The Essential Guide To Dressing For Your Shape
[ 7 June 2007 ]
I personally think that whole “pear, apple, triangle, hourglass” stuff is absolute bunk. I’m not ANY of those shapes & nor are most people I know. I have small boobs, broad shoulders, a slim waist, long torso & big thighs. I am not a fruit or something you can study in geometry classes! Really I think it’s just laziness on the part of most fashion writers & it doesn’t do anyone any favours. We need to move away from this antiquated way of thinking! We need to regard each part of our bodies individually & work out how to dress them! Can I get an amen?!
It must be said that this guide is basically about disguising the parts of you you don’t like. While I don’t encourage dissection of one’s flaws (& I wouldn’t see many of the things listed below as being “flaws”), here are some simple ways to hide the parts of you you’re not so keen on. (Acceptance is the next step, wink wink!)
This is a very short piece — the sort of thing you can print out, highlight the parts which apply to you & then chuck it in your bag for whenever you go shopping & get stuck.
Tops
Big boobs: Wear a v-neck top. It may seem counter-intuitive to some that the bane of their life is on display, but quite frankly, if you cover it up, you’re not fooling anyone & it looks awkward. You could also try a scoop neck with detailing around the neckline, which will shift the focus.
Big arms: Try a batwing or fluted sleeve ending just below the biggest part of your arm.
Big belly: Any vertical detailing is your friend, as is anything with a knot-front which rests just over the stomach.
Long torso: Learn to layer! (See this & this!) You can also wear a small item over the top, like a bolero jacket for example, to break up the long lines.
No waist: A ballerina-wrap cardigan will help create an ‘artificial’ waist. Bonus points if it has a diagonal stripe pattern.
Small boobs: Any kind of detailing around the chest will help you out. You can also try playing up something else, like your arms or back, by wearing a sleeveless or backless top.
Trousers
Big booty: Big pockets on the butt will divert attention. A deep waistband will make your bum look half the size, while wide-cut legs will hide a saggy bum.
Short legs: A narrow stripe (or pinstripe) will elongate your leg. No waistband will do the same thing. One trick I often use is to wear trousers where the hem touches the ground — with a high heel on my foot, I look like a giant, & no one knows why!
Big belly: A big waistband will help hold you in. Go for flat-fronted trousers or any which fasten at the side. & if all else fails, wear magic knickers!
Saddlebags: 3/4 pants with a cuff will draw the eye to the bottom half of the leg. Otherwise, try a bootleg, flare or wide-leg cut.
Jackets
Big boobs: Thin lapels & one button at the waist will make you look slim & draw attention to your waist.
Big belly: A small, busy print will help detract from a big stomach — or you can wear something loose.
No waist: Go for something very well-tailored or for a jacket with a single button at the waist.
Saddlebags: A long jacket will cover your saddlebags quite well. Otherwise, a short jacket that ends near the waist will help distract the eye.
Skirts
Big booty: A well-cut pencil skirt will hug your curves & keep your bum perky! A fishtail shape will help even out your proportions, & a fluted, floaty skirt will lead the eye downwards.
Big belly: A wrap skirt can be worn as tight or as loose as you want to accomodate your tummy. Try a skirt with a high waistband to hold you in, then wear a shirt over the top.
Saddlebags: An a-line skirt is your best shape & pretty much foolproof!
Dresses
Big boobs: Try a scooped neckline or a wrap-dress. A wrap will lift & separate while also drawing attention to your waist.
Big arms: A big sleeve or one with a flare is your best bet.
Big belly: Gathering around the stomach area will minimise the area.
Small boobs: Go for a plunging neckline (no one else can wear these) or a backless halter-neck.
Big calves: Wear a dress all the way to the ankle, or one that ends just below the knee.
Wide shoulders: Try a strapless dress (the line will balance you out) or a shirt dress.
Evening Dresses
Big boobs: A strapless dress with excellent support will make you look superb. Those with a youthful décolletage (usually the under 40’s) can get away with a deep v-neck dress.
Big belly: Anything with detailing across the stomach area will help you — a belt, a pattern, sequins etc.
Big arms: A loose draped sleeve will disguise the size of your arm very well, as will a small pattern (rather than a solid colour).
Big hips: The trick is to balance them out. You can do this by wearing an a-line shaped dress or something strapless.
Small boobs: Look for a dress with extra detailing across the bust or something tight — you can always stuff your bra with chicken fillets!
Swimwear
Big boobs: Try a balcony bra style, a halter-neck (for super-duper cleavage) or just make sure your bathing suit has hidden cups or some other kind of support.
Big belly: A one-piece with detail focussed near the waist will make you look much slimmer, while a tankini gives you the option to cover or bare your belly. Some people recommend a strategically-placed sarong, but I don’t think that fools anyone.
Small boobs: If you have small boobs with a great stomach, make that the focus of attention with a simple bikini. If not, you could try a padded halter-neck (this will help you create a cleavage, or at least some kind of illusion) or a top with detail around the bust.
Saddlebags: A bikini which ties at the side will be good on you, because it won’t cut in so much. Try a high-cut leg (will make you look sleeker & slimmer) or a strapless top — the big line will help balance you out. You can also try covering up with a sarong.
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala
Tags: how to,
madame,
monsieur Share this! + Email This + Del.icio.us
+ Facebook
+ Stumbleupon
+ Technorati
Comment
Read more tagged how to...
Gala's Kissing Boot-Camp "Business Casual" How To Be Genuine With People You Dislike Making Short Hair More Interesting Disguising A Chubby Body Part! How To Buy A Good Pair Of Shoes What To Do With Candles In Glass Jars? How To Adopt A New Skincare Routine
Read more tagged madame...
Gala's Kissing Boot-Camp "Business Casual" Things I Learned From Watching Miss Universe 2007 Making Short Hair More Interesting T-Shirt Mania! james&august Giveaway! Disguising A Chubby Body Part! How To Buy A Good Pair Of Shoes
Read more tagged monsieur...
Gala's Kissing Boot-Camp "Business Casual" Things I Learned From Watching Miss Universe 2007 Making Short Hair More Interesting T-Shirt Mania! Disguising A Chubby Body Part! American Apparel Reviews How To Adopt A New Skincare Routine
You’ve got my AMEN! This blog is definitely my favorite for fun style ideas!
(I recently commented about cutting my hair off, I think I’m going for it!! I can’t wait to try your short hair Ideas)
Just one thing.. I saw those pictures of you in those stripy undies and you absolutely do not have big thighs by any stretch of the imagination.
I totally agree with Gala re the hair advice. I recently got my long hair chopped short and I love it! I took in photos and talked heaps with my hairdresser about it. Also to add to the nervousness, I was going to a new hairdresser!! eeek! But it proved really great, I have had so many fabulous compliments from friends and strangers. That is a good sign of a good cut :) Good Luck Eileen!
Gala – AMEN
I Absolutely adore your blogs. I never know if something works until I try it on though. I have to know how it FEELS. new clothes give me a happy high! I could be a shopaholic if i wasn’t careful. :) I’m glad I stumbled onto your blog!
When nature gives in generous portion to a woman’s chest, you wisely remind ladies not to try to hide the elephant behind a bed sheet.
Yet when thigh is capped by a roundness of flesh, often times a lady is still offered only this advice to slim it with some visual trick or another. I have neither your way with words, nor your experience with the artistic medium of clothing, but might I plead for the same lenience shown to the busty?
Through fumbling around in change rooms, I offer my own paltry and humble ideas on the subject. Generously proportioned posteriors are designed for saucy hip wriggles, and can be emphasized to good effect by shopping around for trousers cut with more cargo space in the back. But… This ample asset does not like baggy. Just as a burkah modestly reduces the frame to the sort of curves found on a can of soup, the extra width at the top of a baggy pair of pants merely gives the illusion the swell lasts until the cuff.
Though is goes against the grain, tighter pants are worth trying, because they don’t sacrifice leg for waistband. Tight jeans also boost any sag one’s mammalian fat pads back up to culturally approved youthful levels.
Most things you can wear safely, if you can fit into it. About the only thing I caution people on is the mini-skirt. It’s not that a large behind is not attractive, it’s that the length of the garment is shortened as it has to go around a wider equator. I advise you choose your underpants wisely if you must wear something with little vertical distance to cover your pelvis, for accidents are much more likely on you then tiny girls.
yaaaay! advice for the skinny waistless
I’ve always heard that pockets and a-line skirts attract attention to big booties and are therefore best avoided. However, I can see where flaunting what you have can be better than trying to conceal it sometimes.
Along that line, I do agree with you that V-lines work well for large chested ladies (like myself). Many styles that try to conceal a large chest end up adding weight by giving the appearance of a uni-boob. Definitely better to flaunt it than have that.
How thought-provoking! I have seen the photographic evidence involving Exhibit A: james&august knickers and Exhibit B: zebra mask, and I mean this in a totally non-weird way: your legs are sexay!!! Mm-hm. (Can I get an amen?) Makes me wonder if mine are as bad as I think they are, since yours clearly aren’t.
As for dressing for your shape, is good to mull over rules, but sometimes you can break them. I think the Unbreakable Commandments are: it must fit, and it must be a good colour on you. I tend to steer clear of sleevelessness, but I have a couple of sleeveless dresses that completely distract attention from my upper arms by virtue of their in-your-face awesomeness. Weehee!
Fantastic article, but I couldn’t help but to giggle at the term “saddlebags”. My least favorite feature, right after my beer belly!
ah yes… advice for the near boobless. The things you find on google whilst using that as a search term!
“did you mean ‘advice for the braless’?” I’m sure that’s a popular one with feminists.
So,thank you very much for the pointers! =)
I don’t have big boobs, but have very broad shoulders (swimming!) and your big-boobed advice also goes for wide-shouldered womens. A v-neck totally brakes the expanse of shoulder. I am still trying to figure out if I can wear polonecks, as I think a block wool one might be a compulsory winter item. Any thoughts on that?
Are “saddlebags” like love handles? That’s what we call them in the U.S., because… uhm… well you probably know why ;]
Stefanie,
I believe saddlebags refer to heavy thighs, at least that’s the way I’ve heard it here in Florida.
For women who have small breasts – PKFashions.com has a “PermaCup” that is waterproof and can be attached to the inside of your bathing suit for an extra boost. They’re only about $20 (including shipping). They’re really comfortable and they can be trimmed down to better fit your bathing suit top. I HIGHLY recommend them.
Woot Woot!
Thanks for that article. I have such insecurities when shopping about what to pick up (curvy all over may be va-va-voom, but it sucks to shop for), but this helped me a lot.
ahhhh another amazing aritcle. thanks!
man, i love this site! i just stumbled across it, but im now adding it to my faves…
love zarah
xoxox
I have to point out something I think is an error in the dress section.
About “big calves”
I usually go for a dress just below the knee and wear a nice peep-toe heel. It makes your legs look totally “pin-up” and sexy.
Why cover it up?
In school I used to get picked on for my shapely calves but I soon learned to love them.
So don’t cover, just go for a rounded or peep-toe heel and show those sexy legs off!
Just try to steer away from very flat flats. They will make your legs look short and your bum look big.
Your advice seems very helpful.. as I am short (5’1) have a pretty thick shaped body, so I have the big arm problem, sometimes the tummy problem, and short legs. I used to be consious about my booty when I was younger but eventually grew to love it. And reading your tips helped somewhat.. but I am fashion illiterate… so therefore I dont understand the fashion terms =(........... what can I say, I was a hardcore tomboy when I was a kid. But I want to look more feminine but I just dont know what suits me…. can you pleeeease help me out?