What Should I Wear on my Wedding to Look Taller (Menswear)?

Manish Kumar asked

Hello Shilpa Ma’am
Hope I get something beneficial from you side. It’s my wedding in Nov’16 and I have to look perfect. My height is 5’3″ due to which traditional sherwani doesn’t look much good on me. Please suggest me,what kind of outfit shd I wear on d wedding night. Bridal lehenga is pestal color sabya designed. I want to wear smthng above knee, monochormatic, works on upper half to creat illusion of heigh, rich safa etc.

Shilpa Ahuja answered

Hi Manish,

Congratulations on your wedding! You’re already thinking along the right lines – looking for something monochromatic and above the knee with embroidery on the upper half. All these are great ideas.

As a short girl, I use a lot of tricks and hacks to give the illusion of height. So a couple of recommendations I have are:

• Try lighter shades, and top accessories, like brooches or turban embellishments, which will divert the viewer’s eyes upwards, making you seem taller.
• Lighter colors make the body seem larger, while darker tones tend to give a shrinking effect. Great colors to try for you would be the pastels and pale metallic shades like beige, pale gold, peach, ivory and silver.
• You can also try outfits with vertical lines of silhouette or embroidery. Vertical lines give a lengthening effect, so try front-slits, embroidery lines or long button-plackets.
• Good outfits to try would be shorter sherwanis (just above the knees), bundhgalas and suits/tuxedos.
• Monochromatic long jackets also help add vertical lines. So wearing them over a plain silk kurta and chooridar is also a great idea.
• Avoid color-blocking. If you’re wearing a contrasting dupatta, drape it on one shoulder to create vertical lines, instead of across your chest.
• Avoid darker shoes with lighter-colored outfits at all costs.
• Avoid wrinkly chooridars or pants with folds at the ankle. Any prominent horizontal lines at the ankle visually reduce the length of the legs. Instead, opt for chooridars with folds extending to the calf, or pants with no folds.
• This one may be obvious – but try taller sehra or turban,and it’ll effortlessly add inches.

Here are some great options!

Shilpa Ahuja

Shilpa Ahuja the editor-in-chief of ShilpaAhuja.com, which she founded with the goal of inspiring confidence in the modern working woman through fashion. Other than defining the direction of the magazine, she also writes about fashion & beauty trend forecasts, industry analysis, and opinions.

Shilpa’s work has been published in the University of Fashion blog and Jet Airways magazine. She is also an artist, illustrator and cartoonist. She is also the creator of Audrey O., a comic series that represents the lifestyle of millennial women. She enjoys creative writing and world travel. Her art has been exhibited at Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Aroma Hotel, Chandigarh and been published in Chandigarh Times.

Originally from Chandigarh, Shilpa also has a degree in architecture and has worked in interior project management. She is also the author of the book “Designing a Chinese Cultural Center in India”. Shilpa has a Masters in Design Studies degree from Harvard University.

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