• I had fashion influencer Ally Chen critique 5 of my go-to outfits to make me look cooler and taller.

• One of the influencer’s specialties is personal-styling tips and style hacks for short girls.

• She recommended swapping ankle boots for over-the-knee boots to elongate my shorter legs.

I’ve always been short for my age and I have an athletic body type, so when it comes to fashion, I’ve tried to find styles that don’t make me look stocky or wide.

Separately, I’ve been a freelance writer for the past eight years. Although I’m lucky that I don’t have to get dressed up every day and go into an office, the downside is my wardrobe isn’t quite complete, and not nearly as curated as I’d like.

I can’t say I’ve ever really had a defined style, but I try my best to dress well for an occasion or night out. That said, it’s a challenge to figure out what I like wearing, what I feel confident in, and what works best on my petite body.

So I asked fashion and lifestyle creator Ally Chen (@fashionbyally) for suggestions on how I could look taller and cooler. In addition to having over 1.4 million followers across her social-media platforms, she is petite herself and regularly shares personal-styling tips and style tricks for short girls.

Here’s what she had to say about five of my go-to looks.

Ally suggested upgrading my first look with wide-leg pants 

For look one, Ally, who’s just a couple of inches taller than me, suggested swapping my casual jean skirt with classy, wide-leg pants. She said