For the second outfit with the cycling shorts trend, I thought I’d hit two trends in one go. The first is the tie-dye shirt, and the second is an oversized shirt casually half tucked in. The shirt in question for this outfit came from Zara; who have always been a purveyor of all things on-trend. I love the oversized shirt trend; it is all over Instagram, the high street and designer collections. But it’s not that easy to wear unless you’re skinny.
For the second outfit with the cycling shorts trend, I thought I’d hit two trends in one go. The first is the tie-dye shirt, and the second is an oversized shirt casually half tucked in. The shirt in question for this outfit came from Zara; who have always been a purveyor of all things on-trend. I love the oversized shirt trend; it is all over Instagram, the high street and designer collections. But it’s not that easy to wear unless you’re skinny and tall. It has a tendency of looking very baggy and unflattering on me if you don’t style it correctly. Again, my short legs are part of the problem here. So, while a pair of heels are a must, they won’t solve the issue.
So if you’re going to go for an oversized shirt, it needs to be made of light material. You can go for the stiff-heavy cottons, but that shirt will need to be belted at the waist. A lighter fabric can be half-tucked in, but you’ll need to tuck either at the front or at the sides. I tucked mine in at the front. These cycling shorts are quite high waist and because the black of the shorts starts much higher up, it creates an optical illusion of making my legs look longer. Pro-tip. If you want your legs to look longer, create the optical illusion of your waist starting a little higher up. High waist trousers are a short-legged girl’s best friend.
Tip number 1 If you’re short and have big hips like me, you’ll want to half tuck your shirt in. Always remember that your waist has to be seen when wearing cycling shorts. Otherwise your middle section will look round and you’ll look bigger than you are. It’ll also make you look shorter.
Tip number 2 Use the shirt to hide problem areas. If it’s a muffin top, use a belt. If it’s your bum, leave it loose at the back. Hide what you want hidden with your shirt, and define what you want to show off.
Tip number 3 For short legs, go for a longer pair of cycling shorts. It’s counter-intuitive, but it’s all about tricking the eye. Mine go to my knees and they look much better than ones that end halfway up the thigh.
So, the question you might ask for this outfit, is why I didn’t go for the shorter cycling shorts for this outfit? The answer is that my shirt is longer and looser. I know my legs will always look nice and long in short skirts when I’m wearing a pair of heels. But a shirt is a different matter. What makes this outfit work is the fact that these cycling shorts are longer than usual and go all the way to my knee. Black is very flattering and because they’re long, it makes it seem like my legs start higher up than they do. As a result I can wear a loose oversized shirt and not look like an Oopma Loompa.
The outfit is completed with a pair of white resin cat-eye sunglasses, an old pair of satin electric blue sandals from Zara, a vintage necklace Mum’s had since the late eighties and my new favourite bag, the Chloé Nile Minaudière. Didn’t you know, that super small bags are so hot right now? 😛 So this baby is my new best friend, lol.
Outfit Details
Pink tie-dye shirt: Zara, found here
Black cycling shorts: H&M, found here
Black bodysuit: PrettyLittleThing, found here
Blue satin strappy sandals: Zara, old. Similar ones found here and here
Nile Minaudière black leather clutch: Chloé, found here
White resin cat-eye sunglasses: Zara, found here
