How to Dress to Flatter Your Figure

This is the greatest tip I can give you: it's all about your body shape. Once you know your body type you can easily start finding clothes that really flatter your figure. Basically this is the ratio between your bust, waist and hip measurements.

Your body can be one of the following: Hourglass, Pear, Inverted Triangle, Straight, Diamond and Oval. Every body shape has its own fashion "requirements" which basically means that you need to find clothes that best fit your natural shape. At this point you should really keep in mind that there are no "good" or "bad" body types, because women are all different and beautiful. These are mainly tips to help you take the best of your figure.

Hourglass body type

The Hourglass is the classic feminine shape (eg: Marilyn Monroe) where bust and hips are basically the same size and the waist is well defined. Hourglass shaped women are quite lucky because they can wear pretty much everything:

> Skinny, Bootcut and Straight Jeans and Pants
> Leggings
> Short and mini skirts
> Pencil skirts
> Tops with belts or other that fit at the waist
> Tailored jackets

Pear body type

The Pear body shape, like the name suggests, has a body that resembles to a Pear, which means that the hips are wider than the bust. To balance that you need to find clothes that will balance your bottom with your bust without adding volume to your hips. Examples:

> Bootcut and Straight Jeans and Pants
> A-line Skirts or other skirts that flow around your hips without adding volume
> Don't use trousers ou skirts with flap pockets or other details in the hip area
> Tops that can give you volume to your shoulder area, like structured shoulders
> Tops with "V" or "U" necklines
> Maxi dresses look stunning on Pears
> Choose darker colors to your bottom half and lighter colors or patterns to your upper half

Inverted Triangle body type

The Inverted Triangle is to do the opposite from the Pear, since this body type has a bust that is wider than the hips. Look for jeans, trousers and skirts that will add an extra volume to your hip zone. Here are a few tips:

> Narrow "V" necklines and wrap-style tops
> Tailored jackets and skirts
> Choose your tops with darker colors and your pants or skirts with strong colors or patterns
> Pants with large legs like Bootcut or Boyfriend Jeans
> A-line or full skirts

Here are more tips on dressing an Inverted Triangle Body Shape.

Straight body type

The Straight or also called Rectangle body shape has a perfectly balanced bust and hips but not a very defined waist and that's why is called straight. It doesn't mean it doesn't have a waist, just means that is not a very defined one. To flatter a Straight shape look for clothes that add volume to your upper and lower half and emphasize your waist:

> Tops with wide "V" or "U" necklines or with structured shoulders
> Tops with belts
> Flared and Bootcut Jeans and Pants
> Bubble or tiered skirts
> Look for mid to low rise waists

Oval or Apple body type

The Oval or Apple usually has a wide bust, slimmer hips and is full around the stomach zone. The challenge on dressing for this body type is to create a more defined waist. Here are a few tips:

> Look for tops with belts (waist) and wrap-style tops and jackets
> Look for tops with vertical patterns or details
> Flared and Bootcut Pants and Jeans
> Bubble, straight or flared skirts
> Pants and Skirts with Flap Pockets or other details around the hip zone

Diamond body type

The Diamond shape has the hip area wider than the bust and a full stomach area. Just like the Oval body type, the challenge on dressing a Diamond body type is to accentuate the waist creating the illusion of a more defined waist. Here's how:

> Tops and Jackets with structured shoulders
> Tops flowing around the bust with belts
> Pants that fall straight right from the widest part of the hip zone
> A-line and maxi skirts that fall straight
> Look for bottoms with darker colors

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