The Balance vs. Enhance Formula Is the Styling Trick Every Petite Needs to Know

From the rules of wearing a maxi dress to the tips you need when styling tricky (but trendy) barrel jeans, I’ve written extensively about the ways my fellow petites can optimize their height while looking and feeling their best. But height alone isn’t the only thing worth considering when building an outfit. There are the borrowed-from-the-arts principles that focus on the color and composition of your ensemble (see: the Three-Color Rule and the Rule of Thirds), but even those must start with the canvas that is your body shape—and that’s where the Balance vs. Enhance formula comes in.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re 5’1” or 6’1”—becoming familiar with your unique features, and learning how to play them up or down, can help you create particularly flattering looks. But for petites, the knowledge can be even more important, as it serves as a surefire way to get the most impactful bang for your buck—well, height—despite lacking in the inches department.

The Balance vs. Enhance formula refers to the idea that the two best approaches to dressing involve either balancing your figure or enhancing certain aspects of it. They are different in terms of methodology and impression, but the same in that each can help create visually flattering looks on your specific shape. And for shorties like myself, it can mean all the difference between looking elongated and proportional in clothing or squashed and shrunken.

First, you’ll want to consider your actual body shape. Are you a triangle (wider hips/legs), inverted triangle (wider shoulders/larger bust), rectangle (less-defined waist), oval (wider midsection) or hourglass (speaks for itself)? You should also consider your torso length—do you have a short torso with longer legs or a long torso with shorter legs?

Taking your personal form into account, one way you can create a balanced silhouette is by matching your top half to your bottom half. For those with broader shoulders and/or a bigger bust, that may mean wearing wide-leg bottoms or an A-line skirt, both of which add volume to the lower body. If you have wider hips and legs, you might opt for a more structured top (think shoulder pads), pieces with voluminous ruffles or embellished styles that draw the eye upwards. And if you’re hoping to create the illusion of extra curves or a more defined waist, do both of the above—while keeping your ensemble fitted in the middle.

The “Balance” approach can also involve softening certain features to make you look more proportional overall. If you have a long torso, for example, you can balance it out by wearing high-waist bottoms, which will not only shorten your midsection, but also add length to your legs. On the flip side, those who have a short torso can make it appear longer by way of low-slung pants or drop-waist dresses.

Here we have the opposite approach—instead of minimizing your standout features, you wish to make them the star(s) of the show by enhancing them (it’s like the Boomer Beauty Rule, but for fashion). In this case, it’s all about accentuating your natural shape.

You may play up the va-va-voom of a larger chest by wearing low-cut or off-the-shoulder tops that display your well-appointed décolletage. To highlight your hips and bum, you can try donning body-con styles that hug your curves, peplum pieces that add flare (and flair!) and wrap dresses that cinch in at the waist, making those curves more dramatic.

Got a short torso and legs for days, and you don’t care who knows it? Hike up that hem and embrace them. Or make the most of a longer torso by rocking large, statement-making belts, oversize blazers and flowy jumpsuits that show off your swanlike shape.

To illustrate how petites in particular can use these styling techniques to their advantage, I’ve pulled examples from two of my favorite short-girl style icons of late: Sabrina Carpenter and Nicola Coughlan. They’re 5’ and 5’1”, respectively, but each use the Balance vs. Enhance approach in their own way.