Star Teacher

Flaunt your figure with these foolproof tips on how to dress for your body type!

Body Type: PEAR SHAPED
DESCRIPTION: If you possess the shape of this bottom-heavy fruit, you probably often complain about your heavy hips or big thighs, which have generous proportions compared to your slim upper body.
YOUR GOAL: Create a balanced figure by choosing pieces that draw attention to your upper half, and minimize the width of your hips and thighs. You also want to create waist definition.
HOW TO WORK IT: Go for tops with wider necklines, such as those with boat-neck and scoop-neck styles; they widen your shoulder area and help counterbalance the fullness of your hips and thighs.

• Putting on a jacket with a cinched waist and a longer style that ends past the widest point of your thighs, or wearing a shirt with a belt is another great way to create a proportioned figure and put the focus on your waist.
• Avoid full or shapeless skirts. Choose a fitted piece that tapers slightly at the hem, to make you look long and lean.
• Avoid pants that have a narrow hem, like skinny jeans. Instead, camouflage heavy hips and thighs with boot-cut styles or a style that falls straight from the hips. Additionally, create a lean look by going for bottoms with vertical lines and designs, such as pinstriped patterns, vertical seams or vertically arranged details, like buttons or zippers.

WHY YOU SHOULD LOVE IT: Most pears have small waists—embrace that! Because you have a slim neck, slender shoulders, and a just-right bust size, you’ll be able to wear delicate and feminine tops easily without looking too revealing.

Body Type: APPLE SHAPED
DESCRIPTION: If pear-shaped women curse their big bottoms, apples complain about a too-large bust area, thick waist, and disproportionately slimmer legs.
YOUR GOAL: Again, balance is the key. You want to create the illusion of a slimmer upper body and even out your proportions by adding volume below the waist without looking bulky.
HOW TO WORK IT:

• Full or A-line shaped skirts and wide-leg pants wear beautifully on apples because they counterbalance your broad upper bodies.
• You can also minimize broad shoulders by wearing halter or V-neck tops. Busty women will also benefit from tunic-style tops that fall two to three inches below the hipbone because the look creates a longer torso, making you look less squat.
• Another trick is to use colors and patterns to create an illusion. Pairing a solid-colored top with a patterned bottom, or a dark-hued top with a lighter skirt or pants is an easy way to balance your proportions. Resist the urge to buy loose-fitting shirts because they will only make you look bigger.

WHY YOU SHOULD LOVE IT: What’s not to love? Broad shoulders can be an unexpected asset—their strong, powerful lines give you confidence and a striking presence. Your cleavage is the envy of women. Plus, you can get away with sporting shorts and skirts because of your lean, shapely legs.

Body Type: FULL FIGURED
DESCRIPTION: You have curves all over, whether it’s in your boobs, your hips, your thighs, or your butt. You generally feel like your body lets you overshadow everyone else.
your goal: To create a balanced, shapely figure and a trimmer silhouette.
HOW TO WORK IT:

• Don’t hide your figure by wearing baggy clothes. Instead, select styles that both contour and hold in your curves. Fit and flare skirts and boot-cut pants balance out big booties, while wide V-necks and button-down tops flatter busty women.
• Choose waist-cinching tops, dresses, and sweaters as they emphasize your waist, one of the smallest points on your body.
• Make sure your accessories are proportionate to your figure. Thus go for large totes, oversized necklaces, and wider belts, as opposed to dainty jewelry, which will only emphasize a big frame.
• Monochromatic dressing in dark hues like navy, black, gray, or brown is another great way to look slimmer; you can liven up your look by using fun accessories or a bright bag.
• Another trick is to elongate your body, which will consequently make you look leaner. Wear shoes that will give you height, but make sure that the heels will balance your body bulk. Go for pumps with chunkier heels or wedge sandals.

WHY YOU SHOULD LOVE IT: You’ve got undeniable presence, and once you learn to love your body and work with it, you’ll easily turn heads because of your attractive self-confidence. And with your curves, no one will definitely mistake you for anything other than a fully feminine woman!

Body Type: SKINNY
DESCRIPTION: Your body resembles a very lean triangle—all angles and hardly any curves. Skinny types have athletic, boyish bodies, slender limbs, and an undefined waist.
YOUR GOAL: To create curves and have an overall feminine look.
HOW TO WORK IT:

• Start with well-made undergarments to give you a voluptuous foundation. Choose a good-fitting bra that’s slightly padded, then enhance your upper body even more with tops that are shirred, ruched, or gathered around the bust area. Pretty tops with delicate straps and girly details will give you a more feminine look.
• A fitted jacket that’s nipped at the waist with a slight flare at the hips will endow you with a curvier shape.
• Slim jeans and boot-cut trousers are great for slender legs, while pockets and embroidery help to add volume.
• Show off legs with full or gathered-skirt styles, and build a shapelier silhouette by slipping on a fitted pencil-skirt style, or one that hugs the hips then flares out at the bottom.

WHY YOU SHOULD LOVE IT: Your body is made for the catwalk! There’s a reason most models have lean frames—most clothes look good on you.

Body Type: HOURGLASS
DESCRIPTION: You are shapely in all the right places, with a bust line and hip ratio that’s just about even, and a waistline that your female friends are jealous of.
YOUR GOAL: Show off your figure with the right selection of clothing. If you’re on the fuller side, you will want to minimize bulk with clothes that mold your body without letting it lose its natural shape.
HOW TO WORK IT:

• Choose dresses that are cut on the bias, as they will drape over your figure gracefully.
• Pick up pieces that follow your figure closely—think fitted cardigans and pencil skirts.
• Open-collared tops and V-neck styles open up your neckline, making you look less busty and top-heavy. Emphasize your slim waist by cinching your outfit with a belt.

WHY YOU SHOULD LOVE IT: Your body is the ideal figure that every woman aspires to have, and all men dream about. In fact, most of the tips that were given for every other body type in this story all have the same goal: to achieve a proportionate hourglass figure like yours!

Body Type: PETITE
DESCRIPTION: You’re always complaining that you can’t find pants that are just the right length for your short stature, and skirts always seem to fall below the knee. You end up having almost everything you buy altered.
your goal: The obvious goal would be to look taller, but you will also want to create outfits that are proportional to your small frame.
HOW TO WORK IT:

• Buy clothes that are specifically made for small women; a good number of shops already have petite lines that take away the need for alterations.
• Always choose clothing that fits close to your body to make you look taller. This means high-necked shirts, turtleneck tops, tops that fall at the waist or at the hip, and structured or slim-fit shift dresses.
• Make sure pants have no cuffs and pleats at the waist. Avoid boot-cut and tapered styles that make you look short. Instead, make sure the hem of your pants brushes the tops of your shoes, even when you put on heels.
• When wearing skirts, make sure they hit at or above the knee. Showing more leg will make you look taller. Steer clear from overly fussy details like pleats, large patterns, ruffles, or gathered styles because they tend to dwarf your frame.
• When choosing shoes, always go for a pair with some height and a pointy or tapered toe, and no ankle straps (they cut the line of your leg, and make you appear shorter).

WHY YOU SHOULD LOVE IT: Most petite women are blessed with slender frames. Though you may have a hard time finding clothes in the right length, most items generally fit your figure well. And it might have to do with the fact that you remind people of delicate dolls, but no one will argue that petite women have a certain cute and adorable charm to them.