Fashion for your figure

Now that we're all on a health kick for 2013, I figure the next step is to embrace our figures and learn how to properly dress for our given shape. As women, we are notoriously competitive and envious of how other women look. It's just in our nature. Men don't look at other men, (although they do check out each other's trucks), but women were born and bred to say "I want to look like her. Why can't I look like her?".. Let's just chalk this up to the Disney Princess syndrome. Anyway, now that we're all grown, we've realized that maybe we just can't have what she has. I mean, I'll never look like Adriana Lima no matter how hard I try... first thing being that I'm not Columbian. What the hell, why not? 

The sooner we realize that we need to embrace what God gave us, the sooner we'll start looking good in what we put on our body. Some people can wear things like crop tops and wide leg jeans. I cannot.... and I accept that. Even though I own a pair of wide legs, every time I put them on I laugh at myself in the mirror. What drugs was I on when I purchased these? They don't look good on me today, tomorrow, or 3 years from now when they become 'in' again. See, I'm categorically a "rectangle"(observe the photo above). Rectangles or sometimes lovingly referred to as the "bean-poles"should stick to pants that are skinny cuts in order to add curves and balance out our shoulders. We can do some flares, or "wider" legs, but we need to make sure they remain fitted above the knees or else we'll look, well, homeless. 

I'm well aware that we're not all rectangles. There's also apple, pear and hourglass shapes.... you lucky, curvy bitches. I'll trade my boyish physique with your svelte womanly figures any day. So, take a peek at the photo above, figure out which category you fall into and come back here below to read up on what works when it comes to fashion for your figure.

APPLE

The apple shape is described to be very similar to the hourglass but you have a slightly larger upper body and broad shoulders. An apple shape tends to have thin legs, but the chest and upper body look a bit out of proportion compared to the rest of your body. (Shut up, we'd all love your bra size.)

body fit twin: Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Hudson

Fashion for your shape: Apple shapes should dress to minimize their chest and create a proportionate frame by slimming it down. Tops that cinch at the waist, V-necks that lengthen your neck and minimize your chest and torso, and tailored/fitted tops will skim your silhouette in a flattering way compared to say a boxy top that would exaggerate your shape. Wrap shirts or wrap dresses are your friends. Single breasted jackets or coats are better because of the single straight line that will flatter your figure and not make you look wide. Create a trim waist with belted dresses and tops to make your waist look smaller. Wear longer tops that end over your hips. Elongating your waist will help make your chest and waist look longer and leaner, in turn instantly trimming down your chest. The key for you is elongating your figure. Wearing heels, lower-cut tops, longer tops, and wider-leg jeans will help to balance out your upper half and elongate.

PEAR

The pear shape is pretty much the opposite of the apples. Pears are bottom-heavy with hips wider than their shoulders and have smaller upper bodies. The pear is actually the most common body-type.

body fit twin: Kim K, Christina Aguilera

Fashion for your shape: Pears should veer away from bold prints in order to not accentuate the wrong area. You can pretty much wear any leg-shape of pant and if you want to offset your killer curves you could wear a skinny jean or fitted pencil skirt with a cropped jacket to add weight to your upper body. When it comes to tops you want to widen your upper body with a wide neckline. Anything that expands past the width of your shoulders, like boat-necks, cowl necks, bandeau, or square will balance your frame to make you look more like a proportionate hourglass shape. Jackets with lots of pockets like safari jackets or padded blazers will also balance your upper half. Longer hemlines that hit right on your hips are a big no-no and will only accentuate your curves even more. The key for you is that with every outfit, make sure you are broadening your upper body visually with the necklines we discussed or making sure the length of your tops hit you right below the waist or right at the waist to balance your figure.

HOURGLASS

The hourglass shape is described to have a well defined waist and proportional upper-body to hips ratio. (Hips and shoulders are the same.)

body fit twin: Halle Berry, Scarlet Johansson 

Fashion for your shape: Hourglasses are in luck because they can wear just about anything. A cinched waist is uber flattering for you as long as it hits you in the right place (make sure your top and bottom halves look proportional. Wrap tops will also help flatter your shape as well as belted tops, nipped jackets, and pencil skirts with a shirt tucked in. The key for you is that with every outfit make sure your waist is stealing the show and always make sure it's the focal point. Go have fun experimenting with what you want to wear today - if only we all could have your figure!

RECTANGLE

The rectangle body-type is described to be all-shoulders, a small frame in general, with little or no curves.

body fit twin: Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman

Fashion for your shape: As a rectangle, let's be honest, you have no chest... so anything that will help maximize or enhance it will help make the boyish figure more womanly. You can add fun necklaces or scarves to your outfits and wear V-neck or U-neck tops to help draw attention to your upper body. Anything that adds detail around the bust area, like ruffles, ruching, sequins, or any embellishment is a plus. You can also fool the eye by wearing jackets or coats that flare out at the waist or dresses and tops that have a peplum to help you appear more like an hourglass shape. Large prints also work in your favor. Basically, you want to break up your silhouette to create curves and add some dimension to your frame. Anything that can flare out the waist will make you appear more curvy and anything that enhances your chest area will do the trick. (Because you know, it is a trick... a bit of Tom foolery.)