You will always look best when dressed for your body type. Something that looks good on another person may not look as great on you. Sure, you can make all trends work on your body if you tone it up or down to the right level, but not every single thing will look good on you. Another key to getting dressed is balance. The balance of weight, balance of length, and the balance of style/color.
First, you need to look in the mirror and see if you are top heavy, bottom heavy, hourglass, or boy shaped. Top heavy people tend to have broader shoulders, bigger chest, and gain weight in the stomach and the arms. Bottom heavy people tend to have big hips and thighs. Hourglass people tend to have "the goods" and a defined waist. Girls that have small chests/butts and do not have a defined waist are boy shaped. If you look like a pear/triangle, you are bottom heavy. If you look like an apple with arms and legs, you are top heavy. If you look like Kim Kardashian, you are hourglass.
Once you have identified your body shape, you will need to remember these methods:
1. If you are "heavy" in one area, you will need to balance out the weight in the less "heavy" area. For say, if you are bottom heavy, you want to wear something shoulder padded to balance out your hips with your shoulders. If you are top heavy, you should wear something poofy at the bottom, like a flowy skirt. Also, avoid crew necks if you have a large chest. If you are heavy in one area, you want to avoid wearing clothes that exaggerate that area.
2. If something is making you look fat, belt it up. If you have a long torso, belt it at the waist. If you have a short torso, go higher up, the empire waist line (right underneath your chest) looks great. I actually just bought a maternity dress that is huge on me but will look great with a belt.
2. Boy shaped people should look for something that will give them shape. Try poofy/oversize items. Keep in mind to belt up oversize items if they look HUGE. You want loose, not XXXXXL. Ruffles work great as well as tiered skirts.
3. Wise shoppers will tell you to not buy for the size, but for the fit. It doesn't matter what the numbers say, some stores just have screwed up sizing. I can wear from a size 1-7.
4. To elongate legs, try something high waisted. If you have a short torso, stay away from a high waist. Instead, wear longer tops.
5.If you curvy at the hips, try flare jeans. The flaring of the leg will balance out your hips and this 70's style is so hot right now.
6. Skinny jeans will not be flattering on someone with large hips most of the time. Skinny jeans taper in at the ankles which can make you look like an upside-down cone if you have large hips/thighs.
7. Stay away from low rise jeans if you tend to get a muffin top. Try something with a mid rise or high rise. And don't you worry, even skinny people get muffin tops. It is all about the cut of the jean, some jeans will just not fit you. Learn more about this by googling Levi's Curve Id.
8. Black will slim you while white will make you look bigger. It is all about color theory. Shadows are dark, brighter bigger things are white. If you are heavy in an area, wear black there!
9. Everybody has had those days where their bra is peeking through. If you can see your bra through your shirt, you need to wear a nude colored bra. Nobody needs to know if you are wearing a pink or red bra. Wearing a white bra with a white shirt is also a no-no. Some thing goes with underwear. Under certain dresses, your underwear color will show through. Not only is color important but, seams are too. A bra that is too tight or small for you will show obviously. We have all seen people who are popping out of their bras and it is not pretty. Not everyone wants to wear a thong so thats why there are boy shorts that do the same job. There are also slips and body shapers you can wear.
10. Color blocking is this season. In order to not look insane, you need to experiment with colors. Learn what colors look great with what. It is SO important. When getting dressed, you should have a color palette of what you are going for. You need to know what complimentary colors are and what looks good with what color. Blue/navy good amazing with gold/bronze; Dark green/olive and pink
11. Not only is having a color palette important, you should also try to mix styles. Believe it for not, wearing leather and lace at the same time looks amazing. Try mixing contrasting styles like girly and edgy, flowy and structured.
12. You will never look good in your clothes if you don't love the way you look! People can easily tell if you are uncomfortable so walk with your back straight and be confident :)
If you have wider hips, love handles or higher set hips, try on mid rise/high waisted jeans because it will suck everything in and prevent muffin tops and butt cracks from showing.
If you have a large behind, stay clear of back pocket embellishments/button pockets. If you have a smaller behind, look for those things. Smaller, higher set pockets will make your butt look bigger while larger, lower set back pockets will make your butt look more understated.
Jeans should end at your ankle; when trying on jeans, keep in mind what height of a shoe you will most likely wear with them. I wear short for skinnys and regular length for boot cuts and flare even though I wear heels with all cuts; the opening of a skinny jean does not allow it to go over the shoe so that is why they still need to end at my ankle.
