Style Guide: Flattering your figure in whatever you wear

There is little point in wearing any outfit if it doesn’t flatter your figure. In fact, flattering the figure is one of the basic features of good clothing.

Think of the last time you saw someone in an outfit that didn’t do their body justice. It might have been the wrong cut, size or just didn’t hang well.

No matter how beautiful an item of clothing is, it automatically looks awful if it isn’t tailored to the body of the person wearing it.

To avoid such an embarrassing scenario, there are a number of steps you should take to make sure your outfits flatter your figure every time.

•         Know your figure: It is impossible to dress for your figure if you do not know your figure in the first place.

Have your body measurements taken and from there you can understand what will fit your body type and what will not. For example, apple-shaped women should avoid clothes that hug the lower body.

•         Dress for your figure: After knowing the type of figure you have, it is imperative that you find out what clothes are best for your figure and dress accordingly.

If your hips are not very prominent, opt for A-Line dresses that will not highlight this fact. If you have broad shoulders, wear clothing that doesn’t emphasize this.

This also applies to dressing for your comfort. In an attempt to keep up with trends, women often wear clothes that are simply not comfortable for their figure. Corset-like tops will probably be uncomfortable for women with larger busts.

•         Shape up: One of the most helpful innovations in women’s fashion in the last few decades is body shapers. Body shapers help to smooth out the body and otherwise conform it to a certain shape to make clothing easier to wear.

Regardless of the type of outfit you are wearing, body shapers can help to smooth out lines and make you feel comfortable in them. In the case of skin-tight dresses, they can help disguise underwear lines.

•         Posture: In some cases, the reason an outfit can seem unflattering is the posture of the person wearing them.

Make sure your shoulders are raised, your back straight and so on. Not doing this makes clothes hang awkwardly.

Having your figure well-flattered and your clothes hang well on you is essential if you want to look good. This, however, doesn’t always come easy but by following the above steps, your figure should be well taken care of.