Where the hem lands, and why it decides the whole outfit

Above the hip

Stops at or above the waistband. It shows where your body narrows, which is why it works with wide trousers and high-waisted skirts, and why it fights with anything loose on the bottom.

Around the hip

The default, and the safest. It covers the waistband and stops before the widest part of the hip. Goes with almost everything, which is exactly why a wardrobe of only this length gets boring.

Tunic length

Past the hip, usually mid-thigh. This is the one that reads as a dress on a shorter frame, and it is where most of the surprise in online knitwear lives. It needs a slim leg underneath, otherwise there is no line left anywhere.

Below the knee

Dress territory. The thing to check is not the length itself but where it cuts your calf: just below the widest point reads long and easy, exactly at the widest point reads short and stops the line dead.

This is the measurement worth taking with a tape against your own leg before you order, because a model photograph will not tell you.