How to Look Taller Part 5 – Shoes

One of the most common actions that many men take to elevate their height is to run out and buy a pair of height-increasing shoes or shoe lifts (devices you place in your shoes to elevate your height).  I’m going to tell you right now, that this may be the worst thing that you can do.

One reason why is that a shoe lift will elevate your heel, but will not elevate the front of your foot.  This can not only lead to walking awkwardly, but can place a uncomfortable and unwieldy weight shift on your entire body and in no small part on you spine.  It’s simply not conducive to your spine-lengthening regimen.

Another reason why shoe lifts and platform shoes are probably not the best idea is that they are often very obvious (many times very obvious to everyone except the poor wearer).  More often than not, guys that go for these kinds of shoes achieve nothing more than looking like a ridiculous looking man in heels.  Nothing more.

Instead of special-ordering expensive shoes that may cause you to look awkward and even foolish, select shoes that are complimentary to your wardrobe instead.  If you want to opt for shoes with thicker soles (usually shoes that are more like boots) then that is fine, as long as you use discretion.  Bulkier style shoes can make your feet appear to be not so small as well.  Focusing on shoes that have a slightly thicker-appearing sole as well as clean, smooth lines will go a long way for completing most looks.

Finally, always match your shoes to the color of your pants as much as possible.  Tennis shoes are the obvious exception; however for dress shoes this can provide a much cleaner, less broken silhouette that is one more way that your form will appear taller.

How to Look Taller Part 4 – Suits and Jackets

If your job calls for you to wear a suit (or at least a tucked in shirt and a tie) then unfortunately, the chances are pretty high that you’re dressing yourself for “failure” in terms of accenting your height.  And we’ve all heard about the studies that have proven, time and time again, how taller guys get paid more.  Knowing that, don’t you agree that dressing in a way that is flattering and keeps you from looking short is worth it?  Yeah, me too.

Your suit should always match from top to bottom as much as possible.  That means that the material used for the jacket is the same as the pants.  Going with what was said about pants earlier, suit pants shouldn’t have cuffs at all.  Go with a slimmer cut suit and pant that doesn’t bulge awkwardly.  And if you think that I hammered home the importance of getting your shirts and pants tailored then you can be absolutely assured that I am stressing the point of a smartly-tailored suit.  Whenever you buy a suit, you need to always go ahead and count the cost of good tailoring in with the final purchase price.  Seriously, it’s not that much more and will turn a short guy wearing a frumpy suit into a lean, no-nonsense promotion and raise-demanding machine.

Two words about suits that you should always keep in mind: pin stripes.  Add in one more word to that as well: thin pin stripes.  Just make sure that the stripes don’t overpower the suit.

Dark colors make you appear taller.  Stop looking at that white or light gray suit.  Now.
Seriously, there is nothing that will accentuate your lean (or even not-so-lean) figure more than pin striping on a suit.  Add in the smart, professional tailoring and you’ll find that it’s difficult to not look like a million bucks.

If you’re in a situation where you want to wear a sports jacket that doesn’t exactly match your pants, then make sure that their colors are as close as possible while remaining complimentary.  I, personally, have gotten away with this using a sports jacket that I refuse to get rid of because I love it so much.  I showed it to a more “style conscious” friend of mine so that he could help me find some pants to wear with it.  The jacket is kind of an “off-tan” color (I’m no good with a color swatch – forgive me) and he selected some pants that I can pretty accurately describe as chocolate colored.  Let’s just say that I bought them, had them tailored, and now I have a great combo for any pseudo-formal occasion that comes around such as holiday parties.  Seriously, give this a try.

Never, ever buy a three buttoned suit jacket or sports jacket.  That extra button will end up making you look squat and short.  Give yourself some breathing room by always going with the two-button version of a suit. 

Even if the particular suit you’re drooling over only comes with the three-button style, the odds are extremely good that there’s a two button style that matches it somewhere in the store you’re in.  The sales guy says that there isn’t one?  Snap a picture of the suit with your phone and walk out.  Go to a better store and get them to hook you up.

When you’re first trying on your suit jacket, make sure that it falls just past your hips.  If it’s too short, you’re going to look awkward and ridiculous.  Too long and you will have stumpy legs.  Many times you will be better off swallowing your pride and asking for the “short” cut – this will often be proportioned much better for your frame.  I won’t say that this is a hard-and-fast rule, though.  If the jacket has a small taper at the waist it can create a leaner, longer effect as well.  Always, always, always pick a suit that will exaggerate the tie.

For the suit pants, always go for flat front (just like I said in the pants section).  Make sure that the rise on your pants is short enough, avoid excessive bagginess, and avoid pleats like the plague.  Your pants should be slim, trim, and streamlined.

How to Look Taller Part 3 – Pants

Just like your shirts, your pants must fit well in order to look taller.  Above and beyond anything else that you will get out of the How to Look Taller section of the Grow Taller Blog, remember that one thing: your clothes must fit well.

Pants should be long and narrow (but not overly skinny) to give you a leaner, taller look.  The waistband should rest at your hips, which will add the illusion of length.  Never, ever wear your pants so that the waistband is too high.  Conversely, you should avoid wearing extremely low-rise pants and jeans as well, in spite of what may be fashionable at the moment.  These types of jeans can make your legs appear 2 inches shorter or even more.

Make sure that your pants don’t balloon out around your hips.  This can happen from having pockets that are too full or having too much shirt tucked in (tailoring can almost always fix that problem).  This look will give you the wider (side-to-side) look that you are avoiding like the plague.

Dress pants should break on your shoes just a hair more than that of average.  This will ensure that your legs will look longer.  Another consideration for dress pants is to avoid cuffs, which break up the form of your legs, making them appear shorter.  If your pants must have cuffs, have them altered to be smaller – about 1 ¼ inch should be fine.  Never, ever wear multiple-pleated pants and always opt for flat fronts – pleats are for school girl outfits and NOT men’s pants.

Back to jeans: bootcut jeans are favored at the moment and go a long way in accentuating a longer physique than many other jean styles so it’s a safe bet to stick with them.  Baggy jeans will always make you appear shorter, disheveled, and downright classless.  Just like your dress pants, jeans should have a break in them, though it should never be too pronounced.  In the event that it is, have them tailored as well (yes, people do have their jeans tailored).  Your jeans should break slightly, but make sure that they do, indeed, break.  If not, your jeans could look too short for you when you walk or just stand.  A break that is too low gives the appearance that your jeans are too large.  Also, make sure that the break doesn’t cover your shoes too much, which can also look unsightly.

In addition to tailoring, pants can actually be custom-made as well.  While this option is more expensive, you may actually find that having pants custom-made by a tailor can actually cost less than high-end pants that you may find in department stores.  Your mileage with this may vary when you start getting into different materials and the time needed for the tailor to complete the job.

How to Look Taller Part 2 – Shirts

When dressing for height, a proper fit is the key to success.  Your clothes should fit as flawlessly as possible. 

Looser, baggy clothes can you make you look disheveled and stumpy.  Your clothes should never be ill-fitting or baggy because you want to create the “up-and-down” line with as little interruption as possible.  This effect goes a long way to creating a lengthy form.

One other problem that baggy clothes presents for someone that wants to learn how to look taller is that it gives the illusion that you are swimming in your clothes or as if the clothes were borrowed from an older brother or an uncle.  This perpetuates an unconscious image of a “little boy” – an image that is so often firmly set in the heads of people (particularly women) when they think of shorter men.  

On the other hand, you also want to avoid clothes that are too tight as well.  When in doubt, the best fit is the proper fit.  Always go for a well-tailored look.  Monochromatic colors and/or virtual stripes and detailing always serve to accentuate your height.  Thin stripes, interesting buttons, contrasting ties, and visible seams all help as well.  Avoid any graphics or prints that are overwhelmingly bold and intense.  These ring especially true for T-shirts and emblazoned pants and jeans.  It’s true that these types of detailing may draw more attention to you, but it’s very likely that the overall effect of that attention will not be what you are looking for.  An impeccable and dashing style will get you noticed as well – but instead of an overpowering, overbearing, loud statement, you will be making a statement of refinement and class.

Always look for shirts that are tailored well for your form and that won’t leave excess fabric when you tuck them in.  Opt for collars that are pointed instead of ones that are spread.  Shirts that are hemmed to rest only an inch or two below the waistline of your pants work particularly well.  If they are any longer, tuck them in to avoid giving the appearance of short legs.  Button-front dress shirts should almost always be tucked in for this exact reason, but not always.  Many modern-styles of button-front “dress” shirts are specifically made to be left untucked the majority of the time.  These can serve to your advantage as well, since sometimes a tucked shirt can place an exaggerated emphasis on your legs and torso, which can also make you appear shorter than you are.  If you’re not familiar with the differences of these types of button-front shirt, then it never hurts to ask a knowledgeable store clerk.

Always keep in mind that a tailor can alter the hem length of shirts in addition to the length of the sleeves for a better fit, but shortening the length of the shirt is generally an easier task than reducing the length of the sleeves.  To make the process of tailoring as easy as possible, make sure the shirt fits properly around your shoulders and body first and foremost.  If it does, then you can concentrate on altering the sleeves and the length.

No shirts should be baggy.  It was the trend in the 1990’s to wear baggy shirts and/or sweaters but that style is now long gone.  The most preferred fit for form-elongation is a more European-inspired trim fit that feature higher arm holes and a slimmer body.  As said before, it’s more important to find a shirt that fits your body so that the length and sleeves can be altered than to find a shirt off-the-rack that fits perfectly.
One perfect look is an open, pointed-collar shirt that will accentuate and elongate your neck and face. 

V-neck t-shirts and sweaters also accomplish this as well so if you’ve never considered them, you may want to give them a try.  They help make your torso appear longer and your body look more svelte overall.  On the other hand, turtlenecks and even mock turtlenecks can make you appear more more “stumpy”, as they conceal your neck.  Frigid winters aside, you may want to forego those kinds of sweaters and shirts whenever it’s possible to do so.

While you already know to avoid horizontal stripes, you need to also stay away from checkered-pattern shirts and plaid shirts.  Let the lumberjacks enjoy their fashion statement.  Dark, monochromatic colors will make you taller.  Always avoid “breaking” your frame from top to bottom with contrasting colors.  Think “dark colors, light fabrics” as a general rule and you’re three steps ahead of the game.

You will likely be quite surprised at what looks you can achieve from otherwise ill-fitting or unflattering shirts when you get them tailored.  Tailoring isn’t as expensive as you may think and the improved appearance that you can reap from it is enormous.

Why You Need to Learn How to Grow Taller in 2011

Sometimes we spend so much time learning how to grow taller in our pursuits to increase our height that the underlying, core reasons why we have the goal to increase our height can be shuffled around in the mix.

Height – in this day and age – is at a premium. It is true, that in a “perfect world” a person’s height would have absolutely no impact on their social, romantic, or professional standing in any way, shape, or form – just as their race, nationality, or gender would.

However, that is not the case. Yes, it’s sad but it’s also true.
The sad fact is that heightism is a very real phenomenon in which a person is unfairly judged by their height, more often than not in a negative way.

Heightism seems to strike in the workplace more commonly now than ever before. That, or it is finally just now getting at least a fraction of the attention that it deserves.

It is no secret that taller people tend to be favored over shorter people in the hiring process, in the selection for promotions, and even when it comes time to be considered for a raise. One of the most startling aspects about this is that heightism can occur even when there is not another, taller candidate in competition for the job opportunity, promotion, or raise.

Heightism in a less concrete role takes place in the realm of social norms and relationships as well. A recent study of well over 1,000 women showed that a shocking majority of them favored men that had been convicted of felonies over men that stood under the United States national average of 5’9”.

Added to this the fact that shorter men tend to marry less (admittedly, this is likely a cause and effect relationship on at least some level), get divorced more, and have less children and the patterns that emerge are, while shocking, frustratingly predictable after a while.

That being said, learning how to grow taller, in and of itself, will not make you happier on its own. Sure, there is certainly something to be said for achieving your goal of increasing your height naturally and permanently, but height is not the only factor that will guarantee your successful life.

However, that being said, in a world that never plays by the rules almost no one would disagree that giving yourself the life that you want is immeasurably important and achieving the height that you want can go a long way in helping you lead the life you want.

As you are making your new year’s resolutions for 2011 and beyond, think about the life that you want to have for yourself. Just because you want to change something about yourself physically doesn’t make you narcissistic – not in the least. Just ask any one of the millions of people that make the resolutions to lose weight and get in better shape.

Can You Grow Taller By Having Sex?

It seems to be a hefty stretch of the imagination at best and an outright fabrication at worst, but the fact of the matter is that the physical act of sex may actually help you grow taller.


Note: Be sure to check out the video below

There are at least four factors that lend credence to the notion that you can positively affect your goal to grow taller simply by having sex on a regular basis…


The first of these factors is that sex is not only a healthy exercise, but in many ways it actually closely imitates the undisputed champion of grow taller exercises, which is swimming. Swimming is the best exercise to perform regularly for those who want to grow taller because of the active role of exertion that it places on your spine. Your spine is a complex system of mechanics consisting not only of the bony vertebrae but also the soft, flexible cartilage that binds it together and allows it to flex in an infinite number of positions.

In your quest to grow taller, up to an inch of more of height can be gained by bolstering this spongy cartilage in a healthy, controlled manner through both passive and active means. Passive means include ensuring you have good posture (which we will cover in a moment) and ensuring that adequate nourishment is reaching the cartilage so that it remains flexible and pliable long into adulthood. Active means consists of ensuring that it remains flexible through adequate, proper exercise that ensures the cartilage and the muscles surrounding the spine are strong and flexible.

Swimming – and sex – helps accomplish the active role of helping to keep the cartilage in your spine and the muscles surrounding it strong and healthy – a crucial element in growing taller.

The second factor ties into the first. Having regular sex can help keep you limber and strong. It’s no secret that sex is highly regarded as one of the healthiest forms of exercise that you can do. It raises your heart rate so it’s a superb form of cardiovascular exercise. But even more importantly in terms of increasing height, the motions involved in sex can help keep you limber by actively using muscles and motions that you otherwise probably are not actively using. Simply put, when combined with an active schedule of stretching exercises to increase height, sex can be a powerful tool to help keep you fit and limber and your body primed for additional height growth.

Third, a very large factor in increasing your height is ensuring that your body produces an adequate amount of naturally-occurring hormones that not only keep you fit, agile, and youthful but can help you increase your height through these means well after your natural growth phase has ended. While you are still limited by your body’s “natural time clock” in that you absolutely cannot instigate another growth spurt, by keeping your body’s natural hormone production at peak levels you will remain healthier and in turn, better equipped to grow taller using growth-promoting physical activities.

This is why so many people that want to increase their height turn to supplements and drugs that unnaturally boost their hormone levels or introduce synthetic hormones into their bodies. While these medications may certainly be helpful to individuals that suffer from conditions that cause them to be depleted of natural hormones, they can actually cause moderate to severe adverse side effects to otherwise healthy persons. This is because when foreign or synthetic hormone-altering substances are introduced into the body, the body’s natural synergistic balances are disturbed. Simply put, the rest of the body’s mechanisms are caught off guard and – as seen when too much HGH (human growth hormone) is introduced without regard to side effects, it can have extremely negative results.

The absolute best way to increase your body’s hormone levels is to do so in a natural manner. This means eating a healthy diet and engaging in regular exercise that actively promotes increased metabolic function and hormone-producing activity. The end result is a much healthier body that reaches its goals synergistically and all at the same time so that the body’s natural rhythm is never out of sync.

Finally, the fourth way that sex can help you grow taller is that because it is such an active, exhilarating activity, it promotes deeper, more productive sleep. I don’t have to tell you how well you are rested after a day of physical exertion or after an evening of sexual activity. The sleep you get that night is deep and productive, which further bolsters the body’s natural cellular repair functions. In short, better sleep equals a healthier body which equals a body that is much better suited to grow taller through more active means (such as stretching exercises and exercise and proper nutrition).

In conclusion, keep in mind that sex alone will not make you grow taller. However, when combined with a healthy lifestyle and active participation in a program like the Grow Taller Book, sex is most certainly one of the most advantageous forms of activity that you can engage in to reach your height increase goals.

How to Grow Taller Naturally A 4 Step Guide

Learning how to grow taller naturally isn’t as difficult as many people tend to believe it is. In fact, it’s a sad fact that most people tend to believe that it’s impossible to increase height after the body’s growth period has concluded but that’s simply not the case. The human body is a remarkably resilient organism that is capable of reacting in an extremely positive manner to focused, outside stimuli – such as what is outlined in this guide. By concentrating on the body’s naturally-reactive state with specific, focused actions, it is entirely possible to teach your body how to grow taller naturally, safely and effectively.
(Learn more about how your body is fully able to learn how to grow tall here.)

Step 1 – How to Get Taller with Nutrition

No guide demonstrating how to grow taller would be anywhere near complete without starting with adequate nutrition. The old adage, “Good in, good out” applies to growing taller just as much as it does to general health and fitness. I know that I don’t have to tell you how important proper nutrition is – it’s the absolute most crucial element in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. And maintaining a healthy lifestyle is absolutely crucial in successfully learning to increase height.
Just about everyone is aware of the basics of a healthy diet, but in order to properly arm your body with the essential tools to grow taller, there are a few advanced aspects to nutrition that may surprise you.

Step 2 – Grow Taller Exercises

Everything on your body works synergistically. To get taller, you must actively strengthen the muscles that support your spine and give you optimum posture. In order to strengthen these core muscles adequately, you must strengthen the rest of your body at the same rate to harness this synergistic balance.
This is why grow taller exercises are so important – and why it’s even more important to perform them correctly and diligently. It will do you no good to perform the exercises four or five days in a row only to slack off for the next three days. While a day or two of rest every week or so should be fine, you must keep in mind that diligently performing specific exercises to grow taller is absolutely vital in growing taller.

Step 3 – How to Grow Taller in Your Sleep

Our bodies are actively repairing themselves constantly. As you sit and read this guide, your body is repairing itself at the cellular level. In fact, the cells themselves are multiplying constantly in order to replace older, dying cells.
This is why sleep is so incredibly important.
You’ve already heard that getting 8 hours of sleep per night is ideal. It’s no secret. But what if I told you that 8 hours per night isn’t enough? Or it’s too much? Well, the truth is, both may be true.
You see, the required amounts of sleep and rest required for the human body fluctuates throughout our lifetimes. Additionally, the “right” amount of sleep for one person may be too much or too little for another. Like everything else in our lives, what works for one person will not work for another.
So while the 8 hour time limit may not be “dead on” accurate for everyone, it’s a good starting point in figuring out your own ideal sleep schedule.

Step 4 – How to Look Taller

Yes, this guide is all about how to actually gain height, not how to “fake” height. And no, I do NOT generally advise you to run off and get shoe lifts. However, there are things that you can do that will help you learn how to appear leaner and taller while you are actively actually making yourself taller.
So while these guides and tips will not actually make you taller, they will definitely enhance the height that you already have and accentuate the height that you are actively gaining while adhering to the first three steps.