When you have thick cankles, the struggle is real when you open your wardrobe and wonder what dresses and trousers can make your feel secure when you wear them out.
The annoying thing is sometimes even when you are so skinny but you can still have cankles that make your skinny jeans tucked.
I mean, the struggle is real.
But ladies, don’t lose hope, and let’s remember you are definitely not alone!
Luckily, with different styling tips and tricks, it’s not that hard to hide your cankles at all! Here are 10 tips on how to dress when you have cankles, enjoy!
1. Wear wide-leg pants and flared jeans
When you are wearing wide-leg pants and flared jeans, no one can notice you have cankles at all!
Added to this, flared jeans are truly versatile and fit girls with different body shapes.
- High waist full flare pants
With the full flares, you can hide not only cankles but your belly or muffin top perfectly as well, full flare pants are flattering for pear shaped girls.
- Tight upper flare small flares
If you are a girl with thin thighs and cankles, these small flare jeans can accentuate your slim thigh as the flares only begin under the knee area.
I do find this flattering as it exaggerates the slim area and covers the cankles perfectly.
With a pair of platform shoes or heels, this is how you look 8 inches taller instantly.
- Wide Cropped pants:
While it looks good on some people, if you have cankles, cropped pants aren’t the most flattering as it shows your ankles out.
It still looks great but with comparison, the above 2 options are my favorite!
2. Avoid any kind of Calf-length pants and Capri pants
Just don’t wear them.
I’ve tried on both short jeans and capri pants and surprisingly, my legs look better with short jeans!
The reason being is capri pants land on the calf area and that brutally makes my cankles look more stand out.
Instead, with short jeans, by showing my thigh, it balances out the cankles and it elongates my legs.
So ladies, if you want to wear short jeans and a skirt, go for it! It’s true that it will show your cankles but at least the result is way less horrible than the capri pants!
As for me, I do wear an A-line skirt from time to time, after all, I don’t want to hide cankles all day, that is too tiring!
3. Opt for pointed shoes instead of round-toe shoes
Always wear pointed shoes instead of round-toe shoes.
I know ballerina flats are adorable, but the round curves just make our legs look shorter and thicker and that accentuates the cankles.
Instead, always wear pointed V-lining shoes to give your feet a little bit of an extension and make your leg looks slender in general.
Despite the fact that it improves the leg silhouette, pointed shoes just look more in style and chic to me! I always feel more put together with pointy shoes than cute round-toe shoes.
4. Embrace your over-knee and tall boots
Boots are your best friend. With a pair of black over-knee boots that hide your cankles perfectly, you are ready to conquer the world!
Any kind of structured tall boots can be flattering, but other boots like combat boots, wedge boots, and moto boots cover your ankle area and show your calves instead, which will make your cankles look even bigger!
If you really have to wear mid-calf boots during winter, at least choose fur boots.
With the fur around the boots, it serves as a little contour to your cankles and makes things less obvious.
But seriously, if you have a choice, always choose tall boots instead of mid-calf boots!
5. Avoid Ankle strappy heels
I used to love my ankle straps and sandals until I realise those straps that make my legs look super chubby!
Ankle straps (especially the thick one) are a big no-no as they will visually separate our calves and feet and hide the thinnest part of our legs – the ankle.
Instead of ankle strappy heels, you can get the same support for your feet when you wear strapless shoes like mules.
I adore my mules so much as they just look effortlessly classy yet comfortable to walk.
I know some ladies out there still tempting to wear ankle-strap heels. If you really insist, at least wear the heels with nude straps so they won’t cut your ankles as brutally as the black thick straps.
Another way is always to add a few more holes to your straps to make sure there’s enough room for your legs to breathe!
6. Wear chunky heels to balance your cankles
I know you are questioning ” Aren’t we suppose to wear thin stiletto heels to make our legs as long and slim as possible?”
While this is not wrong, I realized with the thin heels, it makes such a big contrast with our cankles and that makes us look a bit imbalanced with the thick leg but delicate heels.
It takes me some time to recognize this truth but long and thin heels don’t look as flattering as I expected.
To my surprise, high chunky heels look more flattering with cankles!
Not only does this make my 4 inches heels way more comfortable, but the chunky heels can also balance my thick ankles can it appear visually slimmer.
After all, hiding cankles is all about creating a visual illusion. If you compare your cankles to thin high heels, of course, it looks more obvious!
7. Add some volume to the upper body for balancing the overall body figure
Balancing is always a smart way to make our cankles less obvious and it works every time.
Despite wearing oversize and baggy tops, I love to play with the designs so I can still look feminine by showing my body curves.
One of my all-time favorites is wearing an off-shoulder top.
Showing the clavicle help shifts people’s attention from the cankles to my upper body.
Added to this, showing the neckline can always make my face looks smaller by illusion.
Other designs like lace tops, ruffle tops and some subtly printed tops are all useful to add some volume to your upper body for balancing, so feel free to explore different styles!
But of course, we all have some days that we just want to wear a plain V-neck T-shirt.
In that case, I will always wear a necklace to add a bit of a highlight to my upper body! Nothing looks chicer than wearing a long Y-necklace with a plain shirt during lazy weekends!
8. Wear a dress and pants with a structured fabric
Most people focus on the lining but ignore the structure of the fabric.
Guess what, they matter too.
I always choose thick high-quality fabric instead of thin cotton fabric.
With thin cotton fabric, it can look a bit see-through under the sunlight and that’s sloppy.
The worse thing is, it can easily show the shade of your cankles when that day is windy.
I remember once I took a photo with my friend in really lightweight pants.
When I look back at the phone I was shocked, my pants stick to my leg and it totally shows the whole shape of my cankles!
Pants with structured fabric like denim, Wool Tweed, and Chenille fabric looks more classy and elegant than baggy cotton pants.
So ladies, be intentional with the fabric, people can tell the difference!
9. Wear dark tights and avoid white jeans at all cost
If you have read my other articles you know I am totally in love with white jeans.
However, if you have cankles, it’s pity that white jeans are not a good choice. All bright color has a different extent or exaggerating effect and this can make your cankles look bigger.
Instead, wearing dark tights like black will be a perfect choice.
But if you don’t want to wear black, other natural earth-tone colors like khaki brown can be a nice choice as well!
This is so random… BUT
hey ladies, why not quickly do an affirmation and feel instantly better?
This new year, I’m trying not only to share fashion tips but come up with ways to instill body positivity in all women who are reading my articles – aka YOU!
Instead of just reading it, say it loud or murmur the quotes (if you are in public) to maximize the effect.
Ready? Here we go.
I love my body. She is my forever home and sanctuary.
Sassy isn’t a shape, it’s an attitude.
Work out because I love my body – not because I hate it.
I can love myself and change my body at the same time. No guilt about that.
It is completely normal to have tummy rolls. I come to realize that social media isn’t showing the reality… at all.
My happiest moments in life had nothing to do with the way my body looked.
I don’t have to be pretty like her, I can be pretty like …ME.
I AM perfect imperfection.
What are your thoughts on that? I hope that makes you feel better (as you deserved).
Please help me pass the body positivity message in your community. #womenhelpwomen
Alright, now keep on reading!
10. Adopt tone-on-tone with your pants, socks, and sneaker
This timeless formula can hide your cankles easily!
If you want to wear sneakers, no problem but always wear socks and pants of the same color ideally.
Monochrome wearing elongates your leg and makes your cankles less noticeable.
Please don’t wear black cropped jeans and black sneakers with yellow printed socks. It may look fashionable but you have to be mentally prepared your cankles will receive so much unwanted attention today!
CONCLUSION:
So ladies, here are the 10 tips on how to dress when you have cankles, let’s have a quick checklist first!
- Wear wide-leg pants and flared jeans
- Avoid any kind of Calf-length pants and Capri pants
- Opt for pointed shoes instead of round-toe shoes
- Embrace your over knee and tall boots
- Avoid Ankle strappy heels
- Wear chunky heels to balance your cankles
- Add some volume to the upper body for balancing the overall body figure
- Wear a dress and pants with a structured fabric
- Wear dark tights and avoid white jeans at all cost
- Adopt tone-on-tone with your pants, socks, and sneaker
So here are my 10 tips to dress when you have cankles and heavy calves!
I hope you find it useful!
Most of the time, we are so strict and hard towards ourselves. It’s so easy for us to appreciate other girls’ beauty but when we look at the mirror, all we can see are room for improvement.
It’s true that we have cankles or heavy calves but let’s not forget we always have many things to celebrate our body and beauty.
When you start to embrace yourselves totally, you will realize people don’t really care or even notice you have tight cankles! So ladies, if you feel like today is your short jean day, GO FOR IT!
Love,
Hannah
By the way, here are some reads that you may interested, see you there!
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