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Body Shapes: How to Dress Your Body Shape

"Guide to Finding Your Body Shape
and Dress to Flatter It - Bringing Out The Best In Your Figure!"

There are 5 main body shapes which are: Pear, Inverted triangle, Rectangle and Apple. And of course Hourglass body shape which is considered the most ideal body shape because of its pleasing symmetrical proportions.

Discover the Best Styling Tips for Your Body Shape Here

Read on and discover the best strategies to style and flatter each of the 5 body shapes -- whether you love what your mom gave you or not, hopefully you'll find tips that will help you bring out the best in your body figure. Celebrity examples are included!

Disclaimer: I can not guarantee that the celebrities I have selected have the exact body shape as presented. The celebrity images are merely used as examples of how to dress for a specific body shape. Many celebs have stylists to help them get dressed and this may visually alter their actual body shape.

How to determine your body shape -- we'll do a dress form visualization.
Step-by-step guideline to taking your body measurements.
How to wear clothes to flatter your figure no matter body shape.
Tips on how to flaunt your proportional body shape.

Advice if your bottom-heavy with wider hips than bust/shoulders.
Advice if your wider on top (shoulders) with minimal hips.
Tips if you have a straight shape with minimal waistline.
Tips if your full or wide around your torso or stomach.

Do you have any questions on how to figure out your body shape?

Take a moment to submit your question. You'll be taking part in creating the Web's "chic'est" fashion advice and shopping resource that's ALWAYS FREE for everyone to learn and enjoy!

What's the Real Deal With Body Shapes and Clothes?

It's pretty basic really... The right clothes and coordination flatter your body shape -- making your frame look balanced, leaving no part (top and bottom) wider or heavier than the other, as well as creating a defined and feminine waist. With the right cut and hem length you'll enhance your best features and disguise the rest -- you'll look your best!

Look at it this way:

By wearing the right clothes for your body shape, you'll "fill out" and sometimes slim down areas, creating a proportional body shape with no heavy point that "interrupts" the eye. By simply choosing the right cut and length you'll make a wide butt (and hips and thighs), boyish hips and a full torso look less noticeable.

You goal is to create a visually balanced yet feminine body - making it look like your bust and shoulders are at the same width as your hips.

Example of how to balance out and flatter an apple and rectangle body shape:

Example of how to dress a rectangle and apple body shape

So for example, if your hips are wider than the shoulders then you'll have to add more volume to your top half. Or if you have a straight waist you're going to have to find clothes that will add dimensions to your upper and lower part, making your torso look narrower. And the list goes on. You basically don't always have to resort to dieting and hiding your body. As long as you appear symmetrical you'll look great!

And of course, knowing what flatters your body shape makes shopping so much easier because you can steer yourself in the right direction in what you should buy! You'll save lot time and money.

Womens Body Shapes: Fashion Tips on How to Dress Your Figure

How to Determine Your Body Shape

You might be asking yourself, is it really fair to pinhole a woman's body in one category? Of course not! But by identifying your body shape can give you an overall rule of thumb of what type of clothes and accessories -- cut, prints, fabric, hemline, coordination -- that will balance out your figure best.

After determining your body shape, you will have to click on the link to that specific shape. There you will find a visual blueprint for shopping -- clothing and styling recommendations -- as well as examples of celebrities who share the same body shape as you.

The main body shapes are (based on the shape of your torso):

Basic Dressing Tips for All Body Shapes

There's really more to looking good than following dressing "rules" to your "classified" body shape.

Proportions (think Hourglass which is a good example of the "ideal body shape"), vertical line (your upper and lower part compared to each other), fit and confidence will also determine how good you'll look in the clothes you wear, so you might want to look at your body shape in a bigger picture -- as a whole :-)

Focus on Your Best Features

An Hourglass is considered the most ideal body shape, but we're all made different and we have to do the best we can with the figure we were born with.

I don't know about you but it seems like we put more focus on our not-so-good parts.

I have a big butt. My arms are flabby. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing shorts that show my fat thighs. I don't have curves. My shoulders look masculine

Does that sound familiar to you?

How about if we start thinking positively:

What parts of my body do I like?

What parts have I gotten compliments on?

How do I emphasize the best in my figure?

By flaunting your best features, the "bad" ones will be disguised, and you'll ooze with self-confidence!

Nothing beats style than self-confidence

I know, I know. Sounds kind of cliché, right?

Can't find anything you like?

I don't believe you. C'mon, look at your butt, arms, belly, thighs, legs, arms, shoulders, neck, curves, slim model figure, eye color, etc.

See anything you like? Notice anything that makes you feel good? Anything you've recieved compliments on?

Sadly we get so blinded by what the media tells us is ideal that we are unable to see ourselves from a neutral position. So get someone you know to help you out!

But no, really. I believe that whatever shape you have, it's always important to focus on the parts that you feel looks good, and highlight that with the right clothing, colors and patterns, which is called "Enhance & Minimize".