Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Dressing YOUR body type


Love this pic from Dove's "Campaign for Beauty" where they state.. "to widen stereotypical views of beauty." love that!

So with that in mind, everyone always wants to know, what can I wear for my body, b/c as we see above, no body is alike! What can be hard about this is, every other minute some new trend comes out, and we see it on a model or our cute friend or someone we pass by and really want to trip and make fall b/c they just look TOO cute! :) (hee hee)
BUT they might not look good on you..

So before we go and show what types of clothing to wear, its good to figure out exactly WHAT type of shape you are, b/c lets be honest its a little confusing. Especially when you hear, "you're a pear, you're an apple, etc.." SO great to be compared to the produce isle!

But the fact is, we all are a certain shape, and its good to figure out what we are before you start picking and choosing our cute wardrobe for your hot bods!
We live in a world where the grass is SO much greener on the other side (in our mind), we all have insecurities, no matter how big or small you are, everyone has them. I saw this quote and love it.."Highlight the positive, delete the negative"

Here's some different types of shapes, and you can see which category you might be in. Find your body type, and at the bottom I'll show you what to wear for YOUR body:

Top Heavy: (bigger on your top half and usually skinnier legs)

Bottom Heavy: (smaller on your top half, and bigger on the bottom half, usually more defined waist too)

Top & Bottom Heavy: (this could be more rounded shape all over, or also more of an hourglass shape)

Athletic or no curves: (no defined waist line, flatter butt, no hips, broader shoulders)

So now that you've figured out where you might fit (and again its never going to be exact, b/c NO body is like the other) we can start to figure out what to wear to flatter your fabulous body, b/c it is.. TELL yourself that.
You have a God given body that no one else has, and there are people that would kill to have it. And when its easy to focus on the negatives of your body (b/c you're human) try to literally stop dead in your negative thoughts, and look at yourself and find 2 things that you do like about it. It may be hard for some, but I promise they are there.

Clothes for YOUR body:

Top Heavy:

First and foremost, GET A GOOD BRA ladies! If you've ever watched Oprah or other fashion shows, its ridiculous how bad your ta ta's can make you look if they're hanging down to your waist, or even if you don't have anything to hang to your waist, they can still look bad! And this isn't to say that you wanna just show off the girls or anything, but a good bra fit really makes or breaks the way your shape looks, I PROMISE!
So especially for you top heavy girls, a good bra is a must!
1. good bra
2. Bring attention to your bottom half. Pants that have a flare at the bottom bring more attention to your bottom half, tops that are not fitted or tight. V-necks are really flattering for top heavy body's. A trench coat that ties at the waist and creates more of an hour-glass figure. Dresses that gather under the breasts and flare out bring more attention to your bottom half as well. Jackets that button under the breast that are "fitted" NOT to where you can't button them though ladies, we don't want the girls popping out!
3. If something doesn't fit exactly right in every area, take it to a tailor, b/c every size "x" isn't going to fit every body size "x". So if you get it to fit at the top, the bottom half may be bigger, but a tailor could take it in, then you have something to fit YOUR body exactly!

Bottom Heavy Shapes:

1. Wide leg pants and flowy skirts hide a lot, and are flattering esp if they're more tailored at the waist. Darker colors on the bottom half, lighter at the top. Light ALWAYS brings more attention to your body. So if you're not loving the bottom half, AVOID lighter pants (ie: light khaki or white) as they'll bring all eyes to your bee-hind!
2. More detailed tops (ie: ruffles, buttons, bigger collars) will also bring the attention up, and is fun to wear something funky & unique.
3. No side pocketed pants, they just make you look wider.. and NO pleats on the pants please, all it looks like is either that you're bloated, or actually a man dressing in drag.. lets be honest!
No super skinny jeans or pencil skirts, fuller skirts/pants with a defined waist are always better.
Also since its summer, when you wear a skirt or something that shows your calves DON'T wear straps at your ankles on your shoes, its cuts off your leg, and makes your legs look instantly shorter!
Wrap dresses are good to, they define the waist, hide your bottom half and bring the attention UP!

Top & Bottom Heavy Shapes:

The temptation with this body type is to hide it, whether it be in super flowy outfits, or things that "don't cling". We don't want to cling, but you DO want to flatter your body, and showing NO shape doesn't do that at all.
1.V-necks, cardi's (cardigan's), with a straighter skirt are a great outfit. The v-neck brings attention to your neck area, and the cardi will help hide any flaws your might want to hide (but not swallow you either) and the straight skirt (not fitted) with a side button/zipper skims over your body to create a straighter line, and the side closure creates a flatter front on the skirt.
2. Jackets with a single button to create more shape in your waist, wider pants, that again are defined at the waist, but NO flare legs, as this can make you look just wide all the way down. A straighter leg will look better with this shape. Again, avoid pleats, this just adds bulk and as I mentioned above, just is all around a bad look.
3. A jacket/coat with a belt to define the waist is always a good choice, and brings the attention (again) to your waist to make a more feminine look.

Athletic/ No Curves:

So basically you want to create a shape, more of an hour-glass look, and more feminine look.
1. When putting together an outfit, highlight your waist. A belt over a dress/top is an instant hour-glass shape. Wrap dresses have this affect (but be careful if you're small chested that it doesn't swallow you), or a dress with cinching around the waist.
2.Skinny jeans or more fitted pants (not tight!) can hug your bottom half in a good way to bring more of a shape to your body and create the illusion of a shape. And at the same time, if you're not into the skinny jeans, more wide leg/bell bottom pant that has shape at the waist hides the fact that you don't have as much shape, and brings the eye to your waist. Add a belt and you HAVE a waist! :)

So there you go!
Each one of you has a fabulous body, it may not be perfect to you, but its fabulous.. and if you honestly think there is anyone that has a "perfect" body out there, let me introduce you to something called photoshop!
:)

2 comments:

  1. love this AND your entire blog. you are very creative and smart when it comes to fashion and design! thanks for sharing
    emily

    ReplyDelete
  2. How about some real live before and after people. Looking real and then looking great...show us the difference.

    Thanks for the great site!

    ReplyDelete

 
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