How To Dress For Your Body Type
You stare at your wardrobe wondering what to wear, you try on a few outfits and don’t like how you feel in anything. You mutter to yourself, ‘If only I was thinner, then I would look good’. The truth is, you don’t need to be thinner to look good, you just need to know how to dress for your body shape.
Wearing clothes that don’t flatter your body shape will make you feel off. So it’s no wonder you think you need to change your body to feel good.
But when you know your body type and how to dress it, you no longer feel upset about getting dressed. You start to love your body and dressing it well every day.
The Female Body Shapes
Your body shape is determined by your skeleton structure, fat distribution, and muscle mass. Your body shape can change with fat loss/gain but is mostly predetermined by your skeletal frame.
Your body shape is your proportions in relation to your shoulders, bust, waist, and hip measurements. Your measurements may fall under one or two body shapes, and that’s ok, you will need to take into account the styling for both body shapes.
There are 5 main body shapes for females, hourglass, inverted triangle, rectangle, apple, and pear. You can determine your body shape using a simple calculation by taking the measurements of your bust, waist, and hips. Write down your measurements and note which measurements are the largest and smallest. Then compare your measurements with the body shapes I list below.
Knowing your body shape will make dressing well, easy, and enjoyable. When you dress for your body shape you instantly look and feel better in your outfits.
Please note that these are suggestions for dressing each body shape in a balanced way. They are not hard rules or saying one body shape is better than another. Always dress in ways that please you the most.
If you want to learn how to dress your body shape with confidence, join Style Skool to create your confident personal style today.
Rectangle Body Shape
You have a rectangle body shape if:
- Your shoulders, waist, and hips are similar in width.
- Your body looks straight with no curves.
- You have a lean athletic body.
How to dress a rectangle shape:
- Add volume to the hips and shoulders.
- Wear a belt or tie at the waist.
What not to wear:
- Oversized tops and trousers.
- One colour outfit with no details.
- Tight-fitting clothing with no details.
The idea is to create the illusion of a waist by adding frills, embellishments, puffs, and pleats to the shoulders and hips.
Hourglass Body Shape
You have an hourglass body shape if:
- Your bust and hips are similar widths.
- You have a defined waist.
- You have a shapely bust and hips.
How to dress an hourglass shape:
- Define your waist with belts.
- Wear figure hugging garments.
- One colour outfits to elongate body.
What not to wear:
- Baggy tops.
- Lots of frills on the shoulders and hips.
- loose outfits.
The idea is to highlight the waist and curves so as not to make the body look bigger than it is.
Pear Body Shape
You have a pear body shape if:
- Your hips are wider than your bust and shoulders.
- Your upper body is smaller than your lower body.
How to dress a pear shape:
- Wear one colour bottoms.
- Wear print tops.
- Add shoulder pads.
- Wear dark colour bottoms.
- Opt for light colour tops.
What not to wear:
- Avoid print bottoms.
- Light colour bottoms.
- Slim fitting tops.
The idea is to add volume to the shoulders, define the waist, and minimize the hips.
Apple Body Shape
You have an apple body shape if:
- Your stomach is your widest part.
- Your hips are smaller than your waist.
- You have broad shoulders and wide waist.
How to dress an apple shape:
- Define your waist with belts.
- Add volume to your hips with ruffles, prints.
- Wear structured jackets.
- Opt for v-neck tops.
What not to wear:
- Baggy tops.
- Skinny bottoms.
- Spaghetti straps.
The idea is to highlight the waist, and enhance the hips to create curves.
Inverted Triangle Body Shape
You have an inverted triangle body shape if:
- Your shoulders and bust are your widest part.
- Your waist and hips are smaller than your shoulders.
How to dress an inverted triangle shape:
- Wear v neck tops.
- Opt for solid colour, tight tops.
- Wear prints, frills, loose bottoms.
- Define your waist.
What not to wear:
- Baggy tops.
- Lots of frills on the shoulders.
- High neck lines.
- Slim fit trousers.
The idea is to highlight the waist and create curves by adding volume to the hips.
Dressing Well For Your Body Type
Each body type can focus on:
- Defining the waist.
- Minimizing the largest parts.
- Adding volume to the smallest part, shoulders or hips.
Dressing well is about balancing the body shape so the eyes are drawn to the person’s face and not their outfit or certain body part.
The other aspect of body shape is height. Being petite, regular, or tall can also have an effect on how clothes fit and look on you.
If you are petite you may want to elongate your body using similar colours throughout your top and bottoms.
And if you are tall you may want to add blocks of colour to split up your top and bottom.
In any case, focusing on the rule of thirds is the best for every height.
I will write another article on the rule of thirds soon.
So that’s it.
How to dress your body shape so you can look and feel amazing in your outfits.
Join us inside Style Skool to learn more on dressing your body type, finding your personal style and dressing well every day.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
And don’t forget to download your free guide here: how to start a capsule wardrobe from scratch.