on a smaller frame the fabric is rarely the problem — the proportion is. a hem that stops two centimetres too low, a waist that disappears under a loose top, and a good outfit suddenly reads as layers instead of length.
that’s why i dress in formulas. not outfits to copy, but a few fixed rules about where a hem falls and where the waist sits. i put five of them together in a free summer guide — here is the first one in full.
formula 01: the long midi
a midi lengthens you when the hem lands at the narrowest point of the calf — usually just below the widest part. a few centimetres above or below that line, and it shortens you.
tuck the tank so the waist stays visible. an unbroken skirt rising from a marked waist reads as one long line.
hem · narrowest calf
what i’m wearing: a bel skirt (elizabeth suzann pattern) and a fitted ready-to-wear tank.
try it before you hem your next skirt: stand in front of the mirror, find the narrowest point below your calf and mark it with a pin. that’s your hemline.
the other four
- the summer short — leg starts high
- the one-piece — one unbroken line
- the wide leg — hem clears floor
- the defined waist — waist above natural
each one gets its own page in the guide: the rule, how i wear it, and the pattern names as reference.
get all five
the guide is free. drop your email on the next page and it lands in your inbox within a minute.
already cold where you are? the autumn edition takes the same two rules into knits, blazers and jackets.
