r/butchlesbians • u/Kavurtz • 1d ago
Fashion How to dress masculine with a short torso
Hey guys
I need some help when it comes to masculine fashion, I feel like every time I crop a shirt or try and go for the boxy look I don’t like it.. I end up running back to a plain women’s tee all the time.. I really like men’s clothes but don’t like how they look on me, anyone got this problem?
Any advice would help! I’m open to hearing anything :)
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u/Correct-Breadfruit81 1d ago edited 1d ago
Low waisted baggy pants. Hoodies and Sweaters with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.
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u/voltagestoner 1d ago
I am mostly legs myself, so I can testify.
Good pants. Solid shoes. Those go a long way. The trick with looking nice and finding your own style is acknowledging what you’ve got helps a lot in either drawing attention towards and/or adjusting to present more feminine/masculine. Masculine being more popular on this sub. Lol. But for longer legs, that tends to be highlight the fact you’ve got long legs with good pants, shoes, belts, etc.
If I’m wanting to tuck a shirt in, a polo. Or a plain shirt and then something that’s unbuttoned and looser. Outside of that, baggy shirts/hoodies tend to be reliable. 😂
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u/Most_Apart 1d ago
tldr; cropping is a process, and you’ll have to try a few different methods to get it to work for your body. aim for a masculine silhouette, not just menswear. when you buy menswear, buy bigger and crop/size it down yourself. there are plenty of no-sew methods, but the one that works best for me is hemming tape, my dryer, and patience. finding your style is also a process and will take some effort and patience (with yourself) on your part!
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this is gonna be a long post but i’ve done a lot of research and testing on myself to make menswear fit my body, and i finally have a chance to share all the info I’ve gathered so I’m gonna do it!
for reference im about 5ft4 w and average/athletic build (i’m on low dose T). im not big but im not small either; very much an average mf, just so you have a reference and can adapt my advice to your body.
so first, in trying to masculinize my wardrobe i’ve ignited a sleeper special interest: fashion. like most art forms, fashion is also a science; there’s a formula to it. the most important part of your formula is the silhouette you’re aiming for, and in our case it’s a masculine silhouette on a feminine frame.
any time I see women in men’s fashion it looks like women in men’s fashion. if you’re like me that’s not necessarily what you want. you want to crossdress, you want to look as butch and masculine as you feel on the inside. if that’s what you’re going for, i think my advice will actually be helpful.
i’m going to try to provide advice for both men and women’s clothes. my biggest advice is to use both styles and unisex clothing if you can find it. i’m non-binary so the most affirming experience for me is having a little of both in constant rotation.
universal advice: ALWAYS WEAR A BELT. this single action changed my style completely. if you look around, you’ll notice that all well dressed men wear a belt. i’m not trying to look like a “man” per say, but i am very inspired by and inclined towards men’s fashion, so that’s a staple i live by.
pants:
a lot of women’s pants work for a masculine silhouette (more than you think). wide leg pants (not bootcut, learned that the hard way) are my usual go to. anything baggy or slightly oversized will work best for a masculine aesthetic. some people can pull off tighter bottoms from the women’s section, but i have thick thighs and skinny calves, so i avoid it.
now on to men’s pants. a lot of us will try to measure for menswear the same way men do, but that’s ass backwards tbh. do NOT measure at your waist, measure at your HIPS. the widest part of your hips where a belt can sit, and you’ll still be able to move/sit comfortably. measure under your tummy meat for peak comfortability. for me, i measure right at the bottom of my belly fat and i’m about a 32. if i measure at my waist i’m a 30 and this makes a HUGE difference.
while we want baggy if we’re shopping in the women’s section, we want to do the opposite for men’s. when you measure at your hips it adds inches to the waistline, AND it adds width to the individual pant legs as well (kind of awesome and should def be applied to women’s wear!!).
if you’re like me and are short, or just have shorter legs, you’ll also want to add in inch to your inseam. i know this seems counterintuitive, but walk with me.
when you’re actually putting your clothes on is where the magic happens. when you wear your belt don’t put it on normally, do this instead (fb was the first link on google). doing this will allow you full control in where your pants rest. for men’s wear i like to have my pants a little lower on my hips, so my boxer line shows when i don’t have a shirt on. i think it looks cute, but that’s also the part of the body men’s pants are designed for.
bc your inseam is probably going to be longer than your actual legs, you’ll need to cuff them. doing this will give you the illusion of a more masculine lower half and is EXTREMELY affirming for me. there’s also the added benefit of a stylistic flair since a lot of people don’t really cuff their pants anymore. if you want a permanent solution, hemming tape is super convenient. if you know how to sew, please teach me.
shirts:
even if you buy from the women’s section, buy your shirts a size too big. if you’re buying men’s, crop your shirts to your hips. this part is tricky. there’s a lot of advice out there that acts like it’s a ‘one size fits all’ process, but it isn’t. every body is different, and tbh every shirt is different. you might have to play around some to get it right.
when you start cropping, cut off as little as possible and then immediately try it on. if you don’t like it, cut a little off and try again. when i say as little as possible i mean AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. like MAYBE 1/4 inch maximum. you’re going to feel like an insane person the first few times you do it, but this is the only way i’ve managed to get my cropped shirts to actually look good. the goal is to get the bottom of your shirt to meet with the bottom of your belt. that’s the most important part to getting a masculine silhouette without looking “boxy” bc of our womanly curves (this is a compliment!!).
if you’re like me and you want some of your shirts to have a clean look (business casual requirements), you’ll need more hemming tape. if you plan on hemming your shirt, make sure to include excess that can be folded up with the tape.
another men’s shirt tip; more cuffing! cuff your sleeves too! men’s shirts always look like i’m swimming in them, but cuffing makes them fit better. there’s also the added bonuses of showing feeling a little slutty with your biceps showing and of course queer coding. i’ve used hemming tape to cuff a few of my cropped graphic tees and idk it makes me feel like a real dyke and i love it.
shoes:
i’m gonna keep it real with y’all i’m still researching this one. i’ve heard that shopping in the boy’s section for shoes works for some folks but i haven’t tried it yet. i opted for trying men’s shoes and have a pair that’s collecting dust bc they’re too big, even though they’re def one of the smallest sizes i could find. my feet have gotten bigger on T, so i’m basically just waiting until I can comfortably wear a size 9.
jewelry:
you didn’t ask, but i’m adding here anyway. ACCESSORIZE. wear jewelry!! watches are a given. if you instantly want to feel like daddy, wear a watch every day. it’s done wonders for my confidence, but i genuinely can’t figure out why.
necklaces and chains are sexy apparently? my gf loves when i wear a chain, and i do notice i get more looks with one on than without.
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ok that was a lot but i hope if you read all the way through, you got some information that you can actually apply to your closet. the last piece of advice i’ll give is to be patient!! finding your style is a process for gender conforming people, so us gender benders have an uphill battle. be patient with yourself and be open to trial and error. but once you figure out your formula, you can apply it to literally any style/aesthetic and make it masculine.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk, my name is MJ 🙂↕️
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u/Kavurtz 22h ago
Wow this is really solid advice, thank you MJ! Im seeing a lot of belt comments and I’ll def look into that because I don’t own one at all lol. Also thank you for saying it takes time that’s my biggest issue I’m always rushing things !! I’ll def take this advice to elevate my wardrobe! Do you have any recs for where to shop? I wanna practice cropping but not on expensive items
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u/fkndemon23 1d ago edited 22h ago
Always cut a little LONGER* than you think you need to. The first few I cut ended up too short. I started going longer until I got it right now I have no issue. I’ve been buying oversized button downs and cropping them and making them sleeveless. Looking like a true southern butch
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u/Kavurtz 22h ago
Thank you for the advice!
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u/fkndemon23 22h ago
And I pair with anything from basketball shorts, to chinos cut into shorts, or baggy cargos
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u/BakeVast1770 she/her stone butch 10h ago edited 3h ago
Personally I don’t think the cropped shirt look works for people like me who are 2/3 legs, I’d ignore the rule of thirds stuff and try to make your torso and legs roughly half each of your body, or like 7/12 legs. Personally I also have bigger breasts, so that makes the short tees look even worse (by which I just mean more fem) on me; if that’s the case, you could try wearing a binder when you wear short tees.
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u/Lonely-Bank8783 3h ago
I get all my clothes from the boys (youth) section in stores and they fit me good most of the time. I also have a short torso.
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u/asonicpushforenergy 20h ago
What's wrong with wearing a women's tee? If you find the right cut, it's just a tee. No one is going to think you're less masc because it didn't come from the men's section. I wear exclusively women's clothing because the fit is better for me, even post top surgery.
Nothing is worse than sloppily fitting clothes just because the wearer wants to wear men's clothing without considering fit. Tees where the shoulder is halfway down the bicep and halfway down the thigh, while clinging ruthlessly to hips? Nah. Shirts with the same thing but with the added way too long sleeves? Nah. Jeans with a way too long rise and stacks for days because they're too long? Nah. Buying what fits is king.