victoria's secret model

An astute reader of Lady Short Legs brought my attention to a model that we don't know the name of yet, but she is quite an exotic beauty.

"In the new Victoria's Secret catalog (the Spring 2010 Casual) there is pictured a lovely brunette model with a very long torso and short legs. She is on pages 13 and 17, and perhaps she is also shown elsewhere. I thought her addition was a refreshing detour from the perpetually long-legged models that are constantly showcased in that catalog."

In these images she does appear to have quite a long torso coupled with short legs, however it is not certain, as it could be that she is wearing the trousers very very low. I will be on the look out for a full body shot of her in a bathing suit, to truly determine if she is indeed proportioned like us. 


Images via Victoria's Secret.

clothing advice - bottom half

I began this blog because I am afflicted with the short legs/long torso thing, and could not find a site specifically focused on our issue, so I thought to start one myself. Here is my best advice that I have gathered over the years and experienced and tested on myself:

BOTTOM HALF DO'S:
My greatest advice is to wear all black on the bottom half of your body as this color lengthens, and narrows and distracts. Thus your shoes, socks, tights, leggings, skirts, trousers and so forth should be ideally all black, or at least a similar color like navy, brown, gray etc...

Try to wear some sort of a high heel, obviously spiky four/five inch stilettos are unreasonable, who wears those, I certainly don't. But a wedge, or a sturdy stacked heel by a brand that focuses on comfort is a very good idea. During summer when your legs are bare choose shoes that are nude colored to match you skin town. During winter tall boots reaching your knee or higher and very flattering, however never buy boots that are lower than the knee, either mid calf or those cute looking ankle booties.

Never ever wear pedal pushers, or capris, or cropped pants as this drastically shortens you legs. Thus either wear short shorts, (never below the knee) or long pants/trousers that touch the ground. Regarding waist lines, those low waisted jeans that sit at the hips or lower are extremely unflattering for us girls, so higher waisted ones are much better, but be careful to not go too high in the waist as that can draw attention to the problematic long back area.

When it comes to skirts, don't choose pencil or narrow tight skirts as this shows how low your rear end really is, so it is better wear high waisted skirts (at your belly button) that are very puffy, almost like a ballerina tutu, or like skirts of the 1950's which become an almost complete circle when you spin around. This way people are tricked into thinking our legs are long, and our behind quite high up. Also regarding skirts, A-line skirts are fine too, but stay away from dropped waistlines, the ones that are tight through the waist and buttocks, but then fan out. These can make a woman's behind look voluptuously nice, but this style will only accentuate a long back, shorten the legs even further.

My primary outfit of this winter is high heeled black boots reaching the knee, black thick wool/nylon tights, and winter short shorts, in black.

model torso

Model Marisa Miller is known for her toned body, and large natural breasts which are usually showcased on Victoria's Secret or in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. She does also have quite a long torso, which gives that tight flat stomach, while her legs are of average length. I would not say they are short, but they certainly are not long legs.

Imagine ladies, if a girl with a long torso is accepted in the fashion/modeling industry, it really is confidence inducing for us.

dwarfy jessica simpson

A while ago Jessica Simpson gave us an interesting quote saying she was born with "dwarf legs" and a long body, and her mother being so concerned, would pull and stretch them in an attempt to increase their growth in length.
"When I was little I had dwarf legs and my mum thought I would grow up looking strange. Every night, she would pull them and stretch them so they would be in proportion with the rest of my body."

Her mothers efforts may have helped a little but not significantly as she continues to have rather shortish legs, although to her advantage she does have a good face and large breasts to distract from her disproportion.

paris hilton

Paris Hilton, is another celebrity who has a case of long torso/short legs, but unlike say Keira Knightley, or Christina Applegate, she is very unaware of it. This is seen by the choice of clothing, for example someone like her should never wear low waisted shorts, or bathing suits, as they greatly lengthen the torso even further. On top of that, I remember reading that she thought her legs were her best physical attribute. Her legs on their own are fine, but coupled with her huge feet, and long torso, they become disproportionate. Still she is considered attractive by some, giving us gals some comfort.

keira knightley quote

Here is the quote I was looking for:

"I've already been told my legs are stumpy. A designer whose dress I wanted to wear to a film premiere told me that my legs were far too short."

Our ultimate role model, I mean just notice where her butt ends, and she is wearing hight heels.

christina applegate

Here is a quote from an interview with Christina Applegate.

What's your beauty hang-up?
"I have short legs and it drives me crazy! I've got a really long torso and short legs. I can pull it off with the right jeans, but it's taken time to figure that out. There are people, like Cameron Diaz, who have incredibly long legs and you go, "Wow, how can you ever have a problem if you just wake up with long legs?!" I'd love to wake up to them one day, but it's just not going to happen! "

I browsed a lot of images of Christina, but I do not observe her to be that disproportional. Firstly I could not find any clear candid ones of her, or ones from the rear, a long torso is best observed from the back or side, and most difficult to notice from the front. In the old photo though one can see the long back from her shoulder to the underside of her bottom. Also her ankles are not very slim further making her legs stocky. However she is an attractive woman, and I must say reading her quote is comforting to us short legged ladies.

kate hudson bikini and rear

Kate Hudson is an attractive female actress, with a leg to torso proportion that is close to equal, but upon closer inspection her torso does appear slightly longer. This is best observed in these bikini photos where you can see that from her shoulder to the beginning of her thighs the distance is quite long. In her favor is her good and shapely bottom which balances out this mild disproportion, and the fact that she is overall a cute girl.

Working on ones buttocks is in fact, one of the best things a girl like us can do, as this brings the buttocks up and thus shortens the back, and consequently lengthens the legs. Whereas as a bottom that is low and saggy really does make ones back appear even longer! I suppose an instant improvement would be to wear an undergarment that lifts the rear.

vogue forum

There is a great thread on the forum pages of Australian Vogue, on our subject of short legs/long torso. It is from 2006, but still very relevant, and reading the what the lovely females have shared on the subject really does make one feel better, and gives one a sense of not being alone on this matter. One quote by "shopaholic*" is especially appropriate:

"If you're looking for a celebrity "role model" with a long torso/short legs, it's Keira Knightley. I remember she once said in an interview that a designer criticized her short legs while she was trying on a dress so she ended up wearing pants instead. After I read the interview, I had a look at some of her photos, and she does have a long torso/short legs. That made me feel a bit better."

I will try to find that article to get the exact quote form our role model Miss Keira.

keira knightley and mother

Our favorite long torsoed beauty, is seen here with her mother who has normal proportions as supposed to her daughter. If you look at where their legs begin at the crotch, it's almost at the same level for both mother and daughter, making their legs of equal length. But look how far Keira's shoulders reach, significantly higher than her her mothers.