This would be a point I feel very strongly about ladies and I think it’s a very important piece to take note of. Comfort should be a main factor when it comes to dressing ourselves but for some unknown reason women tend to go for style as opposed for comfort. I’m here to tell you tell you that there’s nothing stylish about looking uncomfortable in your clothes. You can feel and look great provided you dress to suit your figure and not to suit what your dress size should be.
It has to be said (and we can all be accused of this) that it is quite off putting to see a beautiful woman who has gone to the effort of getting made up, hair and make-up done, has bought a lovely dress but looks really uncomfortable in it. Whether it be too tight, and we’re afraid to move encase we burst out, too short to the point where we can’t bend over an inch for fear you will see our bum or too low cut where you can’t really enjoy a dance because we may pop out; the truth is if you’re not comfortable you look awkward and this takes away from all the rest of our beautifying!
When you’re picking your outfit you need to figure out your shape first and then you need to buy accordingly. Most women know their body shape by now. Let’s take a quick look at the main shapes
What you need to do is figure out which one you are, and the best way to do this is to strip down and get in front of that mirror. I know we don’t all like staring at ourselves in the mirror for extended periods of time but for those of you that do, this should be a fun exercise and for those of you that don’t you’ll have to grin and bear it. Work from the top down and figure out are you broad on top or narrow and keep the chart beside you as you go. If you can get a partner or a friend to help you with this then great because they will keep you honest about your shape and what it’s really like as opposed to what we would really like it to be. Once you have it figured out you simply need to continue to buy to suit that shape.
I’ve focused on the main four shapes; Hour glass, pear, apple and rectangle as the rest are variations of these and below will get you through dressing for your shape.
Hour glass
If you’re lucky enough to have an hour glass figure then you need to accentuate those curves. Technically you will have a big bust, small waist and will curve out again at the waist and your bum and bust should be in proportion with each other, hence the term ‘hour glass’ figure. When choosing what to wear you should focus on plunging neck lines, cap sleeves and empire lines. You should be wearing waist belts with everything you can get away with in order to synch yourself in and show off those curves. Any loose hanging dresses will not do you any justice, it will hang off your well endowed bust and generally add inches to your small waist, giving the appearance that you are sporting maternity wear or trying to hide a bun in the oven. When you have curves you’ve got to show them off, keep this line in your head when trying on. Look in the mirror in the dressing room and ask yourself ‘Can I see my curves?’ if it’s a no then my advice is hand it back to the fitting room attendant and try again.
Pear
So if you’re pear shape it means you have narrow shoulders and are smaller on top than you are at your hips. Your legs, bum and thighs are your centrepiece and what you want to do is balance this out. Possibly wear tops or dresses that have shoulder pads to ad width to your upper half and this takes the attention from your lower half and you look evenly proportioned. Again you can synch in the waist as the likelihood is that you will have a small waist and then push up the bust and wear tops that emphasises your bust as opposed to hiding it or else you will look all bum and no bust. That’s not to say ladies that you hide your bum, by all means be proud of it because a good bum is something women would pay for! Try a pair of Miss Sixty Magic jeans and these will give your bum a lift and pull it in at all the right places and make it even more pinch-able. When picking a dress stick to an a-line shape as this will skim over your bum and tum and draw the eye towards the bust.
Apple
If you have an apple shape then you generally hold your weight on your bust, tummy, arms and slightly on your bum, but will be lucky to sport good legs and this is what we need to focus on. Sticking to darker block colours will have a slimming effect on areas that you want to minimise. When choosing footwear you want to go for a shoe that will elongate the leg and nude heels are the best for this, stay away from any boots that will cut you at the ankle when wearing a dress unless they are black and you’re wearing black tights, in which case it will add length to your leg. You can also go a-line when choosing a dress as this will give you a shape and the skirt will flow out and you will appear more hour glass and balanced as opposed to round.
Rectangle
If you have a rectangle shape then generally you have very little emphasis on your waist and your shoulders follow a straight line down to your hips, you will have a broad neck and back and will generally have great legs and arms. These are the assets you need to show off, with short sleeve tunic dresses that will skim over the body and show off the legs and arms. This shape is at present the most ‘ideal’ shape for the world’s top models. What we need to do is give the illusion of shape so add a waist belt to your tunic dress to add curves. Wrap dresses are another one to go for; these add great shape to a figure. When wearing tops you want to emphasise the bust and draw the eye to the face and neckline.
