How To Dress As A Tall, Skinny Guy

Being tall and skinny can make it difficult to find the right clothes. Not only do some articles of clothing not fit to your body type, but you sometimes find yourself wondering what types of clothes are actually right for you. Fortunately, there are ways to dress to give yourself the right visual proportions as well as a sense of confidence and style. And with Vintage 1946, you’ll have multiple options. Here’s how to dress as a tall, skinny guy.

Don’t Lengthen Your Legs

You know how we at Vintage 1946 love our Snapper Shorts? These especially short-legged shorts are great for exposing plenty of skin on hot summer days. But here’s the bad news for the tall guys in the audience: this is not your best look.

Why? Because maximizing the exposure of your leg will emphasize the rest of the leg, making them visually appear even longer than they already are. This will throw off the balance of your outfit, giving you the appearance of a shorter torso even if that’s not actually the case.

To visually compensate for those long legs of yours, we suggest you try the opposite route. Classic Vintage Twill 9” shorts are the way to go. These will cover more of your leg, giving you a much more “balanced” proportion between leg and torso. And given your long legs, these shorts will feel much shorter than they would on someone with less leg to spare.

Go with Patterns—But Not Vertical Stripes

Vertical stripes often have the perceived effect of slimming you down and lengthening you vertically. That’s great if you have a body that’s on the shorter, stouter side. But if you’re already tall and skinny? There are plenty of other patterns you can wear that won’t have the same effect.

Don’t get us wrong. If you wear a pair of Men’s Seersucker Shorts with vertical stripes and you like the balance of your leg length, you don’t necessarily have to worry yourself about the vertical pattern. But if you have the concern of coming across as too tall and too lanky, you can opt for other patterns like Patch Madras Shorts. These shorts feature conflicting and offsetting patterns, with a net effect of neither lengthening nor shortening the appearance of your legs.

Go Long Sleeve When You Can

If you’re tall and skinny, it’s a good bet that you tend to have both long legs and long arms. You’ll want to stick to the same principles with lanky arms as you would with legs. Find clothes that neutralize this long appearance with the right balance of length and pattern.

For example, a Microstripe French Terry Henley in Blue Vineyard Green will extend the sleeves down your arms. This will provide you with the proportions on the upper body that you want on the lower body as well.

Shop Clothes that are Made for Your Body Type

There are plenty of ways to give yourself a great balance, making you feel like your height is an advantage, not a disadvantage. Now that you know how to dress as a tall, skinny guy, keep shopping at Vintage 1946 to find the right balance for your particular style needs!