It’s that time of year where we are all wearing “rose colored glasses”, meaning we all are looking at life with a fresh start. Promising ourselves to change the negative and pump up the positives. And for some reason we emphasize this the most on our external appearance. We seem to want to resolve an undesired physical trait such as lose weight or get healthy. Which is just another way of saying change our body size. What if this year instead of changing ourselves we emphasize what is great about our body and dress them in a more flattering way.
We all love fashion and secretly we enjoy it for its “smoke and mirrors” capability. Clothing can hide the parts we hate the most and highlight the parts we love, or hate the least. Some of us are magical magicians at these clothing tricks but most of us need to be taught these tricks. Let me show you some of the magic behind the curtain to better hone your dressing skills which will in turn make you look and feel better.
There are four basic female body types; Banana (straight up and down), Apple (top heavy), Pear (bottom heavy) and Hourglass (curves is all the right spots). Match which body type best describes you and then take these tricks of the trade to enhance you for the new year!
Banana Body: With this type clothes usually fit you well. Your biggest concern is to emphasize your curves so that your body appears more feminine and not so boyish. To accomplish this you should break up your silhouette. You can do this by color blocking which will help break up the eye. Also choose items that help define your waist ie coats that cinch at the waist or blouses you wear tucked in. Bottoms can be any styles as long as they are form fitting through your hips and thighs. This will help show off any form of curves you may have.
Apple Body: For this body type you usually want to emphasize your bottom half helping to balance out your heavier top half. This can be done by wearing bright colors on the bottom and/or wearing wide-leg pants and full skirts. You will also look better when you pick clothing that creates an illusion of a waist line. Play with high waisted denim can elongate your legs while sucking in you middle. Keep your tops simple and clean. Avoids lots of ruffles and volume in your tops because this will just add bulk to an area that already feels bulky.
Pear Body: This body type will make you want to emphasize the top half of your figure in order to find balance. Accomplish this by wearing tops that show bare shoulders or have deep v-necks. Also embrace bold, fun, or busy patterns. These looks will help draw the eye up and make your body look more elongated. A-line skirts will help accentuate your waist while hiding your hips. You can also opt for a slim boot cut pant which will slim your leg and balance out your hips.
Hourglass Body: Your figure was made for form fitting clothes. For tops pick tailored wovens or wrap styles. You can also showcase body hugging tops that add volume to your bust and shoulders accentuating your small waist. Lucky for you, you can wear any bottoms as long as you pair them with the proper top. Just think of balance and always play up your small waistline. Hug your curves don’t drape them in fabric hiding tops and/or silhouettes.
The common thread in highlighting any of these body types is your waistline. No matter what the size of your waistline you need to highlight it as much as you feel comfortable doing. It is the part of your body that will help off set any “bad” part of your figure. It is the part that gives you that feminine whoa that sets us apart from our male counterparts.
Remember your waistline can run anywhere from right underneath your bust, which is called an empire waist, all the way down to your naval. So depending on your body type find which “waistline” is your most flattering and use that point to help balance out the rest of your figure. Enjoy your figure and love it because confidence is what looks best on any of us at the end of the day.
We are all shapes and sizes and that’s what makes the world go round and fun to dress!
