Style expert explains Meghan Markle’s secrets to dress a ‘short torso’

Meghan Markle has previously disclosed that her curious body hang-up is her “short torso”, but one fashion expert claims the Duchess has made good use of styling tricks to conceal the insecurity.

According to Jules Beth, the Duchess of Sussex uses an amalgamation of style tricks to create the illusion of a longer torso, starting with the boat neckline.

“Meghan Markle is a short torso celebrity with a style I love!” The style expert said on YouTube. “She does a great job of playing with proportions using colour and contract that work so well with her body.”

As a working royal, the boat neckline – referring to a neckline that runs horizontally across the collarbone – became a firm favourite for the Duchess – because it lengthened her neck.

Beth said that this cut tends to lengthen the torso upwards instead of downwards, too, thereby creating the illusion of a longer upper body.

Meghan’s wedding dress, designed by Clare Waight Keller, was the perfect example of a boat neckline creating the right amount of space and length in the neck, noted Beth.

The second neckline that has proven to work “really well” on the Duchess of Sussex is the halterneck, which she famously sported at her wedding reception.

Meghan’s Stella McCartney number, featuring the high halter neckline and flowing skirt, did wonders for her torso by elongating her upper body.

“You can’t always lengthen your torso at the bottom,” explained the stylist. “Sometimes you have to lengthen it at the top.”

Meanwhile, Beth pointed out that another way to create the illusion of a longer torso is to shorten the leg with a pop of colour on the feet.

“As a long-legged person myself, I like my legs to look more proportioned with the rest of my body,” she explained. “By having a different color shoe, you’re actually creating a little bit of emphasis on your foot […].”

“[This] is then cutting into your leg, which then makes your leg look more proportionate to the upper half and rest of your body.”

Last but not least the Duchess always relies on belts that are soft and similar in color to the rest of her outfits when she wants to cinch in her waist.

The objective here is to conceal the belt as much as possible in order to prevent the hips from sticking out underneath, which emphasises shorter torsos.

“A lot of the time we see her wearing soft fabric belts in the same color as the rest of her dress,” noted Beth. “It’s literally the same fabric so it’s soft [and] a lot easier to move from the left to the right.”

By minimising contrast between the accessory and background fabric, the Duchess is less likely to draw attention to the upper part of her body, added the expert.