Posts Tagged: fit

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)!

Dump the frump: Get rid of 3 things that don’t make you feel fab

By IN Advice, Less Frantic Mondays, Personal Style

Dump the frump! Working mom style advice: Get rid of 3 things that don't make you feel fab

Do you ever put something on in the morning and feel just OK? Or worse, not OK?

Less Frantic Mondays: Tips and tricks for getting dressed and creating working mom outfits with less hassle and more fun.It’s time to dump the frump! You deserve to feel fantastic when you get dressed.

Your homework: Go through your closet–or your whole wardrobe if you’re feeling ambitious–and get rid of at least 3 things that don’t make you feel fabulous when you wear them.

Get fabulous. Be fabulous. Declare your right to discover and manifest your personal style with the Fab Mama Style Manifesto.

What to do with clothes that don’t fit

By IN Advice, How-To Tuesdays, Personal Style

Working mom style advice from Frantic But Fabulous: What to do with clothes that don't fit

Whether you’re a mama who rocks denim daily or one who works a blazer and skirt, what you wear is always more stylish when it fits your body right.

How-To Tuesdays: Style advice and answers for working momsAnd that’s true whether the size you’re sporting is a number too big or a number too small.

(The number itself? Who cares. Does that number, whatever it happens to be, work on your body?)

That’s why an important part of any wardrobe edit, whether you’re doing it for the first time ever or the second time this year, is going through your clothes and making sure things fit.

Not sure whether something fits quite right? Here are some tips on how to make sure.

Once you’ve got it sorted, here’s how to sort it out.

What to do with clothes that don’t fit

First, evaluate the item. Is it a flattering piece that you wear often with multiple outfits? Is it good quality or something you bought on sale at a mass-market retailer?

That will help guide what you do next.

  • Donate it. If the answer to both questions is “no,” it’s time to pass the item along to someone else.
  • Tailor it. If the answer to either question is “yes”–and the piece is too big–take it to your tailor to be altered.
  • Replace it. If the answer to either question is “yes”–and the piece is too small–add it to your shopping list and look for a better-fitting replacement. Then take the item you’re replacing to your local consignment store; or sell it online.

I recently used a combination of strategies #2 and #3. I had a black pencil skirt that I wore quite often. It wasn’t until I saw an outfit photo of myself that I realized the fit was off: it was a little too big and a little too long.

Because it was such a classic piece, I decided it was worth the investment to replace the more casual cotton original pencil skirt with a lined upgrade that could go from office to evening.

After all, “close enough” isn’t good enough when it comes to personal style.

  • Fab mamas: How do you decide when it’s time to get rid of a piece of clothing?

Get fabulous. Be fabulous. Declare your right to discover and manifest your personal style with the Fab Mama Style Manifesto.

How to figure out what your body shape is

By IN Advice

Torso with measuring tape: How to figure out what your body shape isHourglass. Pear. Apple.

You’ve heard these terms before, right? They’re the slightly awkward, and not always flattering, ways we try to describe a woman’s body shape.

Perhaps more accurately, they are an attempt to describe a set of body proportions: the relationship of widths across various points in the body.

Fruit metaphors aside, what’s the point of knowing this information?

It’s to properly dress your body.

And by “properly,” I mean in a way that fits and flatters you.

This is not about looking thinner. Not really. It’s about looking balanced. (Skinny girls can have hips wider than their shoulders, too.)

But before you can read any article or book or blog post about dressing for the “x” body shape, you first need to know what yours is. It starts with a measuring tape.

How to figure out your body shape

Get out that measuring tape, and take and fill in these measurements: bust, waist, hips and shoulders.

(If you need help with this, just Google “how to measure ____” and look for any one of a number of videos demonstrating how to.)

Then translate your measurements into body shape. Here are the most commonly used shapes and their formulas:

Triangle: You’re wider on top than you are below; that is, your shoulder measurement is more than 5 percent larger than your hip measurement. Also called the apple shape.

Pear: Or dewdrop, or inverted triangle—this is the opposite of the triangle, so the proportions are flipped: your hips are more than 5 percent larger than your shoulders.

Rectangle: Aka, the flute. Your shoulder and hips are the same or nearly so, but your waist isn’t much smaller; it’s 25% less at the most.

Hourglass: This one’s easy—your shoulders and hips are the same or very close, and your waist is more than 25% narrower, usually about 10 inches smaller.

Not as tricky as you thought, I hope?

Now when I talk about how to buy and dress the x shape (such as this guide on buying blazers for the pear shape), you’ll know which advice is best for you.

Your turn

  • Did you have the body shape you thought you did?
  • Which body shape metaphors do you prefer (triangle or apple, inverted triangle or pear, etc.)?
  • Or should we come up with less silly names entirely?

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(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 choose the best T-shirt for your body shape

By IN Advice, Style Q&A

Picture Perfect T-shirts

Picture Perfect T-shirts

A staple of every woman’s closet, from the most casual to the most chic, T-shirts are comfortable, easy to wear and work in a variety of outfit levels.

Now you’d think that a T-shirt is so basic you wouldn’t have to pay too much attention to how it fits and flatters your particular body shape.

But neckline, fit, length, sleeve type and even color can all vary and some will look better on you than others.

(And by the way, we’re talking about closet staple T-shirts. That means knit shirts in solid colors or simple patterns, like stripes. It doesn’t mean T-shirts with elaborate graphic patterns or “I’m With Stupid” written across the front.)

Here are some tips to keep in mind.

Finding the best T-shirt for your body shape

  • Make sure it fits! Begone, baggy men’s size XL shirts. (Unless you’re gardening or kick-boxing.) For most styles, you want your T-shirt, or any other knit shirt, to fit smoothly and snugly–but not skin-tight. Women’s styles are cut with a slight flare in the waist, unlike boxy men’s styles. Even if you choose a looser silhouette, it should never look like you’re mistakenly wearing a man’s shirt.
  • Check the length. If you’re petite, does it drape too low? If you’re tall, does it cut off awkwardly at the waist? Think about what you’ll be wearing it with. If you’re going to tuck it in, make sure there’s enough length so it won’t constantly slip out of your waistband.
  • Look at the neckline. A standard crew neck is most common, but is less flattering for busty figures. A V-neck or scoop neck elongates your line and is flattering to most. If you’re narrow-shouldered, a boat neck will widen them–and also balance a pear-shaped figure.
  • What about the sleeves? Cap sleeves are the most difficult to wear as they cut just above your bicep, the widest part of your upper arm; not so flattering, unless you’re super toned and/or Madonna. You’re much better off with a length somewhere closer to your elbow.
  • Consider a pattern. Not all T-shirts have to be solid colors. Horizontal stripes are helpful to small-chested gals, particularly if they run across the top of the bust.

If you’re not sure which of these options work best for you? Try them all on! Let your mirror be your guide.

Get a scoop-neck T and a crew neck T, ideally both in the same fabric and color, and try them on. Your eye will tell you which one works best.

Still not sure? Ask a friend. (The one who’s honest, but gentle!)

What to buy

French Connection striped t shirt
$50 - usa.frenchconnection.com

All Saints boyfriend t shirt
$50 - allsaints.com

Slubby triped t shirt
$40 - topshop.com

J Crew boatneck tee
$20 - jcrew.com


What’s the Scoopneck top
$13 - modcloth.com

Essential v-neck tee
$9.99 - tillys.com

 

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(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!)

What sizes are you?

By IN Advice, Fashion, Style

Measuring TapeI have a fantasy. Maybe you have it, too.

In this fantasy, I know what size I wear. I can go into any store, or shop at any clothing website and buy clothes in that size. And they will always fit.

This is how you know it’s a fantasy.

The reality, of course, is that there’s no such thing as one size that always fits. Here’s why–and what you can do about it.

There are inconsistencies in sizing between brands and labels. As the New York Times famously reported earlier this year in “One Size Fits Nobody,” there are no consistent standards in sizing between various clothing manufacturers. One designer’s 6 is another’s 10.

There are inconsistencies in sizing within labels. Have you ever thought you you’d figured out what size you wore at, say, the Gap–only to order an item in that size and have it not fit? Me too.

Your body isn’t one size all over, anyway. Well, unless you’re very lucky and have a perfectly proportioned silhouette. In which case, we’re all jealous of you. :)

Most of the rest of us are some combination of sizes, whether larger on top and smaller on the bottom or vice versa.

(Like me. I’m usually an 8 on bottom, but I have skinny jeans from Uniqlo that are a 10 and pants from LOFT that are a 6. Meanwhile, I’m very narrow on the top, as well as small busted, so I have blouses as small as a 4–and one blazer that’s even a 2 (!). That’s 5 different sizes right there.)

And I’m not even going to discuss the fact that clothing sizes have changed over time. It’s complicated enough already, isn’t it?

Knowing all of this, I hope you’re convinced of the absolute unimportance of attaching an emotional value to your clothing size.

Maybe a little? It’s a start.

What’s a Fab Mama to do?

  • Know your size(s). Be aware of the range of sizes you typically wear. Then pull those sizes when you go shopping. Clearly you’ll need to try everything on!
  • Make it work. Find a good tailor. As we talked about in how to find an amazing blazer, the key to making any garment fit you like couture is to fit it to the largest or widest part of your body and get the rest altered to fit.
  • Think fit, not number. Does it look fantastic on you? Did you have it tailored to fit you? Then the size number is irrelevant. (See above.)

Now does anybody out there have a brilliant idea for how to make the clothing industry use consistent sizing?

Your Turn

  • What size(s) are you?
  • If you don’t want to get that confessional–how many different sizes do you wear that all fit you?
  • What are your techniques for finding clothes that fit?
[Photo credit: Flickr user Jamiesrabbits.]
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.

How to choose and buy an amazing blazer

By IN Advice

The amazing blazer

The amazing blazer set on Polyvore

In a recent edition of Ask the Closet Coach, I answered a reader question about the best blazer styles for the pear shape.

This week, let’s talk about how to choose and find a jacket that looks amazing on you, regardless of your body silhouette.

How to choose and buy an amazing blazer

  • Fit. The key to any garment looking fantastic on you is fit, fit, fit. You can find the most flattering cut, but if the fit is sloppy, your effort is wasted. Your goal is for it to be snug overall and smooth to the body without being too tight. Here’s what to watch out for:
    • Shoulders. The seam should end at the edge of your shoulder, not before it and not over it. You should be able to move your arms comfortably over your head.
    • Sleeves. A full-length sleeve should not extend past the top of your hand, nor should it be above your wrist bones.
    • Back. You want the blazer to fit smoothly across the back with no wrinkling.
    • Bust. You should be able to button up your jacket easily with no pulling or gaping. If there are darts in the bust, they should fit smoothly across the bosom.
  • Fabric. The best jackets are made of wool (including cashmere, gabardine and flannel), silk, or even cotton. A level below that are the fabric blends, followed by synthetics, like polyester.
  • Quality. Look for a full smooth lining, ideally of silk. The stitches should be small, even and strong with no loose threads.

When it comes to the last two–fabric and quality–buy the best you can afford. A good blazer should hang in your closet for years to come. One really well made one is a far better value than two or three cheap versions.

If you’re not sure how to recognize a high quality jacket, take a field trip to a high-end department store, like Lord & Taylor, and browse the career or even designer departments. Notice how these jackets are made. Feel the fabrics. Look at the lining and craftsmanship. Your goal is to come as close to this as your wallet will allow!

By the way, you’ll notice I didn’t mention size. The number in the label is irrelevant if the fit is perfect. Cut it out if it’s a number that bothers you.

And what if you can’t find the perfect fit off the rack? This is where your tailor is, once again, your best friend.

Find a jacket that fits your largest part–most likely your shoulders, but possibly your hips or even your bust. Then have your tailor alter rest to fit you. The result will be like having your own little bit of custom couture. (Note that alterations to the shoulders are the most expensive; if your shoulders are narrower than your bust or hips, look for a style that fits the shoulder but falls more loosely on the rest of the body, like a swing or trapeze shape, or a cut that’s shorter.)

Finally, give yourself time. You probably won’t find this magical jacket on your first shopping trip or maybe even your second or third, and you want to try everything on. Just remember your new perfect blazer will be one of your wardrobe’s best friends and sometimes friends can take a while to find!

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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!)