Friday, July 01, 2016

From capris to shorts - and a visual guide in proportions

I had been given a handful of cropped trousers. But I don't like such ones. Either my ancles are cold, or the length makes them too warm. I decided to remake them into a pair of shorts.
And I decided to make a little visual in proportions while I was at it. Thats also why I stand in the position I do, even if it is not the most fotogenic pose.

1.
The original cropped trousers. Made for the standard height of 168-174 cm (5'6"-5'9").
3/4 trousers and 1/4 legs.
Slightly too long for me, and makes my short legs even shorter.

2.
10 cm (4") shorter. This is where the trousers are meant to end.
2/3 trousers and 1/3 legs.
Aestetically pleasing proportions.
With more of the legs visible, my legs seem longer.
Ends where my calves become narrower.


3.
10 cm (4") shorter.
1/2 legs, 1/2 trousers. And lower leg, upper leg and upper body is each 1/3.
Sad proportions. The eye prefers differences.
Accentuates my calves.

4.
Minus 10 cm (4").
Accentuates full hips and guides attention towards the knees, but proportions are better.

Number 5 and number 6.
I turned the trousers up 10 cm more and then another 10 cm (4" and 8"), dangerously cutting of my blod supply, but also creating eastetically pleasing proportions.
For the whole endeavour and the photos of my squashed thighs, see the blog post here: From capris to shorts.

But proportions aside, I had from the beginning decided the length the shorts were going to have: The cut length of photo 4 minus 5 cm for a rolled hem.
The hemmed edge is slightly above the knees, guiding the attention towards the lower thighs, not the knees. The thighs are not completely engulfed by fabric, they are separated by the hem of the shorts, breaking the visual fulness.

But apart from pretty, my goal was really just to make shorts I would feel comfortable in when the weather is really hot. And this is the shortest length I feel comfortable in.

2 comments:

jennifer elliott said...

I think the length is just fine for shorts. I have an issue with capri pants too due to my shortness. Until I find a capri length that doesn't make me look shorter, I'll stick to shorts. Nice refashion.

Jennifer, EOD

highest shelf said...

Thank you for the full discussion on proportion!That 1/3 visual(photo 3) is great and I now understand what it was that just didn't look right on some of my skirts and daughters pants.