
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, my friend! I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful week with your loved ones. I wanted to do something a bit different and fun today. So instead of our normal Q&A Thursday format, I’m giving you a little sneak...
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Heather Riggs
Merry Christmas and Happy holidays, my friend. I hope you're enjoying a wonderful week with your loved ones. I wanted to do something a bit different and fun today, so instead of our normal Q and A Thursday format, I'm giving you a little sneak peek at what's been going on inside the free community for my upcoming wardrobe revamp Boot Camp. We've been running a giveaway every week leading up to this four day training event happening January 6th through 9th, and our friend Jenny won a 15 minute power style coaching session with me. She asked all about pant lengths, finding the perfect shoe pairings and creating flattering proportions with her cropped length jeans. And she graciously agreed to let me air our session on the podcast so you can listen in. If you love what you hear today and you find yourself wishing for one on one time to ask me your toughest style questions, I have some good news. I'm giving away another 15 minute power style coaching session to one lucky winner this week and it's not too late to enter. Just head to herstylellc.combootcamp to register for my upcoming event in January and then join us inside the private community over on Facebook. You'll find all the details to enter the giveaway, but hurry because tomorrow is the last day to enter. Don't worry, I have plenty more in store for you over the next 10 days before the bootcamp kicks off. For now, enjoy my conversation with Jenny as we tackle the tricky topic of which shoes to wear with which pants and more. Welcome to her style podcast where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence. I'm your host, Heather Riggs, a 15 year and counting certified image consultant and color specialist, ready to build a wardrobe and a personal style you love. Let's get started. All right, Jenny, I am so excited to do this power coaching session with you. I know you have a question that is on a lot of people's minds. This is something that comes up all the time, collective and people send podcast questions about this topic. So I know you're not alone in the struggle. And it's about pants and proportions.
Jenny
Yes.
Heather Riggs
And specifically, I think you wanted to kind of perfect your jeans collection. Right? But I'd love to hear in your own words what struggle has been going on for you. So feel free to expand a little bit from the question you posted in the group.
Jenny
There's so many places to start. Okay. I love jeans. I probably wear jeans almost every day. Okay. I work from home. I'm a Mom, like, jeans are just my thing, so. But jeans are so tricky. And I think what I've been trying to figure out is like all the different, like the rise and the inseam length and like all of this, Right. What I, what I did is I found a pair of jeans I love and I bought them in every wash that exists. And suddenly they all look really short. Like they're all too short on me is how I feel. That's not true in the summer because they're like an ankle straight jean.
Heather Riggs
Yeah.
Jenny
In the summer it looks great. Suddenly now that it's winter, like, I can't figure out what shoes to wear with them. It's a whole thing. So I have a lot of these straight ankle length jeans that are the most versatile because I can wear, you know, typically sneakers or boots or other things, but nothing looks right with them right now. And then the other kind of jean I have is like a longer boot cut, like full length jean that you have to have a heel, you have to wear a heel with them, which just feels unrealistic most of the time for my life. So that's my general jean struggle. Because I work from home, I mainly just wear like slippers all day around the house. And I have to go out. I'm like, I have nothing that looks good with these jeans. And that was really obvious to me. I had a conference that came up this fall where I had to like, dress, you know, semi professional. We could wear jeans, but like, I was trying to do like blazer and jeans and every loafer or like flat shoe I put on because we'd be walking a lot, just looked like there was this much like showing. I was like, this is not right. So I, I think it's just figuring out, like, are there rules for that? Like, how much leg should show?
Heather Riggs
Yeah.
Jenny
What shoe do you like? I'm like, do I need new jeans or do I need new shoes or do I need both? Like, what's happening? I'm also really wanting to simplify. Like, I don't want to have so many choices if that makes pairs of.
Heather Riggs
Pants and 25 shoe options and all the things. Totally. Yeah. And I think you probably found yourself in my community because I'm all about simplifying and streamlining your wardrobe and having less but better.
Jenny
So I want, I am definitely on that, like, path of life right now. Like, I want my quality to be better and I want the volume of options to be fewer.
Heather Riggs
Yeah, hard.
Jenny
That is really hard because there's so many choices now too, right.
Heather Riggs
And so you really need to be clear about what you like personally and what's going to work for your lifestyle. And that was my first clarifying question because you mentioned that you work from home and you were having trouble finding the right shoe combinations with your jeans. So, number one, I'm impressed that you wear jeans when you work from home.
Jenny
I do.
Heather Riggs
And I was wondering if you're actually wearing shoes when you work at home as well. But you just clarified that saying that you typically wear slippers. So. So that probably doesn't bother you so much. It's more when you're going out with. To put them with.
Jenny
Okay, none of that. I'm running out the door and I have to go pick up the kids or take them somewhere, run errands, and suddenly I'm like, I don't even know what shoe to put on in this moment.
Heather Riggs
Yeah. Can you tell me more specifically what you've already tried that hasn't worked? I know you said about the gaps. You feel kind of like you're wearing floods.
Jenny
Yes. Like, they look a little short, and I don't know if they shrunk. I also have really athletic calves, so I have this issue where, like, my jeans almost get stuck on my calves and I'm constantly, like, pulling them down.
Heather Riggs
Okay. And in the summer, you just wear them with sandals.
Jenny
Typically, I wear Birkenstocks. Yeah. I'll put on stocks or like, a sneaker, like a trainer. So one thing I have realized, like, the height of the shoe matters. So, like, if it's a new balance that's like, comes up a little bit higher, like, less leg showing, and I'm like, I think that looks fine. But if I try to wear a loafer or like a. Like a smaller, slimmer white, you know, a beige type sneaker, I'm like, that looks bad. That looks wearing high waters.
Heather Riggs
Okay, so you don't like wearing your trainers in the winter, and you need a little bit more warmth.
Jenny
I do wear them sometimes, but, like, if I'm wanting to wear a boot, I have no idea what to do. Yeah, the boots are working for me.
Heather Riggs
Right. Well, straight leg pants are tough because you don't want to be tucking them into the boot. It's nice that they're cropped because then you could probably do a higher ankle boot.
Jenny
Yes.
Heather Riggs
But if there's still too much of the gap, you're probably feeling a little bit awkward. So you need to either find a taller shaft boot that comes up a little bit higher, and I'd probably find something that is narrow so that you don't have a lot of width or differentiation there. If you. If you're following what I'm saying, I think you have a couple of options seasonally to make these work better for you. Obviously you already said it. Either number one, you change your footwear or number two. Yeah. So if what you have isn't working, we just need to figure out which combination is going to be best for you. I love that you have jeans that you feel amazing in. I would like you to be able to wear them all year and get tons of use out of them.
Jenny
Yes.
Heather Riggs
So.
Jenny
And I have them in every wash now. So it. I'm leaning towards. I need a boot that will work with the jeans I have.
Heather Riggs
Right, right.
Jenny
Maybe also a longer pair of jeans.
Heather Riggs
Yeah, yeah. I think it might be good for you to do both so that you have more options and you can wear the other shoes that you have with jeans that you feel really amazing in. So let's start a little bit with the shoes. I do think if you could find a high but narrow shaft flat ankle boot. So it's really practical.
Jenny
Yes.
Heather Riggs
Right. Because it sounds like with your life, you don't want to be running around in heels.
Jenny
I want to wear heels. No.
Heather Riggs
Yeah. So you need to find something comfortable. So I would look very specifically for a boot that comes up pretty high on your. So it almost. You can't. You wouldn't be able to see how short the jeans are with them. Right. You know, with a.
Jenny
With a relatively flat heel, I think that's where I like. I don't know. Is that a Chelsea boot? Is that a Chelsea?
Heather Riggs
Yeah, it could be a Chelsea boot. Sometimes those are a little bit wider, though, so you need to be careful about that. What I would do, I don't know where you typically like to shop for boots or what your budget is, but on a lot of websites, you can search by heel height that you could filter by that. So I would look for maybe 1 to 2 inches.
Jenny
Yes.
Heather Riggs
And maybe try to find something that's a little bit more chunky so that you have. So you don't feel, you know, wobbly if you're running around, chasing after your kids.
Jenny
Yes.
Heather Riggs
Running errands, doing all the things.
Jenny
So be really how high? Like, what is that? What is that called?
Heather Riggs
Yeah, I mean, you're going to want to look for an ankle boot for sure. But when you're looking through the options, make sure that you're choosing some that look like they come up a little bit higher.
Jenny
Okay.
Heather Riggs
It might Help also to measure the distance between where your pant hem ends and your ankle. That way, when you're looking at boots, it might say how high they come up. Or you could call customer service to clarify how tall are these boots and then measure before you buy. Or if you want to go out and shop in person, you could try on different things. Make sure you wear the jeans.
Jenny
Yes.
Heather Riggs
And actually see what looks good with them in stores. And salespeople will generally want to help you look your best because that looks better for the store. So find somebody you know who looks maybe a little bit more senior. Has to talk to a manager. If you want to find somebody that can really help and guide you in their selection based on your budget and all of those things. And then I would probably stick with a neutral color. You know, I love color. But you're going to want to find something that's going to work with the majority of your pieces, whether it's a good black boot, a nice chocolate boot, something that is going to be really versatile for you.
Jenny
Okay.
Heather Riggs
And ideally that you can wear with other things besides just these jeans. So you might want to think about other options that you can.
Jenny
Okay. No, that's good. So tell me, like, for. On the flip side of that, because I think you're right. I think I have to figure out the boot. I need to go and look and shop. I never, like, I barely get out of my house. We don't have anywhere to shop nearby, so that's like a really hard thing. So I shop online most of the.
Heather Riggs
Time, and that's okay because you can better filter. That way you don't have to walk around aimlessly looking at all the things. You can actually see what specific options there are and check reviews and see what people think and all of that, especially when it comes to comfort.
Jenny
Yeah. So if I am looking for a longer jean.
Heather Riggs
Yeah. Straight leg. Right.
Jenny
How do I figure out what length I'm looking for?
Heather Riggs
Well, so that's the thing. If you want to get another pair of jeans, you could have another pair that you love hemmed to work with flats. If you're saying all of your other jeans are too long, maybe pick one pair and have them hemmed. Okay. So that they're the perfect length for your other flat shoes, whether it's some of your sneakers. Now, you could also, before we totally move on from the shoe conversation, for your boot cut jeans, you could get more of a platform slipper or, you know, a platform sneaker. Something that's going to give you a little Bit more lift. So you're not wearing heels with them, but they're still helping you so they don't drag on the floor. Right. So you might also want to look. I don't want to be, you know, feel like you have to buy 18 things after a conversation. But that would be another way that you could go is just look for more of a platform flat shoe.
Jenny
Okay.
Heather Riggs
Give you some extra lift. That might help your boot cut jeans work too, and then you'd have a little more versatility.
Jenny
Yeah.
Heather Riggs
I don't know how you feel about skinny jeans. People have a lot of strong feelings about them, but that is the one silhouette that works with every type of shoe.
Jenny
I know this is like, I miss the days of skinny jeans.
Heather Riggs
They're coming back.
Jenny
Everything.
Heather Riggs
They're coming back, though. That's what I hear.
Jenny
That's what I hear.
Heather Riggs
So this is a good time. If you want to get back on the skinny jean trend, that would also. You could do them with the same, you know, boots that we're talking about. You could do them with any of your sneakers. They're just easy. Right. So that's another choice for you as far as jeans go. But again, if you have a couple of brands and silhouettes that, you know look good on you, otherwise.
Jenny
Yep.
Heather Riggs
Maybe consider just having one of them hemmed to work better with your flat shoes. 2025 is coming in hot. And I know you don't want to spend one more year struggling over what to buy, what to wear, and how to put it all together. This is the time to break out of the same T shirt and jeans you default to every day. You're ready to uplevel your style, streamline your wardrobe, and find exactly what you want and need when you go shopping so you can step out with confidence and put your outfits together quickly and stylishly every single day. And I want to help you make this happen. Because, friend, it is so much easier than you think. That's why I've decided to host my first ever wardrobe revamp boot camp from January 6th through the 9th. So we can dial in your signature style, audit your closet, and take a deep dive into wardrobe planning and shopping strategically together. And the best news is that this live four day training event is completely free. Yes, I said free. There are no strings attached. Just come hang out with me. Get the chance to win some incredible prizes, have your questions answered, and walk away with brand new style tips and advice I've never shared before. If you've been loving what you're learning here on the podcast. You do not want to miss this. If you want to revamp your wardrobe and take your style to the next level in 2025, head to herstylellc.combootcamp and register for this free place four day training event today. I'll see you inside.
Jenny
Okay. Okay.
Heather Riggs
Yeah. Boot cuts can sometimes be tricky because of the way that they're shaped. You don't want to take.
Jenny
That's what I was wondering. Because they kind of come out and then if you take off length right.
Heather Riggs
It'S probably going to be better if you would have another longer straight leg pair hems or if you have any wide leg pair, something that's a little bit more straight so that they can get that hem right. But I think it would be worth considering if you have a shape that you otherwise really love and feel good in. So I don't want you to reinvent the wheel and have to get a ton of new jeans either. But you're gonna need to adjust one or the other. If what you have currently isn't working, unfortunately, you're either gonna need to do some alterations or maybe pick up a new pair of shoes.
Jenny
Okay.
Heather Riggs
Another pair of jeans.
Jenny
Yeah.
Heather Riggs
So I'm sorry to be kind of the bearer of bad news, but the good news is you have options. Yeah, a little bit. If you can't find any boots that you really love and that work with those straight leg cropped pants.
Jenny
Yes.
Heather Riggs
Maybe then go to plan B and find another pair of jeans.
Jenny
A longer pair of jeans.
Heather Riggs
A longer pair of jeans. And then if you still can't find another pair of jeans that you love, then have something hemmed. So that's probably the order that I would recommend for you based on your budget right now.
Jenny
Okay. That sounds good.
Heather Riggs
Yeah. Any other quick style questions that you want support with?
Jenny
Well, I. This may just be a general proportion question. Yeah. But if you're wearing more of a cropped jean and let's say I find the boots. So now I have the boots and I have a cropped jean. What are your rules on the upper half?
Heather Riggs
Well, I don't love to recommend, like a lot of hard and fast rules only because it depends a lot on your body shape.
Jenny
Okay.
Heather Riggs
And your body's proportions.
Jenny
Yeah.
Heather Riggs
Right. So it's all about working with your inherent features to create the optimal balance and to direct the where you want it to go.
Jenny
Yeah.
Heather Riggs
So not to give you a cop out answer, but it's going to depend. I would probably want to see, you know, full body image of you so I could make some specific recommendations, but generally what you want to do is avoid cutting the body off in half proportionally. Right, right, right. So you want to create either, you know, kind of a 2/3 or 3 fists ratio in your outfit. So either have. If you're wearing a higher waisted pant, it might look better to tuck in your top. Right. To create a nice lengthening effect for your lower half. That said, if you find that you tend to be shorter waisted and that just makes you lose all of your waist, that doesn't work for a lot of people. It's a cute look, but if you're finding that just doesn't look right on, you might want to go longer on top. Okay. And then use the, the boots and everything to kind of create that smaller ratio on the bottom. So you could do it either way. It just really depends on what's going to make you feel your best and work for your body.
Jenny
Yeah, I think I've been trying to figure all this out.
Heather Riggs
Yeah. You're coming to the boot camp, so we're gonna go into a lot more on the foundations and dressing for your to flatter your body. So I've got you covered, but I know it's a lot, so I would just say my best advice is trust your instincts. Hopefully you have a full length mirror. When you put an outfit together, just take a quick step, not from a judgmental place, but just ask yourself, where does my eye go? And is it getting cut at? Like, is it getting stuck at any central point in my body? If it is, then you probably want to either try tucking in or adding some visual interest elsewhere just to keep the eye moving around. You want to create a dynamic outfit. Right. That ideally calls attention to your face or your favorite features. So just try to think about where your eye goes. You have kids in the house, they're always, usually very honest. So you could always, if you're feeling brave, ask them if they have any feedback.
Jenny
And they're actually really good on shoes. If I show two shoes, they will very quickly tell me that one.
Heather Riggs
Which one looks better? Yeah, yeah. So if you feel comfortable recruiting some of the family to get involved, you know, just to get an outside perspective, Sometimes we're too close to see what's going on. So I often my clients find that it's easier to either ask an opinion or take a photo of yourself and then look at the photo, because then you can kind of more clearly see what's happening from a design standpoint.
Jenny
Yeah. Okay. That's good advice. I actually don't have a full length mirror I have to stand up on like my bathtub. It's. It's a thing.
Heather Riggs
So that doesn't sound safe either.
Jenny
So I need to get a mirror. Add that to the list with the, with the boots and the jeans and a mirror.
Heather Riggs
Yes, yes. And then we'll budget accordingly. I'll teach you that in the, you know, session number two or three. So we'll make sure you have what you need.
Jenny
Yeah, that sounds good.
Heather Riggs
All right, family, I hope we've given you some starting points to solve this problem. I'm so glad that we able to do a little coaching around that. And please follow up and let me know what works out and what you have to go with.
Jenny
I will.
Heather Riggs
And if you're feeling extra brave, you can post a picture in the private community for the boot camp so we can all see how it turned out.
Jenny
I will. I'm gonna start looking for boots. I think that's my first step, so.
Heather Riggs
Okay. We'll have fun. Happy shopping. You can probably scoop up some good ones on sale after the holidays.
Jenny
I was thinking that.
Heather Riggs
Yeah. All right, well, have fun. Okay. Let me know. It was so good talking with you.
Jenny
You too. Thank you.
Heather Riggs
All right. You're welcome. Have a good Christmas. Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to stop copying everyone else's style and start dialing in your own spoon worthy signature look, head over to take my free 5 minute personal style quiz which you can find at the link in the show notes. If you've enjoyed our time together, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe to her style podcast so you never miss an episode. Finally, I invite you to make this a two way conversation and send me a DM over on Instagram etherrigstyle to let me know how I can best support you on your style journey. I'm always here for you in style and service. Until next time.
HER Style Podcast Episode 205 Summary: LIVE Style Coaching! All About Pant Lengths, Shoe Pairings, and Proportions
In Episode 205 of the HER Style Podcast, hosted by Heather Riggs—a seasoned stylist, image consultant, and color analyst—the focus is on providing live style coaching to listeners. This episode delves deep into the challenges of finding the perfect pant lengths, suitable shoe pairings, and maintaining flattering proportions, all essential elements for building a confident and versatile wardrobe.
Heather Riggs opens the episode with festive greetings, setting a warm and engaging tone. She shares exciting news about her upcoming wardrobe revamp Boot Camp, running from January 6th to 9th, and highlights the ongoing giveaways within her free community. Notably, she introduces Jenny, a member who won a 15-minute power style coaching session, which forms the core of this episode’s discussion.
“Welcome to HER Style Podcast where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence.” [00:00]
Jenny, a dedicated mom and work-from-home professional, articulates her struggle with jeans and shoe pairings. She expresses frustration over her growing collection of jeans that now seem too short, especially during the winter months. Her dilemma revolves around finding shoes that complement her favorite straight ankle jeans without compromising on comfort or style.
“I have a lot of these straight ankle length jeans that are the most versatile because I can wear, you know, typically sneakers or boots or other things, but nothing looks right with them right now.” [02:21]
Heather commences the coaching session by acknowledging Jenny’s predicament and probing deeper to understand her specific challenges. Jenny reveals that while her jeans look perfect in the summer with sandals, the transition to winter footwear like boots leaves her feeling disjointed and unsure.
“I worked from home. I'm a Mom, like, jeans are just my thing, so. But jeans are so tricky.” [02:21]
Jenny also mentions the discomfort caused by her athletic calves, which make her jeans feel restrictive and cause continual adjustments throughout the day.
“I have really athletic calves, so I have this issue where, like, my jeans almost get stuck on my calves and I'm constantly, like, pulling them down.” [05:39]
Heather offers practical solutions centered around selecting the right type of boots to pair with Jenny’s straight ankle jeans. She emphasizes the importance of finding boots with a higher shaft to minimize the visual gaps and maintain a cohesive look. Heather suggests opting for narrow, chunky ankle boots with a modest heel (1 to 2 inches) to provide both comfort and stability—ideal for a busy mom's lifestyle.
“I would look very specifically for a boot that comes up pretty high on your. So it almost. You can't. You wouldn't be able to see how short the jeans are with them.” [08:05]
Heather also recommends searching online filters for heel height and considering neutral colors like black or chocolate to ensure versatility across various outfits.
“Stick with a neutral color. You know, I love color. But you're going to want to find something that's going to work with the majority of your pieces, whether it's a good black boot, a nice chocolate boot, something that is going to be really versatile for you.” [09:08]
Recognizing that boot adjustments alone might not resolve Jenny’s issues, Heather advises exploring alterations and expanding her jean repertoire. She suggests hemming existing jeans to perfect lengths and considering alternative styles like platform flats or even skinny jeans, which are making a comeback and offer greater flexibility with footwear.
“If you can't find any boots that you really love and that work with those straight leg cropped pants. Maybe then go to plan B and find another pair of jeans.” [14:53]
Additionally, Heather highlights the importance of having jeans tailored to fit perfectly with Jenny’s chosen footwear, ensuring a seamless and polished appearance.
“Have another pair that you love hemmed to work with flats.” [10:51]
As the conversation shifts to proportions, Heather provides insights on maintaining balance between the upper and lower halves of the body. She advises against cutting the outfit proportionality, recommending a 2:3 or 3:4 ratio to create an aesthetically pleasing silhouette. Depending on Jenny’s body shape, Heather suggests tucking in tops or opting for longer tops to enhance the overall look.
“You want to create either, you know, kind of a 2/3 or 3 fists ratio in your outfit. So either have. If you're wearing a higher waisted pant, it might look better to tuck in your top.” [15:35]
Heather encourages Jenny to trust her instincts and utilize full-length mirrors (a necessity Jenny doesn’t currently have) to assess and adjust her outfits dynamically. She also mentions leveraging family feedback or photos to gain an objective perspective on her styling choices.
“Sometimes we're too close to see what's going on. So I often my clients find that it's easier to either ask an opinion or take a photo of yourself and then look at the photo, because then you can kind of more clearly see what's happening from a design standpoint.” [17:34]
Heather wraps up the coaching session by reiterating Jenny’s options and encouraging her to implement the discussed strategies. She highlights the importance of patience and experimentation in refining her wardrobe and assures Jenny of the available support during the upcoming Boot Camp.
“Sorry to be kind of the bearer of bad news, but the good news is you have options. Yeah, a little bit.” [14:38]
Heather also emphasizes the value of a structured approach to wardrobe planning, promising more detailed guidance in the Boot Camp sessions.
Towards the end of the episode, Heather shifts focus to promoting her first-ever Wardrobe Revamp Boot Camp. She outlines the event's objectives—dialing in signature style, auditing closets, and strategic wardrobe planning—all offered completely free of charge. This four-day live training is positioned as an invaluable opportunity for listeners to elevate their style and streamline their wardrobes with Heather’s expert guidance.
“This live four day training event is completely free. Yes, I said free. There are no strings attached.” [12:30]
Listeners are encouraged to register and participate to gain exclusive style tips, win prizes, and interact directly with Heather for personalized advice.
Episode 205 of the HER Style Podcast offers a comprehensive and practical deep dive into the intricacies of pant lengths, shoe pairings, and maintaining balanced proportions. Through Jenny’s live coaching session, Heather Riggs provides actionable insights and personalized solutions, empowering listeners to overcome common styling challenges. The episode not only addresses immediate fashion dilemmas but also invites listeners to engage further through the upcoming Wardrobe Revamp Boot Camp, promising continued support on their style journeys.
“Get ready to binge hours of free style advice and enjoy getting dressed again!” [Podcast Description]
Heather also invites listeners to rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast and connect via Instagram @etherrigstyle for personalized support.
By tuning into this episode, ambitious women can gain valuable strategies to build their dream wardrobes, simplify their clothing choices, and step out with renewed confidence every day.