Dress for your Body Shape

Dress according to your Body Shape

Find out what shape you are!

Dressing is a lot easier when we know what our body shape is.  We distinguish between hourglass, triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle and round body shapes.

To assess what body shape you are, stand in front of a mirror and check the following:

Proportions on the upper and lower body are the same with a good waist.  This is the ideal shape for a woman and is easy to dress.  Unfortunately we are not all endowed with such perfect proportions especially as we get older.

Older women clothing therefore has to be adapted to suit the body shape if you want a stylish look.

The hourglass shape can be accentuated with a belt but this is not necessary unless the waist is small and could do with enhancing.

The triangle is the shape where the upper body is narrower than the hips and here it is important to maximise the shoulder area and minimise the hips.  This is done in the form of choosing a longer style blouse or cardigan to cover the hip area to make the body shape into a rectangle so to speak.  The idea is to keep loose fitting tops and if wearing a jacket, leave it open where possible which will also draw the attention away from the narrow top.

The inverted triangle is the opposite, here we have to maximise the hip area and minimise the shoulder area to create balance.  Flared skirts will give a fuller effect for the hips.  The tops can also be elongated to give a balanced look.  With wider shoulders it is a good idea to wear darker colours for the top as they are always more slimming. 

The rectangle is about accentuating the waist as there usually is very little waist and the body shape appears rather masculine.  Creating a waistline is best done with belts and the effect can be stunning as there is such a variety of belts on offer these days.  They can be wide belts, anything that balances out the body really.

With the round body shape for Older Women Clothing it is a little more tricky.  It is best to wear straight skirts and nothing too tight.  As always with style pay attention to balance out the proportions of your body.  Often a round shape has a short neck so it is wise to elongate the neckline either with a deep V neck, although nothing too revealing because that will defeat the effort to create style, or a longish, prominent necklace which draws the focus away from the short neck.  Square necklines are not really suitable here, V neck is a safer bet.  As always as a Mature Women the length of a skirt has to be just right, on the knee or just below.  Many women like wearing long skirts, this is fine but it must should look right.  The best way to wear a long skirt is with boots.

As always too, the right undergarments are crucial to dressing well as they help shape the body.