Shoes That Elongate the Leg

• Some shoes elongate legs more than others. Mimi Haddon/Digital Vision/Getty Images

  Many of us long for the heights and grace of supermodels, including their long legs that seem to go for miles. Long legs are generally seen as more flattering than short ones, so thankfully, there are tips and tricks to buying and wearing shoes that create the illusion of a taller height and longer legs to flatter our wardrobes.

Heels

• Wear shoes with heels to elongate the appearance of your legs. Heels push your feet and heel up off the floor. This makes you taller, which creates the illusion that all parts of the body, especially the legs, are longer than they really are.

Pointed Toes

• Choose shoes that have a pointed toe. Whether the shoe is a pointed-toe heel or a pointed-toe flat, the pointed and elongated toe makes the foot, and especially the line of the leg from the thigh to the toe, look longer.

Color Match

• When you wear shoes that match the color of your leg, whether bare natural or in stockings, you create the illusion of your legs being longer. If the shoe is a contrasting color from the leg, such as a black tight and a red shoe, the red shoe creates a visual color block that divides the leg at the ankle, making it look shorter. When you wear a matching shoe, such as nude shoe with a bare leg, it makes your leg appear to go to the floor, which makes it look longer.

Avoid Ankle Straps

• Whether the shoe is a heeled shoe or a flat shoe, it should be open at the top of the foot. Shoes that have any sort of strap, such as an ankle-strap or a strap cutting across the top of the foot, visually divide the line of the leg. Ankle-straps are worse because it makes the leg appear to end as high as the ankle, making the leg look stubbier than it is. Shoes that are open on top allow the eye to travel all the way down to the toe, which elongates the appearance of the leg.