of your body and you’re completely in control of this when you wear the right outfit. In this case, that would be a top with a plunging v-neck that amps up your narrow shoulders with a focus on your collarbone.
This is an effective yet easy way to tone down the attention on your wider hips. With more focus upwards, you will definitely have a balanced silhouette.
Waist cinching with belts
Any style that creates a waist cinching effect on your body should be looked into. Waist cinching is a great way to create a clear distinction between both halves of your body. Rather than looking weird with a straight silhouette, this will help to evenly balance your body frame and emphasize our waistline.
Doing this is the perfect way to draw attention to the narrowest part of your body. Therefore, when you cinch your waist with belts, you can easily divert attention from your hips and thighs, creating a more desirable overall figure.
I picked belts as the most likely choice for your waist cinching because it’s not complicated to do. Look out for belts that are not too wide as you also want to transform the length of your body frame.
Nude heels
Nude heels are shoes that take on a color quite similar to that of your skin. This means that, on first glance, someone looking may not be able to tell that you’re wearing shoes and this is the effect you can use to your advantage.
Nude heels are perfect for visual continuity on your legs. Since your legs easily blend with the color of the heels, they form an unbroken vertical line that gives the visual impression of your legs being longer. This makes you look taller with properly structured legs.
Maintaining a seamless transition from your legs to your toes is great for maintaining overall balance on pear shaped women with short legs. You can use this to your advantage to draw attention away from your short legs and make them look longer instead.
These heels don’t have to be too high. So, feel free to choose heights that you are fully comfortable with as it’s not necessary to go over the top with lots of inches.
Avoid crop tops
Crop tops are feminine and sexy, but they are not for you if you’re a pear-shaped woman with short legs. The natural style of crop tops means that it stops abruptly around your midsection. Therefore, this visually cuts off your body frame such that your legs appear shorter.
To complement your short legs, you need clothes that can lengthen its appearance visually without drawing attention to your wide hips. Crop tops won’t do this, so it’s best to avoid them. Instead, they will emphasize your hips, make your body frame look more disproportionate and draw the eyes away from your well-defined waistline.
Avoid clothing styles that don’t draw attention to your best features as they can easily downplay your body’s assets. Opt for tops that are longer, at least hip-length to ensure continuity in your body frame which reflects in a visually longer appearance.
Avoid tiered dresses
On many women, tiered dresses look feminine and pretty. These are usually dresses with several overlapping layers of different lengths, creating various hemlines around the skirt of the dress. While this is an amazing formal wear that can make a woman stand out in style, this is not the case if you are a pear-shaped woman with short legs.
The multiple layers of fabric are more to your disadvantage as the way they flow from your waist leads to more imbalance in your overall frame. Tiered dresses add more volume to specific parts of the body, especially the hips and thighs.
For pear-shaped women who already have wider hips, this further distorts your silhouette while making your legs appear shorter. This bulk will make you look bottom-heavy while further reducing the visual appearance of your upper body.
High waist straight leg pants
Visually shortening your torso can be to your advantage if you do this right. With your torso shortened, you can make your legs appear longer, which is the perfect result for any pear shape woman with short legs. One of the most effective ways to get this done is to wear high waist straight leg pants.
The high waist style usually sits above the hips, which conceals where your legs actually start from. Therefore, with the waistband sitting around your midsection and the straight style of the pants moving unbroken all the way to your ankles, your legs look like they go on forever.
If you’ve ever wondered how short ladies make their legs look longer than they actually are, this is one of their secrets. The good thing about this is that this style is also flattering for your pear shape. It creates a slimmer silhouette on your lower body, which minimizes the width of your hips and makes it appear more proportionate with your upper body.
Avoid chunky necklaces
Chunky necklaces are not the best accessories for the pear, especially if your legs are short. The reason is anything bulky can easily overwhelm a short frame.
Instead, opt for necklaces that are dainty, as they will be more in harmony with your figure.
This is not to say you should not wear a statement piece on your neck. A statement necklace can indeed be flattering for someone with short legs, because it draws attention to your face and distracts from your legs.
But the key is to keep in mind the size of your necklace needs to be in proportion to your body scale.
V-necklines
One of the best ways to enhance your narrow shoulder line is with a v-neckline. This is an extremely stylish cut that elevates your shoulders and creates the illusion of a longer body frame.
Since you most likely have a smaller bust too, any top that gives the upper half of your body more definition is a huge plus. Thankfully, v-necklines can help you achieve this too.
You can have this style of neckline on both tops and dresses, especially those made with fabric that don’t restrict your movement or are too figure hugging.
Sure, the pear body shape may seem difficult to style at first, as you would have to find clothing styles that don’t emphasize your wide hips and short legs.
However, now that you know more than a few clothing styles to help you show off your beautiful curves and create a more feminine silhouette, your shopping experience is about to go up a notch.
Knowing your body type and what to shop for is the first step to buying clothes that will help you feel more confident and boost your self-esteem as you enjoy wearing them. Ready to dazzle the world? Time to get shopping.
