The Answer from an Expert - Imogen Lamport of Inside Out Style

I recently posed this question to an image consultant: 

I would like your opinion on the hem length of tunic type tops. I’m a knitting designer and teacher and this topic comes up in my Fit and Flatter classes. I think women look slimmest when the hem hits just below the crotch so that the leg length is undetermined by the viewer and therefore looks longer. One of my designer buddies says the crotch must be exposed for the legs to look the longest. I suspect that we are both right and have failed to take a third factor into consideration, perhaps colour contrast or thigh shape. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Imogen Lamport of Bespoke Image has written a great post on the topic, you can find it here at http://www.insideoutstyleblog.com/. You may need to copy the link into your browser. I found the link was working inconsistently when I tested it. The post appeared on Sept 2 2011.

Now that I've read her notes I realize (after taking a good look in the mirror), that the widest curve on my thighs is right at my crotch and that is why I prefer a tunic top to be just a little longer. Many women have the widest section in a different spot and that impacts which hem length is best for them. The factors to consider other than thigh shape are: body shape, leg length, colour contrast of the tunic to the bottom garment and where the widest part of your body is.

Thanks Imogen, this really helps me to do a proper analysis!

I've been reading Imogen's blog for a while now and I can highly recommend it. She often answers this kind of detailed question in a way that can be applied to each unique individual. I find that many stylist's just gloss over these complex relationships of multiple factors with more general answers.