Discover the different body shapes and how best to dress your body shape to flatter
How to Choose an Empire Waist to Suit Your Body Shape An Empire Waist garment has a high cut waist seam that sits directly under the breasts (above your natural waistline). It’s flattering on so many body shapes because it doesn’t require a defined natural waist to work. For petites it works because it raises…
Is it me or the clothes? Women, notoriously blame their bodies when it doesn’t flatter them or fit them, but in fact, if you look closely at the design of the garment, you will soon realise that it is not your body (which is perfect) that is wrong, instead, it’s a badly designed garment. How…
Karen asked me to give some advice on tucking – who should and who shouldn’t. Basically, if you are short through the waist (and especially if you have a medium to large bust), don’t tuck, it will make you look even shorter through the waist. This applies to H shapes, O shapes and…
Not only do we have body shapes (which can also be called our Horizontal Body Shape) we also have to take into consideration our Body Proportions (or Vertical Body Shape). Proportions are important as they tell us where to end our clothes, such as hems on skirts, hems on tops and jackets. Should you end…
Many of you have asked me to share with you some celebrities who have similar body shapes to yours (so you can get some style inspiration). Now in Hollywood ‘very thin’ is common due to the pressures put on celebrities so there is less variety in body shapes. But here are some celebrities who…
What is the difference between an 8 shape and an X shape? Well they both have defined waists, and their hips and shoulders are both fairly proportioned, (though sometimes you can have an 8 shape that has narrower shoulders, more like the A shape, but their hips are a different shape to a traditional A/pear).…
If I had to describe my personal style in 3 words it would be creative, dramatic, feminine. When I discovered my personal style preferences when I was undertaking my image consultant training (though it has developed and morphed some in the past few years), I finally understood why I can’t wear sneakers if I’m not…
I know that many of my readers are in the northern hemisphere where it’s currently winter, but here in Melbourne, we’re sweltering – or in the words of Cole Porter “It’s too darn hot!”. The heat from my laptop feels extreme, something I normally don’t notice. My hands are sweating on the keyboard as I…
Wear sunscreen – every day of the year – no matter where you live –even if you don’t think you’re going to go outside. 80% of wrinkles come from environmental damage. Just look of pictures of Brigitte Bardot today and compare her to her 20 year old self … not a good advertisement for baking…
Do you like to wear a patterned skirt but are unsure what colour you should choose for your top? If you are an X, A, 8 or H shape, choose a lighter or brigher colour from the top to draw attention away from the hips/thighs and up to your face. If you’re an H, O,…
The lovely Karen asked me to write a post about Collar Flipping, Cuff Rolling and Shirt Tying – so here are my thoughts. To Flip or Not to Flip – that is the question! Collar flipping (that is standing up the collar of your shirt), can make your neck look longer (provided that the…
The O or apple shape is fairly common. To be an O shape your midsection needs to be wider than your hips and shoulders. It tends to appear in the post-menopausal woman, when estrogen is no longer produced in the same quantities, and many women thicken around their waists. An O is most likely to…
This is the shape of models, very slim, which many would call boyish. Here are some ways to flatter your I shape body 1.For many, you may wish to add some curve to your body, to make it look more feminine. To do this, think about adding detail where the feminine normally curves – so…
To be a V shape, your shoulders need to be wider than your hips, by a good couple of inches. You may or may not have a waist, many V shapes have a shorter waist, if so, then use the tips from the H shape through your waist area – that is – no tucking,…
Now to the classic womanly shape of the A, which has the healthiest distribution of fat and the least likely to have heart disease (you lucky things!). The A shape woman has shoulders that are narrower than her hips/thighs, so you can check this by measuring both at their widest points and seeing if…
. . Your hips and shoulders are pretty much the same width (you can measure them if you’d like to check), but your waist measurement is less than 9″ smaller than your hip/shoulder measurements. So you don’t have a waist, and no matter how much dieting you do, you’re never going to have one.…
Defining the X (Hourglass) Shape The X shape body has shoulders and hips relatively the same size, and a defined waist. The widest part of the body is the thighs, not the bottom, when viewed from the front. This is a defining point in distinguishing between the two hourglass body shapes (8 and X) you can…
People seem to be obsessed with understanding what their body shape is, they feel that if they just knew that then they’d know exactly how to dress, unfortunately, body shape is only 1 element of dressing your body, there are also other considerations, such as body proportions, body variations (ie. big bust, petite, luscious bottom…
If you’re an A shape, 8 Shape or X shape and want to broaden your shoulders to make your hips look slimmer, here are a few styles to consider. What we’re using here is the rules of horizontal lines (that you can read about here.) If you want to make your hips look smaller,…
If you want to broaden your shoulders to balance your hips, why not look for epaulette detail, such as in this cardigan from Gap. This detail helps to add width and fullness to the shoulders and draws attention up the body and away from the booty. This military inspired cardigan also from Gap will…
I was in the shops yesterday and noticed that suddenly racks of swimwear has appeared – so for all of us in the Southern Hemisphere who are heading toward summer or around the equator where it’s always warm, I thought I’d put in some tips on choosing a new swimming costume (bathers or togs as…