Most people like to say, “you are what you wear” and what we wear depends a lot on the type of body shape we have. Women come in all different shapes and sizes, but there are 4 distinct body types that can help categorize us. Now you might not like to hear what I have to say next, but it must be said. “Not every style trend is for every body, and that’s okay”. Yes that’s right, and trust me it’s the truth. Let’s think about it. If all of the sudden mini skirts became the new hottest trend, do you think every women out there should be rocking a mini skirt? Heck no, I mean I love my grandmother and all but I do not want to see her in a mini skirt. It’s just not appropriate. As a women you need to be dressing for your particular body shape and I promise you’ll be more comfortable and confident if you embrace your silhouette, rather than work against it.
Let’s break down the different body types there are. If you don’t know the shape of your body or you feel like you could fall in between two different body types, I’ll try and explain each one of them to help you figure it out.
- Banana: With this body type all of your body parts are of the same proportion.
- Apple: You tend to have a larger chest compared to hip region, undefined waist, rounded shoulders and slim legs.
- Pear: You have a tiny waist and chest region and larger hips.
- Hourglass: You have a tiny waist section and your chest and hip region are equally proportioned in size.
Now, before we move on ask yourself which body type are you?
In order for us to dress with confidence we need to be dressing for our body type. Accepting your body for what it is and being able to appreciate your beauty will help you build the confidence in order to dress appropriately and confidently. As women, we all body shame ourselves, it’s innate and sometimes we can’t help it, but from now on when you find yourself body shaming try and turn it around. Instead of saying “My hips are too big” try and change that phrase to “I love my hips, their gorgeous”. It will allow you to see your body in a different point of view and develop that self confidence within. That’s just my little tip for your self-confidence and self- esteem .
Alright, I have put together a chart of Do’s and Don’ts for styling each of your body types. I am going to help you today and show you the different pieces of clothing and accessories you can wear to help flatter your body figure so that you can learn to love and embrace your body!
If you have a ‘banana’ type body the number one thing you need to focus on is defining your waist! If all of your body parts are proportionate, then we need to find a way to help give your body curvature and definition. The best way to do that is by accentuating your waist by wearing clothes that help create the illusion of defining your waist and giving you curves.
If you have a ‘apple’ Body type the number one thing you want to focus on is creating your waist and highlight your cleavage. Putting on a v-neck really helps to create the illusion of a smaller chest region. The narrowing of the ‘v’ helps balance out your chest region with your hips.
If you have an hour-glass figure you want to focus on showing off your curves! Girl if you got it flaunt it (That’s the exact quote that I got in a fortune cookie one time, and I keep it as a daily reminder )
If you have a pear figure the main thing you want to emphasize is drawing attention to your top with textures, push up bras, bold jewelry and bright blouses. Work your chest girl! This is a great way to bring attention to your upper body in a tasteful way by adding a beautiful statement necklace, or a fun and colourful patterned blouse.
When shopping for clothing the most important thing I emphasize to everyone is “you don’t know until you try it”, but for a lot of us we have a hard time putting outfits together simply because we just don’t know how. This is what I am going to show you today! I don’t know about you but I myself am a visual learner, so instead of blabbing more about what to put together, I thought I would create a collage and help make things more clear.
We all want that ‘perfect’ hourglass figure don’t we? How many times have we looked in the mirror and said “I wish I had hips”, “I wish my shoulders weren’t so boxy”, “Why isn’t my body proportionate”? One of the most important take always I want to share with you here is to focus on this number one rule, regardless of your shape and size, and that is to always focus on defining your waist. When you define your waist you give your body shape, texture, and definition. It is a great starting point if you have a hard time finding clothes to fit your body type. We all have a waist, so we need to try and define it so we can then focus of complimenting and showing off our other fabulous body parts.
With outfit number 1 on the left we are seeing a pleated skirt and a peachy blouse that has high neck collar. Having the high neck and adding the statement necklace will help bring emphasis on your chest region (life a spoke about above in question 2). With the outfit on the right we have a gorgeous vibrant A-line red dress! Add a belt to help define your waist and instead of wearing a statement necklace, add some earrings and a fun shoe to spice it up for a night out!
Bring on the v-neck! Ladies we all want to look slim so all my apple bodied girls, v-necks are your best friend! Here we have two casual outfits here and both do a great job complimenting your body type. We have v-necks and well fitted jeans. By adding a high waist short we are elongating your legs which will help compliment your chest region by making them look more proportioned.
Where my curvy girls at?! With outfit number one on the left we have a fitted blazer that buttons in the waist region which will help show off your figure. We also have the cutest peplum skirt with a bit of a flare at the bottom to really show off your gorgeous hips! With outfit number two on the right but wearing a fitted maxi dress, you are leaving all the work to the fabric to tastefully outline and show off those sexy curves of yours! Be confident and show them off J.
Outfit number 1 on the left is super casual and very chic. Adding a patterned top will help bring attention to your torso region to help balance out your hips. By adding a bell bottom jean, you will create more curvature in your legs to really compliment and show off your hips. Outfit number two is for a fun night out! Statement faux fur jackets are so in! Everyone has them, so to help bring this outfit together add a cute fitted shift dress! A shift dress will help give an illusion that your top and bottom region are equally proportioned which in turn allows you to look slimmer.