I Broke Fashion Rules For Short Women And I Still Looked Fine

I will never stop wearing ankle-strap heels. NEVER!

Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed

What's up party people? I'm Lauren. I'm pretty small, as you can maybe tell from this photo of me in a laundry basket:

instagram.com

I'm 4'11" (and ¾") and my true goal in life is to join the 5' club.

I like shopping and I like clothes, but I never realized there were so many fashion RULES for short women.

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed / Via WhoWhatWear / Wewomen / Bellatory / Harpers Bazaar

Some of the rules:

- Don't wear horizontal stripes

- Don't wear ankle pants

- Don't hold large bags

- Don't wear ankle-strap heels

- Don't wear round-toe heels (WTF??)

- Don't wear anything oversized

Etc....etc....frickin' etc.

So to see if these rules actually mattered, I tried to pull off some popular fashion don'ts for shorties.

I've never really thought about these fashion "rules" before. I'm very insecure about my height, so I naturally gravitate toward crop tops and high-waisted pants because I know it makes my short legs look a little longer. But I rarely restrict myself from wearing certain items, so I was definitely interested to see how I'd feel about wearing only things that *someone* said I shouldn't.

Outfit #1: Horizontal stripes, a large bag, and ankle straps (oh my!).

Lauren Han

Fashion Don'ts:
- Don't wear horizontal stripes; opt for vertical stripes to make you look longer.
- Oversized bags will overwhelm your small frame, so opt for a smaller purse.
- Ankle-strap heels will cut off the leg, making your legs look shorter.

How I felt breaking the rules:
Oh my god someone call the Fashion Police because this outfit is atrocious and makes me look 2 feet tall. Right? No. I love that dress, I love the bag, and those heels are my favorite. I'm not going to restrict myself from a whole world of ankle-strap shoes just because of some silly rule. No way in hell. This outfit actually made me feel great, and nothing about it made me feel self-conscious or short.

Outfit #2: Long shirt, oversized cardigan, chunky jewelry.

Lauren Han

Fashion Don'ts:
- Don't do oversized/baggy layering; wear fitted clothing instead.
- Don't wear long blouses, because it'll elongate your torso and not your legs.
- Don't wear chunky jewelry.

How I felt breaking the rules:
This outfit is so comfy. I can see why the Olsen twins (5'2") have made this slouchy thing their signature look. I have to admit, though, I did feel very short in this outfit — all day, I thought about how much better the outfit would be if I tucked in my long shirt or wore shoes with more height. I worried about this ALL DAY, which really sucked because I didn't realize how much my insecurities were tied to fashion.

Outfit #3: Boxy sweater, culottes, chunky heels.

Lauren Han

Fashion Don'ts:
- Don't wear boxy sweaters.
- Don't wear wide-leg pants (especially ankle length) because it hides your body.
- Chunky heels will make your feet look disproportionate on your small frame.

How I felt breaking the rules:
I get that the sweater doesn't show off any curves and doesn't fit perfectly, but I love the loose sleeves — that's enough for me to want to wear this sweater over and over. I wear this outfit all the time, and I've gotten so many compliments on the culottes, but I do agree that if they were longer, I would've probably looked taller. I didn't feel short in this outfit, because the heels obviously gave me so much height, and personally I don't think I did my legs any injustices by wearing the very cute, chunky ankle-strap heels.

Outfit #4: Oversized coat, ankle pants.

Lauren Han

Fashion Don'ts:
- Don't wear oversized coats.
- Don't wear jeans that cut off at the ankle.

How I felt breaking the rules:
If I love something enough but it's not in my size, I'll buy it anyway. This flannel coat is so cute and MUCH too large for me, but I got it anyway, which may have been a mistake. I can't figure out how to style it properly so that I don't look like I'm walking around in a bathrobe, and so I did not feel as good in this outfit as I hoped I would. I felt smaller than usual, and although I often roll up my jeans, the oversized coat made me want to desperately roll them back down in an attempt to make my legs look at least a little longer.

Outfit #5: Animal-print shirt, culottes, printed flats, Hot Cheetos.

Lauren Han

Fashion Don'ts:
- Don't wear wide-leg pants.
- Go for monotone looks to make your body appear longer.
- Don't wear busy prints.

How I felt breaking the rules:
Again with the culottes. I like them! I like having a healthy breeze up there. This outfit, to be honest, is a hot mess. I will never, ever wear this combo of clothes again. I don't have a lot of colorful or printed clothing, so I just threw whatever I had on. This outfit doesn't necessarily make me look shorter, but it's definitely not helping me look taller, either. But I love everything I'm wearing (and eating), and while they may not work all together, all the pieces are great individually.

All in all, I liked wearing these fashion don'ts, even if I felt short at times.

Lauren Han

I didn't go out and buy more clothing that would break these rules, but I also rarely put so many don'ts together in one outfit. I surprised myself by actually getting a little stressed wearing so many things at once that could make me look super short. I didn't know I cared that much. For those outfits, I absolutely thought about how I could've made it better if I added some fashion dos.

I'm a short girl; there's no denying that. I'm very aware that I gain so much confidence when I'm taller (with heels), and I'm embarrassed that I need height to make me feel confident. But I actually really enjoyed challenging myself to do this, even if it made me uncomfortable. Once I had the outfit on, there was really nothing left but to embrace it and rock it. Fuck the haters, because fashion rules shouldn't exist! Don't ever let rules control what you want to do unless it's illegal and you'll be thrown in jail. The end.