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Clothes Options and Body Shape Balancing Tricks

Written on August 13, 2008 – 2:27 am | by dodo

Now let’s look in more detail at very common figure problems. The key to a terrific look, whatever your body shape, is to be in harmony with yourself and to aim for a balanced look. When hemlines soar above the knee or drop dramatically to the ankles, getting this balanced look can be tricky for those of us who are not perfectly proportioned, but look upon this as an interesting challenge, not an impossible hurdle.

Here are a few of the most frequent challenges, with suggestions for creating an illusion of a proportioned or balanced figure.

Pear Shapes

If you are narrow at the shoulders, never buy a jacket that is neat and fitted. Your goal is to look wider in the shoulders and the way to achieve this is to wear loose jackets and tops and to layer your look above the waist. So, if you are a size 18 in skirts and trousers and size 14 on top, try on a size 16 jacket. Have the sleeves shortened, if necessary, and have the collar altered to fit more snugly if possible. Minimise the volume on your lower half within the limits of comfort: avoid wide skirts or those cut on the bias, which would visually ‘pull you down’ and create more `weight’ on your bottom half (where you don’t want it).

Wear brighter colours, patterns and details on your top half. Try layering with shawls or scarves; or wear a waistcoat underneath your jacket to add needed volume.

Short Waists

Women with this figure problem can be very trim and yet look fat, if they choose the wrong style jacket or dress.

Longer jackets (below the hip-line to just above the knee) are more flattering because they draw attention away from where you have no length. Team the jackets with short or long skirts. You are better in the latter, as you probably have been overcompensated with long legs and can therefore successfully show-off the more interesting, longer lengths.

Just avoid full skirts. Long, and lean styles are more professional.

A trick that brings ‘wow-wees’ from my audiences, is that if you wea a belt in the same colour as your top or blouse you can actually add length to your short torso. This is particularly effective when wearing black, navy or other neutral colours but I would not recommend you to wear white belts with your white blouses. So this tip, while effective, ha: its limits.

In dresses, opt for the simple coatdress, chemise or dropped waistline to look your sleekest.

Long Waists

If this is your particular challenge, you’d probably describe yourself as being ‘all body and no legs’. To create balance you need to make your lower half appear longer and to shorten your long torso. The short jacket was made for you. Long styles squash you deeper into the ground unless worn with a short skirt just peaking out from underneath. Keep the attention at the waist — which is often enviably trim on women of this type — and above, with minimal details in your skirts and trousers.

Emphasise your waist by using belts to ‘break-up’ the area visually, but avoid belts in the same colour as your top because these would only serve to make you look even longer through the waist. If you match your belts to your skirts and trousers instead, you will elongate the lower half.

Show some leg, too. Even when longer styles prevail, wear your skirts no lower than mid-calf. Your best skirt length, if your legs are good, will be at or above the knee.

When buying dresses, try waisted designs, empire or a chemise style to which you can add a really interesting belt.

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Tags: belts, design, half, jacket, longer, lower, lower half, other, Skirts, top, waist, wear, women