Posts Tagged: body shape

Confused by online size charts? Start with your measurements

By IN Advice, Try This Thursdays

One of the hardest parts of shopping is figuring out what size(s) to look at, since they often vary from label to label, store to store.

It’s an even bigger challenge when you’re shopping online, since you don’t have the option to quickly try something on.

Try This Thursdays: A weekly series bringing you something new to try in your working mom style life.To help solve this dilemma, most sites provide size charts that equate their size numbers (or the even more generic options of S, M and L) to body measurements.

So that’s where you should start, too.

Try this: Get out the measuring tape and jot down your numbers, then keep them someplace handy so you can refer back to them. (I have mine in a notes file on my phone. Low tech, but it works.)

  • Fab mamas: What are your tips for negotiating online size charts?

Learn how to take your measurements–and how to use them to identify the clothes that flatter your body best–in Step 2 of “No More Yoga Pants: How to Dress Better, Shop Smarter and Reclaim Your Style.” It’s a friendly, easy-to-follow system that will guide you through the steps from “nothing to wear” to Fab Mom. Sign up to get special access to the sneak preview (and a discount code!).

Personal Style Dilemmas: I don’t know what looks good on me

By IN Advice, How-To Tuesdays, Personal Style

Personal style dilemmas: What looks good on me? How to fit and flatter your body with clothes.

Personal Style Dilemmas is a series that helps take the mystery out of discovering and expressing your personal style.

You may know a bit about your personal style already. You might know that you like bright colors. Your eye might be drawn to graphic patterns. You might even know that you like feminine, detailed garments.

But then you go shopping, and you get hit with one of the biggest personal style dilemmas of all: does this even look good on me?

How-To Tuesdays: Style advice and answers for working momsLet’s set aside color and pattern for now. (And I happen to think that most of the time, if you choose colors that make you feel good, then that’s good enough.)

The most important aspect of what makes something look good on your fabulous body comes down to two keys:

  • whether it flatters your type of body shape
  • whether it fits your unique body

(Yes, these things are different.)

First, shape: are you an apple? A pear? Or one of those other fruit or geometry labels? Knowing which general category most suits you will help you find more specific advice and direction about the clothes to flatter your shape. (Like the Frantic But Fabulous Personal Style Starter Kits for the pear and apple shapes.)

Then fit: not too big, not too small, but just right. Here’s how to tell when clothes don’t fit you — and what to do when they don’t.

Put them together, and you’re well on your way.

Learn how to identify your body silhouette type and which clothes flatter it with “No More Yoga Pants: How To Dress Better, Shop Smarter and Reclaim Your Style,” the step-by-step personal style transformation system. Join the Style List and be the first to get a sneak preview (and an early discount code, too)!

Personal Style Starter Kit: How to find flattering clothes for seasons and special occasions

By IN Personal Style, Try This Thursdays

Personal Style Starter Kit: How to dress for the seasons and special occasions

Fab mamas: Ready to reclaim your personal style, but don’t know where to begin? The Starter Kit series is for you: helpful tips and how-to’s, all in one place.Try This Thursdays: A weekly series bringing you something new to try in your working mom style life.

Finding flattering clothes and outfits for everyday wear–whether on the weekend or at the office–is one thing.

Figuring out what works for special occasions and specific seasons is another.

How to find flattering clothes for seasons and special occasions

You might notice that the guidelines for finding flattering clothes by body shape hold true for these more specialized garments, too.

Once you get the hang of the basic principles, you’ll be able to apply them to all kinds of clothes, too!

Yes, you can be more Fabulous and less Frantic! Sign up for the Style List to get more working mom style advice and a special bonus: 7 Days to Better Shopping, a daily series that will teach you how to shop smarter and save money.

Personal Style Starter Kit: How to flatter the apple (inverted triangle) shape

By IN Personal Style, Try This Thursdays

Personal Style Starter Kit: How to dress to flatter the apple shape

Fab mamas: Ready to reclaim your personal style, but don’t know where to begin? The Starter Kit series is for you: helpful tips and how-to’s, all in one place.

Try This Thursdays: A weekly series bringing you something new to try in your working mom style life.Our beautiful bodies come in an infinite variation of shapes and sizes.

Within this broad range, we fall into some general categories, based on proportion.

Once you know what your body shape category is, it gets a little easier to find clothes that will flatter it.

How to find clothes that flatter the apple, or inverted triangle, category

Of course, any set of guidelines is just that, a guide. Use them to help you narrow down your shopping options, then try lots of things on–and have fun!

Yes, you can be more Fabulous and less Frantic! Sign up for the Style List to get more working mom style advice and a special bonus: 7 Days to Better Shopping, a daily series that will teach you how to shop smarter and save money.

Personal Style Starter Kit: How to flatter the pear (triangle) shape

By IN Personal Style, Try This Thursdays

Personal Style Starter Kit: The pear shape

Fab mamas: Ready to reclaim your personal style, but don’t know where to begin? The Starter Kit series is for you: helpful tips and how-to’s, all in one place.

Try This Thursdays: A weekly series bringing you something new to try in your working mom style life.Our beautiful bodies come in an infinite variation of shapes and sizes.

Within this broad range, we fall into some general categories, based on proportion.

Once you know what your body shape category is, it gets a little easier to find clothes that will flatter it.

How to find clothes that flatter the pear, or triangle, shape

Of course, any set of guidelines is just that, a guide. Use them to help you narrow down your shopping options, then try lots of things on–and have fun!

Yes, you can be more Fabulous and less Frantic! Sign up for the Style List to get more working mom style advice and a special bonus: 7 Days to Better Shopping, a daily series that will teach you how to shop smarter and save money.

How to buy a T-shirt for the apple (inverted triangle) shape

By IN Advice

Best T-shirts for the Inverted Triangle Shape


Last week I wrote about how to buy a T-shirt that’s more flattering to your female form than a man’s big ol’ boxy version–and specifically how to do so for the pear shape, also known as the triangle.

This week it’s only fair that her opposite number, the apple (inverted triangle), gets her due. This is the silhouette with narrow hips and wider shoulders.

As with my guides to buying blazers for the pear and apple shapes, the advice for one is really the inverse of the other.

So here’s how to buy a T-shirt for the apple (inverted triangle) shape.

  • Minimize your neckline. You want your shoulders to appear narrower, rather than wider, so skip the wide-necked styles and look for a V-neck or a deep scoop.
  • Watch the size. This is just as true for you as it is for the pear; baggy doesn’t flatter anyone. You especially want a shirt that’s slightly narrower in the middle and flares out at the bottom to create that curved line at the hips.
  • Think empire. Instead, try to find styles that are more fitted on top and looser as they flow down from beneath the bust. This is sometimes easier in a blouse than a traditional knit T-shirt, but the principles are the same. Wrap shirts can offer a similar effect.
  • Pay attention to length. Like the pear, you want your hemline to hit just about at the hipbone. Try on tops in varying lengths to see which one looks best.

Color can help you, too. A color-blocked T-shirt that’s darker on top and lighter on the bottom will give the appearance of being narrower in the shoulder while also being right on trend.

(By the way, some stylists consider the apple and inverted triangle to be two different shapes, with the apple having a thicker abdomen. But the advice here should work for them both.)

What to buy

Dorothy Perkins coral shirt
$35 - dorothyperkins.com

Anthropologie ruffle top
$48 - anthropologie.com

Banana Republic 3/4-length wrap tee
$39.50 - bananarepublic.gap.com

Talbots ballet wrap T-shirt
$50 - talbots.com

TRUTH Heart Throb Womens Tee
$23 - tillys.com

Color-block A-line T-shirt
$28 - yesstyle.com

Crafted Company top
$50 - modcloth.com

Old Navy Tri-Blend v-neck T-shirt
$9.50 - oldnavy.gap.com

 

Share the love

Thanks for reading. Did you like this post? Please leave a comment or share it with someone else; just use the handy sharing widget below.

(Want to get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff? Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox! And when you join, you’ll get my free email series, 7 Days to Better Shopping. It’s my gift to you!)

How to buy a blazer for the inverted triangle (apple) shape

By IN Advice, Style, Style Q&A

Best blazers for the inverted triangle (apple) shape

Last fall, I answered a reader question about buying a black blazer for the pear shape–sometimes also known as the triangle because this body silhouette is wider at the bottom (hips) and narrower at the top (shoulders).

Since everyone should own at least one wonderful, fitted blazer let’s turn our attention now to the opposite of the pear/triangle–the inverted triangle, sometimes called the apple. (Can you guess what this shape looks like? Yep: wide of shoulder and slimmer of hip.)

Here are tips to help you buy a blazer for the inverted triangle shape (apple).

Not too surprisingly, they are mostly the opposite of the tips for buying a blazer for the triangle.

As with all garment-shopping, the goal is to balance out the silhouette by making wider parts appear narrower, and narrower ones a bit wider–this tricks the eye into seeing an hourglass, the ideal balance.

  • Avoid padded shoulders. Well, this one’s a bit obvious, isn’t it? Even so, it can be tricky advice to follow since many tailored jackets pad the shoulders.
  • Lengthen the torso. The longer your torso looks, the narrower your shoulders will appear in comparison. Stick to one or two-button jackets with a deeper yoke. Make sure it’s a longer length (i.e. below your waist)
  • Keep lapels narrow. Ideally, they should also point downward, away from the shoulder. This is another way to accomplish tip #2, torso lengthening.
  • Double-breasted jackets are not your friend. Remember, you want a deep yoke with narrow lapels; double-breasted is pretty much the opposite of that.
  • After you buy it, tailor it. Off the rack, chances are high that your jacket still won’t fit your torso the way it should. You’re lucky, Ms. Triangle, because the shoulders are the hardest part to alter on a jacket. Find one that fits the width of your shoulders and the rest can be taken in to fit.

Although you’d think that a fitted blazer would emphasize how your waist is narrower than your shoulders, in fact it’s more flattering because it will also emphasize your hips, making you look more balanced overall. A boxy cut simply makes you look wide all over.

Want to know how to style that blazer once you buy it? Here’s how to use your blazer to create working mom outfits at levels for Weekend Chic, Casual Friday and Client Meeting.

What to buy

Ann Taylor sateen jacket
$158 - anntaylor.com (on sale for $80)

Sans collar blazer
$98 - anthropologie.com

ASOS tailored blazer
$75 - asos.com

Twenty8Twelve slim blazer
£134 - julesb.co.uk

Iva drape jacket
$180 - reissonline.com

 

Get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff: Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox! And when you join, you’ll get the free email series, 7 Days to Better Shopping.