The next time you’re making choices about your skirt or dress length, throw out the rule that as you get older you need to go longer. Take a look at what you’re wearing and make your own choices. If you don’t like the condition of your legs, hosiery can cover a host of “evils,” so dress length doesn’t have to be your sole solution.

While traveling home last week from Alabama, I sat next to a young lady reading Redbook June 2008. While flipping through the magazine, she stopped on this page where I noticed that the writer did not offer enough descriptives as to why the outfits did or did not work. I selected these two outfits out of their lineup to show how simple changes can create huge results. Notice how in image Number One the woman appears waist heavy and a little dumpier. The pants stretch in the waist, the jacket flares out like on a pear and the rolled up sleeves don’t work.

If you feel that making the changes to the next picture are too much, just changing the style of pants and shoes would go a long way to fixing this outfit. A pair of straight-leg jeans or pants would at least remove the central focus.

Outfit Number Two is the same woman wearing different clothing. Wow. Yes, the same woman. She does not look full in the waist. (The smile does help) She also appears taller and has a bolder statement. The combination exemplifies how you to can make simple changes to give a completely different look.