All About High Hips: What They Look Like & How to Style Them

Download Article

Plus, the body types most likely to have high hips

Co-authored by Sarah McDonald and Devin McSween

Last Updated: September 24, 2025 Fact Checked

Download Article

• What are high hips?
|
• High vs Low Hips
|
• Styling Tips
|
• High Hip Body Types
|
• Causes
|
• Video

|Show more |Show less

High hips are a common hip shape where the top of your hips sit closer to your waist. This can give your hips a shelf-like appearance and cause you to have a short waist. If you think you might have this hip shape and want to know how to style it, keep reading! We spoke with professional stylists and image consultants to learn how to dress and flatter high hips. We’ll also tell you which body types often have high hips, as well as what causes them.

What does it mean if your hips are high?

High hips are positioned close to your waist. If you have high hips, you might have a short waist and notice that your pants creep up. To dress for high hips, wear extra high-waisted bottoms, try curvy-fit trousers, and get flare or bootcut jeans. Emphasize your waist with peplum or wrap tops and dresses.

Steps

Section 1 of 5:

What are high hips?

Download Article

1. 
   High hips sit close to the waist and the belly button. If someone has high hips, this means that the upper part of their pelvis bone (called the ilium) is positioned closer to their waist and sits above or at their belly button. This can give their hips a “shelf” like shape since they jut out almost directly under the waist.

   • Common characteristics of high hips:
     • People with high hips often have a short waist, meaning that there’s a short distance between their ribs and waist.
     • People who have high hips often notice that their pants creep up their hips to sit at the smallest part of their waist.
   • Celebrity examples: Beyoncé, Christina Hendricks, Marilyn Monroe, Salma Hayek
   • Are high hips attractive? Yes, lots of people think high hips are attractive! They can give someone a curvy silhouette and make their legs look long, which are both seen as beautiful traits.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Sarah McDonald is a certified stylist and image consultant and the Owner of Pivotal Style.

   Kalee Hewlett is a fashion stylist, image consultant, and confidence coach with over 20 years of experience.

   Sahra Brandt is a personal stylist and the founder of Shop the City, with over 10 years of experience.

   Veronica Tharmalingam is a professional stylist and owner of the fashion consulting business, SOS Fashion, with over 10 years of experience.

   Blair Petroni is an image consultant and color analysis expert, as well as the founder of Maeve Mélange, with over 10 years of experience.
Advertisement

Section 2 of 5:

High Hips vs Low Hips

Download Article

1. 
   High hips are closer to the torso, while low hips are further from the torso. While people with high hips have their hips positioned close to their waist, people with low hips have hips that sit further away from their waist. In general, the most prominent part of their hips is positioned closer to their bottom and thighs. This usually gives them a longer torso with more space between their ribs and waist.

   • What about average hips? If someone has average hips, this means their hips rest somewhere in the middle between their waist and bottom. They don’t have a significantly short or long torso.

Section 3 of 5:

How to Dress If You Have High Hips

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Go for extra high-waisted bottoms. According to fashion stylist Kalee Hewlett, high-waisted pants, skirts, and shorts are flattering on almost everyone and, as a bonus, help to give you the illusion of longer legs. To ensure the bottoms fit where your natural waist hits, look for high-waisted bottoms with an 11 to 13 inch (28-33 cm) rise. This helps ensure that the waistband goes over your higher hips.

   • Personal stylist Sahra Brandt says paper bag pants typically sit higher on the waist and can create a more hourglass shape. So, they can be a great, flattering option if you have higher hips.
   • Professional stylist Veronica Tharmalingam specifically recommends high-waisted pencil skirts for people who have more prominent hips.
2. 
   2
   Or, opt for mid-rise bottoms. Since people with high hips often have short waists, certified stylist and image consultant Sarah McDonald suggests wearing mid-rise bottoms. She says mid-rise pants, skirts, and shorts can help balance your proportions. Plus, mid-rise bottoms may fit more like low-rise bottoms due to your higher hips, which are currently on trend!
3. 
   3
   Try curvy fit jeans and trousers. Curvy fit pants are made with more room around the hips and thighs. This can be helpful when you have higher hips, as the extra space can keep your bottoms in place and prevent them from riding up your waist.
4. 
   4
   Choose bottoms that flare below the knee. To help flatter and balance your high hips, opt for jeans and trousers with a flare, bootcut, or straight leg fit. When looking for skirts, choose ones that skim over your hips and stay straight across your thighs. If you want extra drama, go with skirts that flare below the knee rather than at the hip, like a trumpet skirt.

   • If you have a short torso and long legs, McDonald suggests wearing cropped pants. She says choosing trousers that end about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above your ankle can help your longer legs seem more proportional.
5. 
   5
   Opt for tops and dresses that cinch in under your bust. To highlight and flatter your waist, wear peplum tops and wrap tops that cinch in just under your bust, which is typically the smallest part of your waist. Similarly, go for empire waist dresses, wrap dresses, and peplum dresses to complement your figure.
6. 
   6
   Wear bodysuit tops or tuck your shirts in. If you notice that your tops tend to creep up your waist, try wearing bodysuit tops. Tucking in your tops, like with a French tuck, is also a super flattering option that helps emphasize your waist and prevent the creep.
7. 
   7
   Emphasize your waist. Cinching in and defining your waist is a pretty universal flattering tip, regardless of your hip and body shape, agrees McDonald. As mentioned, choose tops and bottoms that highlight your waist, like peplum tops, wrap dresses, and high-waisted pants. Cinch in your waist even more with a belt and tuck in your tops, too.
Advertisement

Section 4 of 5:

What body type has high hips?

Download Article

1. 
   High hips are associated with the Soft Dramatic and 8 body type. Anyone, regardless of their body type, can have high hips. However, they’re most often associated with the Soft Dramatic body type in the Kibbe system and the 8-shaped body type. Check out these body shapes below:

   • Soft Dramatics: They have a long and angular bone structure with a “curve on the bottom,” says image consultant and color analysis expert Blair Petroni. Most Soft Dramatics are taller than 5’5” (165 cm) and have long limbs, a defined waist, and full and round hips.
   • 8 Body Type: They have an hourglass shape with high hips that are wider than their lower hips (bottom area). People with an 8 body type have shoulders about the same width as their hips and typically have a short waist.
   • Curious what your body type is? We have plenty of articles and quizzes to help you find your shape, including How to Determine Your Body Shape, A Guide to the Kibbe Body Types, What’s My Body Type Quiz, and What is My Kibbe Body Type Quiz.

Section 5 of 5:

What causes high hips?

Download Article

1. 
   High hips are caused by the position of your hip and thigh bones. The shape and position of your hips are largely determined by your pelvis and femur bones, specifically the ilium and greater trochanter. So, people who have high hips typically have a pelvis bone and femur bones that are positioned higher up and closer to their torso.
Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Video

Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!