(all text in burgundy is clikcable)
Men’s Style Pro will often get a fair amount of emails asking advice on how to dress if you are a man of shorter stature. Taking your reader suggestion, this post will focus on style for the shorter fellows out there. For the sake of this post, shorter stature refers to any height below 5’7 (which itself is considered short compared to a lot of guys). Outfitting himself very well on a daily basis, my friend Charles “Chaz” Bellinger shows us how to put together some great looks, while standing 5 feet 3 inches tall.
Style Tips For Shorter Guys From Charles aka Chaz:
- Don’t be afraid to mix patterns.
- Solid bold color are your friend.
- Select fabrics that contour to the shape of your body. As you can see from many of Chaz’s looks, his fabric choices are soft cottons and tweed. Think of them as your “Soft Fabrics”.(see looks 2 through 4).
- When your fabrics contour to your body, they give you more definition which can make you appear taller.
- Tailored clothes are your best option.
- Wearing baggy clothes do not make you look bigger. Bigger/baggier clothes only make you look smaller and unkempt.
- In terms of pants, go with a slight break. Trousers with no break will make your legs look shorter.
- Get a tailor. This person will be able to take your off the rack piece and make them meet your “actual” measurements.
- If it’s a financial possibility, invest in some custom pieces. They will fit to your exact measurements and will make you look your best. (See look #1)
You will see that a fair amount of Chaz’ pieces are vintage/thrifted. In particular, some of his blazers are from thrift shops and are made by some of the top brands in menswear (quality is key). Since Chaz saves about 90% off the original price when thrifting, he can put money into getting these pieces tailored. Generally, to get a blazer taken in at the waist, the price range is $50 to $65. Below are some examples of some looks that work well for Chaz and his shorter stature.
All Business
Custom Grey Suit by Indochino – Shirt & Pocket Square by Commonwealth Proper – Umbrella by Burberry
Vintage Gold Tie Bar – Vintage Glen Plaid Tie – Vintage Braces
Keepin’ It Casual
Blue Cotton Blazer by Zara –
Vintage Gold Lucien Picard Wrist Watch – Grey Sweater by H&M – Pocket Square by Commonwealth Proper
Tapered Jeans by American Eagle
Camel leather drivers
Your Favorite Professor
Vintage Tweed Blazer by Ralph Lauren –
Blue Shirt by H&M – Bowtie by Brooks Brothers – Pocket Square by Commonwealth Proper
Camel Boots by Hawkings McGill
All Cotton Everything
Cotton Double Breasted Blazer by Sottotono via Daffy’s
Chino by American Eagle
Red gingham shirt by Uniqlo – Brown Knit Tie
Burgunydy Red Full Wingtips by R1901 – Socks by Mossimo via Target
Special thanks to Charles Bellinger for participating.
Photography/Videography Credit : Sabir M. Peele
Best,
Sabir
I really like the last look, the whole outfit goes together perfectly. However, I feel like the first look is unflattering. Considering its an Indochino suit, it should look a little bit more tailored and maybe if it showed a little more cuff it would help (like with the other blazers). The wide tie and long tie bar are not very flattering as well, I think he would look much better with a slimmer tie.
The other outfits are really great though!
Hi Antonio,
Thanks for dropping in. In terms of the fit of the Indochino suit, it could be a case of posture (Chaz has a bum leg so he was using his umbrella for support). Take a look at the video, the parts where the suit is featured, you can see the difference when he is more upright. To each his own when it comes to styling!
Best,
Sabir
This whole grunge unkempt unshaven dirty chic movement needs to end…soon.
I prefer a polished & tailored look. This one fell flat.
Short means nothing. Great style means everything.
Hi Kadeem,
Thanks for dropping by. Understanding that everyone is entitled to their own since of style, there is really no right or wrong.
– Sabir
Wow, crushing looks here. I especially like how natural Charles looks in the Indochino suit, but especially, in the tweed/Professor-y look. Props for the CMMP shirt and square — rep hard, rep local!
1st look is horrible! NEVER wear a tie bar that is longer than the width of the tie. Get this guy outta here!
Hi John,
Thanks for dropping by. Remember everyone has their own style. Understanding that there are “rules” in menswear means that they can be broken. The look may not be your cup of tie, however; to each his own.
Best,
Sabir
I’m not as… angry as John, but the long tie bar and curled collar are definitely not my cup of tea. Love looks two and four.
The question here is this: How in the world does he find blazers that fit his chest and shoulders at his height? Or does he go to some extreme measures in tailoring to get it to fit his body?
I’ve pretty much given up on thrift stores because I don’t expect to find a 34S.
Hey drew I got the tweed at a thrift store. Old polo was in a 34. Otherwise eurocuts like zara h n m, topmans, all have a super short length but w long sleeves so I just get the.34 n take am inch + off the sleeve
How tall is this guy exactly? I’m approx. 5’6” and around 130 lbs and find it hard enough to find small enough clothes that are snug but not tight.
Charles is 5’3″.
Some were a little hard on Charles. The true message of this post was to display that the stature of a man shouldn’t hold him back from displaying his style. Everyone is unique with their style and we should respect that. I think the looks are great especially being that it can be tough to find some pieces at his height.
Reblogged this on boystomenblogazine and commented:
Men’s Style Pro is a great resource for men’s fashion. I frequent this blog and wanted to share another great article on fashion styles for enthusiasts that are less that 6 feet tall.
Ding! Ding!
Hey Sabir,
What tailor in Philadelphia did you use?
Royal tailor is the best in Philly. Its on Juniper street in Philly.
Some really great looks here! The tweed jacket look in my opinion could have benefited from a better use of contrast. With a darker brownish or even olive, the jacket would have popped a little more!
Awesome post! I actually dedicate my whole blog to this very issue, so great to see us shorter gents getting some attention from the Style Pro himself.
Also – great to see Charles rocking the double-breasted jacket. Many shorter guys are afraid to try this look, but it’s totally doable as long as the button stance is correct and the jacket is short.
-B
Just stumbled across your blog – good stuff! I’m 5’4 and a very muscular 140lbs. I got a custom suit while in Hong Kong during college and never went back. I use a local custom tailor for my professional look but wish I could find more affordable every day/smart casual options that are not as expensive but still fit.
On the top of short guys. I know the deconstructed/narrow shoulders is en-vogue these days but I go back and forth whether that look is appropriate for us shorter guys. I think it can make us shorter guys look like bobble heads 🙂 Also, this may not be the case for me but the more robust shoulder can give shorter guys a look a little more imposing (for lack of a better word) to make up for the short stature. Perhaps a happy medium is appropriate? Thoughts?
The tie is too large for a short guy as you were giving tips on this subject: even that knot is too big, and the spread collar shirts are not for short guys too. The leg opening is too large for such a short and slim leg and those shoes beside the fact are horrible are too long, i’m speaking about those kind of horrible loafers: the shape is completely wrong. And as last thing, the double breasted jacket is the worst friend for short guyz: Make the waist too large not gving harmony at all cause even his shoulders are not so large. Remember always that observer eyes fall always on the ” triangle of a man” meaning the space made by the lapels of the blazer: that space have to be opened and not closed as happen wearing a double breast: consider also the cubic shape that this jacket gives cause even in the frontal bottom part can’t open at all, so is really a suicide to wear a double breast if your legs are short
I have to agree with everyone here. It seemed to me that although the clothes are nice, they don’t seem to fit him well. And to me fit is everything. I don’t know if maybe it’s because of his height or that he not a fit looking guy, but something about all the pictures just don’t look right. I do give him credit for wanting to dress better than the average guy out there. At least he’s one of the guys trying to be well dressed and not looking like a bum with his pants to thighs like the other douche bags. Keep doing your thang Chaz! And hit the gym, bro. It makes your clothes fit so much better. Just don’t turn into a meathead.