At some point everyone experiences discouragement when out shopping for clothes. I am sure you have felt that it is you or your body but, its not I promise. The key to avoiding this feeling is to know what works on your body and what does not. Personally, I have a difficult time finding clothes. I am 5’2 have busty girls and a booty so, many curves packed into such a short person giving me a short torso. I hate pants because they fit perfect around my thighs and booty but, are too big at the waist. I know that I could never wear a bra-less style dress or top due to the fact that my girls need support. The fact of the matter is, I know what I have to work with and how to dress my figure to flatter my assets. In this post I used myself, 2 of my closest friends, and my sister to illustrate 4 different body types and how to dress them.
1. The Rectangle
Meet my friend Sarah! Sarah has an athletic physique with toned arms and legs. Rectangles have a straight body with little curve. The goal to dressing shape is to define the waist and create curves. Here she is wearing an a-line dress and I cinched in her waist with a belt. We topped her off with a scarf to balance the bottom of the dress to create curves.
Tops with ruffles, embellishments, and blazers will look nice on you. Tops that flow at the bust will give the appearance of a larger bust. Make sure to avoid vertical patterns, form fitting tops, and square necks. When choosing pants go for something form fitting and avoid something to wide legged or baggy. Belts are your friend, they help define your waist as shown. When you can show off your arms, strapless styles will help accentuate your rocking bod!
2. The Apple
Lauren is killing it in this cobalt blue shift dress. Apples typically are big busted with great legs. (Flaunt it) This dress gives her a great waist and the v-neck flatters the girls.
Apples should avoid ruffles and embellishments they will take away from the bust. Do wide straps and v-necks on top that are slightly fitted. Make sure that your jackets and tops end at the hip. The idea is to accentuate your best features and balance your top half with your bottom. If you are searching for pants or skirts look for a straight lines or slightly flared. You will learn to love the empire waistline because it cinches you in and flares creating a more balanced line. When belting an ensemble use a wider style belt they are more flattering on you.
3. The Pear
Oh Emma, my sweet little sister. Her bust is smaller compared to her booty which, makes her a pear(work it girl). Like, the apple the purpose is to balance the top half and the bottom. Emma is wearing this flattering black empire dress paired with a scarf to balance the top.
Avoid shapeless tops or shirts that have decorative patterns that end at the bottom, they draw the wrong attention to your hips. On top do more fitted tops that are v-neck or u-shaped. You can nip in your waist by wearing cropped jackets. If you are an apple I would suggest wearing dark wash jeans with either a boot cut or straight leg. The darker denim will be more flattering on your booty. Wrap dresses and a-line skirts will also flatter your figure. Avoid pencil skirts or capris they will make you look choppy.
4. The Hourglass
Hourglasses have a pretty even balance of bust and booty with a defined waist. Here I am wearing a peplum top which flatters the waist with straight legged turquoise pants. One with an hourglass shape should wear appropriately form fitting clothes but, not night club tight.
Scoop and v-neck tops that sit on your waist look great on this frame. Hourglasses should avoid wearing slouchy clothing like, empire waistlines or baby doll tops because they tend to hide your fabulous features. In the case that you own an over-sized top, belt it to define your waist. For bottoms steer away from anything overly short. Bottoms that will look lovely on you include a-lines, pencil skirts, and jeans that are fitting around the hips and waist.
Well ladies I hope these tips and tricks help you dress to flatter your body. We all have different body types, each with their own fabulous assets that should be embraced and celebrated. As women, we beat ourselves up by getting consumed by the numerical digit on the tag of our pants. Newsflash: each brand or line cuts their garments by different specifications. This means that you could be a 2 in one pair of jeans and an 8 in another, this is okay. I have garments in my closet ranging between sizes 2-10 but, I know that each brand or even style is cut differently which, is why I pay no attention to size. Purchase what fits and flatters your body. Don’t convince yourself to make the “I am going to loose 10lbs to fit into this” purchases because 8/10 times it doesn’t happen and you could have invested that money into something else. Dress for you, dress for your body now. If you are stuck on the number on your tags, I invite you to cut them off because they don’t matter.
Till next time dolls. Stay sassy & God Bless!
