There are some things in life we can control, and some we can't. I'm 5'6", shorter than average which I can't control, so I don't dwell on it. Being realistic, I know height is attractive to most women. Normally that would put us short guys at a relative disadvantage, but luckily there are still many things we can control.
Style: Having good style is an easy way to stand out from the crowd. Lots of guys never learn basic fashion, and end up looking ridiculous. I'm talking about wearing old sneakers with white socks matched to dress shirts, shirts that are way too big and ill-fitted. In some circles, it's not hard to be the best dressed in a group. Short guys should be putting in more effort in the style department since it's one factor that is well within your control.
The same basic rules apply: Wearing clothes that look fitted, suiting up when appropriate, only wearing 2 colors at a time, wearing nice shoes, having a nice belt/shoes/watch, etc. However when it comes to short guys we have additional rules.
For the average sized short guy, I'd check out http://www.petermanningnyc.com/ and http://ashandanvil.com/. I've gotten good feedback on them, though personally my upper body is too big for them.
If you don't have the money just yet, go to your local Marshall's and spend a few hours trying on clothes until you've found something that fits right and looks good. It's not going to be perfect, but this is one of the only places you'll be able to find dozens of different brands and styles under the same roof. You can even have it brought in to a tailor to get the sleeves shortened and bring the waist in for a reasonable price. Other alterations can get expensive and you're better off just getting a made to measure.
If you're like me and you've got a body type which nothing fits, your last resort is getting a made to measure shirt from a tailor, or going to https://www.blanklabel.com/shirts/all to order a custom shirt. Before you do this, I'd go to a tailor or Macy's and have yourself measured. You'll at least want to know your shoulders, sleeve, collar, chest, and midsection. Be careful because blank label measurements are based off one side of a flat shirt, and not how a tailor measures your body. I would give yourself a couple inches of slack, so for instance, if your chest was measured to be 40" at a tailor, you'd take one side of that to get 20", then add a few inches to get 22". You'll only need to do this for the chest and midsection measurements. I'm 5'6" and I think a 29" length looks good for me, so adjust that based on your height. If you're going to Macy's to get measured, keep in mind they also have a decent selection of blazers which should work for shorter guys.
When it comes to pants, you should be fine just getting a pair that fits your waist and having it hemmed for about $20/pair. If you have a sewing machine, you can learn to do it yourself. If you've got a big butt like me, look for "relaxed" fit, and always opt for a pleated front if given the option. I've also found Amazon to have a good amount of options compared to department stores. Just search your waist and inseam: 35" x 27" and pants with those measurements should pop up. They still might not work, but Amazon is great with returns.
I follow http://www.themodestman.com for additional style advice geared towards shorter men. Full disclosure: I'm friends with Brock, though I don't get any commission or anything.
For stuff like V neck tees and sweaters, Express works well for me. Belts, watches and shoes are the same for any height, so don't be afraid to spend extra $ here, you'll get more bang for your buck.
Physique: Being short makes us look less dominant, so I've geared my workout regiment to give myself a more dominant/masculine look. I do legs, but the muscles that I think make a guy look biggest are shoulders, back, traps, and chest. Shoulders help with body width, though I've had limited success with getting them appreciably bigger. For chest, just do bench press or flys as you normally would. Traps and back are worked simultaneously with deadlifts, though I've found cleans to be especially effective for traps. The best workout I've found for gaining back width is straight armed lat pull downs (Fast forward to 02:13):
Posture: Sounds cheesy, but having good posture and not being afraid to take up space is a huge thing. You wanna keep your shoulders back, head high, and let your arms move back and forth as you walk. Here's a good example of what I'm talking about (Fast forward to 00:12):
I'm not exactly the biggest Obama fan, but respect where it's due, man knows how to walk with swagger.
I was really uncomfortable doing this at first, and noticed that I often slouched my head. Eventually I became more aware of it and started walking with better posture until it felt natural. It's to the point now where a chick told me specifically that the way I walk was intimidating at first.
Let me know if I missed anything.
Style: Having good style is an easy way to stand out from the crowd. Lots of guys never learn basic fashion, and end up looking ridiculous. I'm talking about wearing old sneakers with white socks matched to dress shirts, shirts that are way too big and ill-fitted. In some circles, it's not hard to be the best dressed in a group. Short guys should be putting in more effort in the style department since it's one factor that is well within your control.
The same basic rules apply: Wearing clothes that look fitted, suiting up when appropriate, only wearing 2 colors at a time, wearing nice shoes, having a nice belt/shoes/watch, etc. However when it comes to short guys we have additional rules.
- Don't wear shirts that are too long or whose sleeves are too long. It makes you look shorter.
- Wear vertically striped shirts when possible, it makes you look taller
- Avoid shirts with horizontal stripes, see above point
- If your pants are too long, get them hemmed. It's not that expensive and pant cuffs bunched up on your shoes makes you look short.
- Most clothes weren't made for shorter guys, so it will be hard to get something that fits the above criteria and also has a "fitted" look. You might have to look around for a while.
For the average sized short guy, I'd check out http://www.petermanningnyc.com/ and http://ashandanvil.com/. I've gotten good feedback on them, though personally my upper body is too big for them.
If you don't have the money just yet, go to your local Marshall's and spend a few hours trying on clothes until you've found something that fits right and looks good. It's not going to be perfect, but this is one of the only places you'll be able to find dozens of different brands and styles under the same roof. You can even have it brought in to a tailor to get the sleeves shortened and bring the waist in for a reasonable price. Other alterations can get expensive and you're better off just getting a made to measure.
If you're like me and you've got a body type which nothing fits, your last resort is getting a made to measure shirt from a tailor, or going to https://www.blanklabel.com/shirts/all to order a custom shirt. Before you do this, I'd go to a tailor or Macy's and have yourself measured. You'll at least want to know your shoulders, sleeve, collar, chest, and midsection. Be careful because blank label measurements are based off one side of a flat shirt, and not how a tailor measures your body. I would give yourself a couple inches of slack, so for instance, if your chest was measured to be 40" at a tailor, you'd take one side of that to get 20", then add a few inches to get 22". You'll only need to do this for the chest and midsection measurements. I'm 5'6" and I think a 29" length looks good for me, so adjust that based on your height. If you're going to Macy's to get measured, keep in mind they also have a decent selection of blazers which should work for shorter guys.
When it comes to pants, you should be fine just getting a pair that fits your waist and having it hemmed for about $20/pair. If you have a sewing machine, you can learn to do it yourself. If you've got a big butt like me, look for "relaxed" fit, and always opt for a pleated front if given the option. I've also found Amazon to have a good amount of options compared to department stores. Just search your waist and inseam: 35" x 27" and pants with those measurements should pop up. They still might not work, but Amazon is great with returns.
I follow http://www.themodestman.com for additional style advice geared towards shorter men. Full disclosure: I'm friends with Brock, though I don't get any commission or anything.
For stuff like V neck tees and sweaters, Express works well for me. Belts, watches and shoes are the same for any height, so don't be afraid to spend extra $ here, you'll get more bang for your buck.
Physique: Being short makes us look less dominant, so I've geared my workout regiment to give myself a more dominant/masculine look. I do legs, but the muscles that I think make a guy look biggest are shoulders, back, traps, and chest. Shoulders help with body width, though I've had limited success with getting them appreciably bigger. For chest, just do bench press or flys as you normally would. Traps and back are worked simultaneously with deadlifts, though I've found cleans to be especially effective for traps. The best workout I've found for gaining back width is straight armed lat pull downs (Fast forward to 02:13):
Posture: Sounds cheesy, but having good posture and not being afraid to take up space is a huge thing. You wanna keep your shoulders back, head high, and let your arms move back and forth as you walk. Here's a good example of what I'm talking about (Fast forward to 00:12):
I'm not exactly the biggest Obama fan, but respect where it's due, man knows how to walk with swagger.
I was really uncomfortable doing this at first, and noticed that I often slouched my head. Eventually I became more aware of it and started walking with better posture until it felt natural. It's to the point now where a chick told me specifically that the way I walk was intimidating at first.
Let me know if I missed anything.
