Think about balance for the best look

my best look is?

In 3 Questions

Balance – Balance-Balance

No matter what your size or shape the key to being well dresses is balance, balancing your top with your bottom. For that perfect put-together look take a peek at the suggestions we have here.

Triangle — The Pretty Pear

Basic Thoughts:

If you are petite and bigger on the bottom half, or pear-shaped, choosing a gown can be especially challenging. The key to dressing a pear body shape is to enhance and add volume to your upper body while emphasizing your waist and de-emphasizing your lower body to create a balanced, hourglass appearance. You may find both sizing and style problems, whether you’re looking for a sleek black gown or something with spangles and sparkles. The great news: With smart styling and shopping, you can find a gown that is beautiful and elegant, allowing you to look and feel your best.

Some rules of thumb:

Your Features:

When dressing a pear body type, look for tops that will will help balance your lower half while accentuating your defined waist:

Tops with nipped or fitted waists.
Off the shoulder, boat-neck tops, wide V or U necks.
Structured shoulders, princess or flutter sleeves.
Embellishments around the bust and shoulders.
Bright colors and bold patterns.

Your hips are larger than your bust
You have a nicely defined waist
You have an elegant neck and proportionately slim arms and shoulders
You first gain weight in your bottom and legs followed by your tummy and upper body
Your waist is your best asset so don’t be afraid to show it off.

Here’s what to look for —

Your celebrity inspiration

Athletic — The Inverted Triangle

Basic Thoughts:

Dressing for your body shape is all about playing up your assets. If you’re an inverted-V body shape, that’s actually pretty easy to do. Also called an inverted-triangle shape, this body type features strong shoulders, narrow hips and thin limbs, so you have plenty of options when it comes to clothing. The key to dressing an inverted triangle body type is to balance your narrow lower body with your broader shoulders and chest. To create the most curvaceous effect, add volume to your lower body by mixing and matching suggested separates. Choose dresses with deep V-necks. Shoulders should not flare or puff. Sleeveless or long form-fitting sleeves look best while spaghetti and narrow straps will have a tendency to make your shoulder look broader. Stay away from wide necklines altogether. Dresses with empire waists with A-line skirts that float away from your body will create the most figure flattering effect, however full skirts that fall from the natural waist line also work well. Simple wrap dresses with a higher waist are also flattering. When you’re choosing an outfit, the main goal should be finding pieces that help to soften your shoulders; this helps create a balanced appearance for your frame and guarantees a flattering look for your clothes.

Some rules of thumb:

Your Features:

Look for dresses and separates that are dark above the waist and light or bright below to create the illusion of a balanced figure

Wear a dress has a dark colored bodice and light skirt.
Wear a shirt that is dark colored around the bust/shoulders and brighter in color below the bust.
Pair it with light colored pants or a skirt.

The key to dressing an inverted triangle body type is to balance your narrow lower body with your broader shoulders and chest.

You have a proportionally larger upper body
You have broad shoulders, and ample bust and a wide back
Your hips are slim and your bottom may have a tendency towards the flat side
Your waist is subtle and you have a tendency to gain weight in your belly and upper body
Your beautiful, shapely legs are your best asset.

Here’s what to look for —

Your celebrity inspiration

The Diamond

Basic Thoughts:

Your body type is as rare as the gem itself. If you have a diamond-shaped body, your hips will be broad, and your bust will be narrow and in alignment with the shoulders. Your midsection looks full, like the oval-shaped body. You tend to gain weight around the stomach, and your waist isn’t well-defined. You have a little more weight in the upper legs. Your arms are also slender and well-shaped. The lower legs are shaped well, and they happen to be your body’s best feature

Some rules of thumb:

Your Features:

Find tops that will help create a more defined waist and accentuate your shoulders and bust. Look for:

Tops with nipped or belted waists.
Off the shoulder, boat-neck tops, wide V or U necks.
Structured shoulders, princess or flutter sleeves.
Embellishments around the bust and shoulders.
Tops that are full, rushed or flowing around the bust.

Look for bottoms that lean and lengthen your lower half:

Choose dark colored bottoms.
Lightly gathered or A-line skirts that skim your figure.
Straight skirts that fall from the widest part of your hip.

Your hips are broader than you bust and shoulders
You have a tendency to gain weight in you stomach, back, hips and buttocks
Your waist is undefined and the widest part of your frame
You carry some weight in your upper legs
Your lower legs are shapely and one of your most attractive features
You have proportionately slender, shapely arms

Here’s what to look for —

Your celebrity inspiration

The Hourglass

Basic Thoughts:

Coco Chanel once opined, “Fashion is architecture; it is a matter of proportions.” Lucky you! You have the body shape that most women strive for. The objective of dressing your body type is to accentuate your hourglass figure. No matter what your weight is, accentuating your balanced body creates the most pleasing effect. For those women with an hourglass figure but a large bust, sometimes called the Top Hourglass, the key to dressing this body type is to balance your lower body with your ample bust while accentuating your waist. To create the most curvaceous effect add volume to your lower body by mixing and matching suggested separates.

Some rules of thumb:

Your Features:

Wear color of similar or identical brightness on your upper and lower body, while adding darker color around your waist to accentuate your curves.

Wear a light colored dress with a wide dark belt.
Wear a shirt that is lighted colored around the bust/shoulders and dark below the bust.
Pair it with light colored pants or a skirt

Your bust and hips are well balanced
you have a beautifully defined waist
Your have gently rounded shoulders that align nicely with your hips
Your waist is obvious and gracefully curves out to your hips
You most likely have a rounded bottom and beautiful side as well as front profile
Your upper body is proportionate in length to your legs which are shapely
From top to bottom, you are a picture of harmony and balance

Here’s what to look for —

Your celebrity inspiration

The Spoon — The Figure 8

Basic Thoughts:

The spoon body shape is characterized by large hips that are bigger than the rest of the body. This creates a nice shape that resembles the number 8. You tend to gain weight in the upper section, especially the stomach region. Love handles are your biggest issue, and you tend to gain weight in your thighs and arms section easily. The key to dressing a spoon body type is to draw attention to your upper body while deemphasizing your tummy to create a balanced appearance. Your legs and shoulders are two of your best assets. Strapless dresses and tops look good on you and you can easily pull off shorter skirts with your great legs. However, to create a more curvaceous effect add volume to your upper body by mixing and matching suggested separates.

Some rules of thumb:

Your Features:

Empire waist tops are the most flattering on a spoon figure because they emphasize the smallest part of your torso. Do not choose tops with excessive fabric beneath the empire waist, instead choose silhouettes that are more a-line and gently skim your figure. Choose tops with wide necklines and embellishments that draw attention and add volume (or the illusion of volume) to your bust and shoulders. When selecting jackets, choose ones with a structured shoulder and nipped-in waist that gently skim away from the body and end at your hipbone.

Look for tops that will help balance your lower half while accentuating your defined waist and camouflaging any tummy bulges:

Tops with empire waists.
Off the shoulder, boat-neck tops, wide V or U necks.
Tops with rouching or embellishments around the bust.
Tops that skim your midsection without adding volume.
Strapless tops that show off your shoulder

As a Spoon Body type (sometimes called figure 8) your figure is quite common. Typical characteristics of a Spoon Body Shape are:

Your hips are larger than your bust
You have a defined waist
Your hips have a “shelf” appearance
You are prone to gaining weight in your tummy and have a tendency towards love-handles
While you may gain weight in your upper thighs and upper arms, your lower legs and arms are shapely and your best assets

Here’s what to look for —

Your celebrity inspiration

The Apple — The Oval

Basic Thoughts:

As an apple, your fashion goal is to emphasize your strong points which are your bust and legs, and to camouflage your weaker one which is your midsection. This will help to balance out your figure. Since the idea is to draw the eye toward those parts of your body that shine and away from those that don’t, you want to show off your great legs! Or to put it another way, the key to dressing an Oval body type is to de-emphasize your midsection and create a more defined waist. All this is achieved by choosing clothing that add curves and fullness to your lower body and tops that taper to a waist. You have amazing legs so feel free to play with skirt lengths, but don’t go too short otherwise you will further a top-heavy look.

Some rules of thumb:

Your Features:

A monochromatic look usually works best. Add splashed of color with camisoles, earrings, necklaces and great shoes.

Wear a dark colored dress with a wide dark belt and a vibrant statement necklace and colorful shoes.
Wear a dark pant or skirt suit with a bright colored cami and shoe
Choose dresses with A-line skirts, darted or belted waists and cuts or embellishments that draw attention and emphasize your bust and shoulders. Wide necklines, off-the-shoulder and big lapels are an excellent way to create illusion of volume without actually adding volume. Wide-lapeled, A-line, belted coat dresses are particularly flattering on your body type. Always proportionally enhance both your upper and lower body.
Choose tops with cuts, necklines and embellishments that draw attention and add volume (or the illusion of volume) to your bust and shoulders while emphasizing a waistline. Off the shoulder or wide necklines are most flattering. Wide-lapeled wrap shirts and jackets with nipped-in waists and a slightly flared bottom are excellent for oval body types. Both shirts and jackets that come to the hip-bone are the most flattering on your body type

You have an Oval Body Shape (sometimes known as an apple body shape). Typical Characteristics of an Oval body type are:

You have a large bust, narrow hips, and a full midsection
You have a tendency to gain weight in your stomach, back and upper body
Your waist is undefined and the widest part of your frame
You also have a full, shorter neck and full face
Your buttocks are somewhat flat and your legs are slender
Your shapely, graceful legs are your best assets.

Here’s what to look for —

Your celebrity inspiration

The Banana — The Rectangle

Basic Thoughts:

It’s easy to look your best when you know which clothes to pick for your body type. Rectangle body types are one kind of figure that looks chic in a variety of clothing. A rectangle figure is a boyish body type, with more straight lines and few curves. Adding femininity to a rectangle figure and creating curves seems challenging, but it’s simple to do with the right clothing styles. Certain types of tops, like wrap tops, can help create the illusion of curves. Anything with details or embellishments, such as collars and ruffles, and scoop neck or V-neck shirts all work well, too. If you like jackets or blazers, opt for a fitted style that has a cinched-in waist. A buttoned jacket is even better. Skip straight skirts, which only define your length instead of creating a more feminine figure. Stick with full-silhouetted skirts that offer layers, ruffles or other details such as flared pleats. Skirts can be any length, but if you have great gams, show them off in a short style for a womanly look. The traditional A-line skirt works well for rectangular body types and keeps the look soft. The wrap dress is a rectangle woman’s secret weapon. Cinch the dress in to whittle the waist and make your shape pop. Choose dresses with darts or drapery to add fullness to your figure. Adding a belt to highlight your small waistline is another option. Avoid any dresses that have a square neck or an undefined waist.

Some rules of thumb:

Your Features:

Wear color of similar or identical brightness on your upper and lower body, while adding darker color around your waist

Wear a light colored dress with a wide dark belt.
Wear a shirt that is lighted colored around the bust/shoulders and dark below the bust.
Pair it with light colored pants or a skirt

You have the most common body type. Over 45% of American women have a Banana body shape (sometimes called rectangle, straight, or ruler body shape).

Your hips and bust are balanced
Your waist is not very defined
You probably have a bottom that is more flat than round
You tend to gain weight in your torso first and then your upper thighs and arms
Your lower legs are always shapely and one of your best assets