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Do shoes with ankle straps shorten legs? Shoes with ankle straps add support to your feet and make you look more attractive. Ankle straps also help add dimension to the shoe. A major benefit is that you can now wear thin heels without worrying about them falling off your feet.
Do Shoes with Ankle Straps Shorten Legs?
When it comes to looks versus height, you’ve always assumed that ankle-strap shoes shorten your legs and make you look unattractive. Well, I can’t confidently say “yes” to the question. This depends on several factors, such as the thickness of the straps, the proportions of the foot to the ankle, the shape of the leg, and the thickness of the calf.
If you have an odd weight ratio, such as muscular calves and slender ankles, you need to carefully choose the right ankle strappy shoes to fit your leg shape. In the next section, I give some examples of ankle strap shoes that you can buy based on your ankle-to-leg ratio.
Also, the slender ankle straps interrupt your long legs and make you feel like your ankle is strangled. Conversely, shoes with wider cuffs tend to sit higher on the ankle. Also, the color is important so that the straps don’t look like they’re breaking the line between the leg and ankle. In this case, nude heels complement the trick perfectly, blending the shoe with the leg and making it appear longer.
Can the Ankle Straps Flatter the Legs?
It depends on the style and color of the ankle strap shoes you are going to wear. If your legs appear shorter due to thin ankles or ankles, you need to properly look for shoes with ankle straps so they don’t paint you as a woman with short legs.
Below is the main ankle strappy shoe styles to consider based on your ankle-to-foot ratio as they make your feet look flattering.
- Cross straps
- T-band
- Slingbacks
Cross straps
Cross straps are the latest footwear trend. Women like to wear long or short skirts. Due to their design, they won’t pinch your feet anywhere.
These stylish heels with crisscross straps in the front will draw attention to looking down at your feet. In addition, the V-shape of this diagonal design formed at the instep breaks the interference of the horizontal straps with the ankle. As a result, your shorter legs, thick calves or ankles will look odd to people when you’re wearing these types of heels or platform shoes.
Here’s an example of a thin wedge with crisscross straps that can look great on your thick ankles.
Heels with T-strap
These heels also have ankle straps, but they don’t look like they cut to the ankle and ruin the limestone on your legs. That’s because they feature a T-strap detail that showcases the sleek look of the forefoot. In addition to the polished style, they also offer better stability and heel support.
They also come in two styles. One suit with thick legs and ankles, and one for thin ankles. Here is an example.
Slingbacks
The Slingback is a cute shoe with a stylish look. Its heel is just enough to give you a little extra height, but not quite as tall as many other similar shoes. They are easy to pair with any outfit, whether casual or formal.
They will lengthen your legs and make you look taller because the straps are attached to the back of your heels and your legs won’t look cut by the ankle straps. Plus, the pointed toe of slingbacks helps elongate the leg in two ways. First, they create extra space in front of the toes compared to round-toe shoes. Second, the tapered toe of this shoe gives the impression that your feet are slightly longer.
