Ever wondered why that certain dress looked great on your best friend the other night, but didn’t look as epic as you thought it would when you borrowed it? No. The dress does not have an alter ego or a dual personality, more often than not the reason is your body shape/ type.
Broadly, a woman’s body shape can be categorised in four ways: apple, pear, banana and hourglass.
You know you have an apple body shape if you have:
- A wide torso
- Broad shoulders
- An average-to-fuller bust
- An undefined waist
- Thinner arms and legs
- A flat bottom
- Hips that are narrower than your bust
- You don't have to have a very large belly to be apple shaped -- it just means that your centre of gravity, or your extra weight, resides in your belly area
Hide those flaws with the empire line dress
Here the bust of the dress is fitted but the skirt flares out into an A-line. The idea is to keep attention away from your problem area. Since apple shapes have thin arms and legs, you can play with short above the knee lengths and long ankle lengths. Mid lengths will make you look bulky.
Look taller in the wrap dress
Dresses with a V neckline make you look longer, shapely and slim like wrap dresses with a tie up under the bust line or at the waist. Make sure the tie up is not a waist belt in a contrasting colour though, that might draw attention to your tummy. Also, picking small print over solids helps in hiding problem areas better.
The comfortable and thinning shift dress
The shift dress is generally an anti-fit dress that just casually falls straight on your body without emphasis on the waist or hips. This style will also make your legs look thin, which is never a bad thing. Again, make sure you pick a length that is above the knee or it will make your top half and bottom half look disproportionate.
The single pattern magic
Another visual trick to distract attention from your belly is to choose a dress with just one pattern all the way down. Like the shape of the A-line, this will keep the eyes in check and cause the focus to be at the top and the bottom of your body. Wearing a pattern that changes in the middle or adding a belt will bring eyes straight to your middle where you don't want them to be, so avoid these two looks like the plague.
Now that you know how to flaunt an apple shaped body, go out and dazzle ’em all!
Privacy Notice
Written by Sweta Wagh on 24th Mar 2014