Womens Plus Size Clothing

Style & Shopping Guide to Chic Womens Plus Clothing
- How to Dress Your Voluptuous Body Frame

Courtesy of Macy's

"So What Does Plus Size Exactly Mean?"

Luckily for you (and sadly for Petites), there is a wide selection of stylish plus size clothes on the market today. Gone are the days when full figure women were encouraged to create a blousy and tented look to purposely disguise their curves!

Today, the fashion manufacturers have finally understood the styling principles of how to dress your body. One of them is selecting clothes that have a great fit on your body figure. And baggy clothes do the exact opposite.

Note: If you're short (5'4"/163cm or below) then I also suggest visiting Style & Shopping Guide to Womens Petite Clothing.

Let's take a look at the topics on Plus Size fashion that I'm covering:

Style Tips for Plus Size Women You don't have to be thin to look stylish and gorgeous. But there is a difference between looking frumpy and voluptuous! This page provides you with guidelines on how to wear clothes that help you look and feel your best in your curvy body figure. You'll also discover: How to use proportions and flatter your plus size body figure Fashion advice if you're petite Best clothing styles and details complement your body scale Golden Style Rules for Voluptuous Gals » Best styling tricks for plus size women »

Perfect Your Accessorizing Skills

Upgrade Your Style on a Budget

Advanced Styling Tricks for Plus Size Bodies

Plus Size Skirts This page gives you the latest within plus size skirts, from the basic to trendy styles. You'll also learn how to select a skirt that flatters your body figure and where to buy plus size denim skirts and plus size mini skirt at affordable prices. Learn more about Plus Size Skirts »

Womens Plus Size Dresses Your best dresses fit you perfectly, showing off your best assets as well as skimming over those areas you don't want to draw attention to. This page showcases the latest dress styles - giving you ideas and inspiration on how to update your closet. You'll also find tips on what to look for in a dress, guiding you to your best dress styles that flatter your plus size body figure. Chic's Guide to Womens Plus Size Dresses » Get Plus Size Summer Dresses inspiration »

Plus Size Shapewear Plus size shapewear is an excellent investment and a drawer essential that helps you look trim in an instant. It eliminates all concerns of lumps and bumps that bulk up your body frame under a snug dress or top. Definitely recommended for when you just need to tuck in the extra bulges around troublesome areas like stomach, hips and thighs. Chic's Guide to Buying Plus Size Shapewear »

Plus Size Bathing Suits Two of the best plus size swimsuit styles are tankinis and swim dresses because they effectively skim over the lumps and bumps, "tuckin" in the extras, giving enough support around the bust. Both bathing suits also provide you with the coverage you may want without sacrificing style. Guide to the Best Plus Size Bathing Suits » Click here for shopping tips on Plus Size Tankinis » Learn about the latest Slimming Swimsuits »

How to Dress Your Plus Size Figure

Work with Your Body Proportions

This means that despite a group of women wearing the same size, each of them has a set of styling needs that help them look their best. The kimono top that flatters your arms and make your hips look smaller, might not look as good on a woman who has wide shoulders and slim hips.

I suggest that you start with the very basics - determining your body shape - to get a clearer picture of how to place accessories, colors and shapes on all the right places of your body frame to aid in disguising the parts of your body that make you look wider, so that you can feel confident and look your best!

The 5 General Body Shapes:

• Hourglass
• Pear
• Inverted Triangle
• Rectangle
• Apple

Buying Petite Plus Size Womens Clothing

If you're short you need to look for petite plus size clothing that suits your height as well as body scale. You can find petite clothes for full figure women at stores such as Woman Within, Jessica London and Catherine's. Learn more about how to dress your petite height.

Streamline Your Silhouette and Look Trimmer

By having your body shape in mind you'll know how to strategically wear your plus size clothing in a way that will streamline your silhouette and make you look trimmer. Anything that makes the eye go up and down, instead of the the sides, helps you look leaner.

Keeping your waist slim will also help create a sleek and appealing silhouette.

Examples of slimming details are:

• Monochromatic outfit (dark or light colors from bottom to top)
• Wearing vertical jewelry motifs
• V-necks or any other shapes that draw the eye up and down

Focus on Great Fit

One of the best ways to look trimmer is to wear great fitting clothes. So avoid tented, oversized tops and pants that only make you look heavier, and stick to clothing that sits snugly on your body, but not too tight to avoid creating bulges that would attract attention to problem areas.

It should be neither loose or tight, and it's preferred to keep the thinnest part of your waist trim with for example empire line, nipped waist cut or belt.

Other ways to finding great fitting womens plus size clothing are:

• Always know your current body measurements that you can compare to size charts.
• Wear the right undergarment. These should fit perfect to avoid bulges underneath your clothes. So throw out those saggy panties!
• Stick to right above or knee length hemlines

Other Points to Consider When it Comes to
Womens Plus Size Clothing & Fashion

Understanding How Plus Sizes Work

Usually a W may follow the size number, and the sizes can go from a 12W to 16W up to 30W or greater. The odd numbers such as 13 and 17 are marketed to plus size teens.

So what exactly is the difference between a regular size 14 and a 14W?

A 14W is larger cut around the waist, stomach and hips. It can be a small or significant different, because each manufacturer uses its own measurements which explains the discrepancy in sizes from store to store. Some may run smaller or larger than average.

So if you're shopping for womens plus size clothing online, make sure to:

• Check the size chart and compare it with your own measurements
• Email the company regarding the measurements
• Research customer reviews and see what others are saying about the fit and size

Most womens plus size clothing today are designated with an X. And an X usually corresponds to a size 14W-16W – 2X to an 18W-20W, and 3X to a 22W-24W.

Learn More On How to Dress Your Plus Size Body:

More Shopping & Chic Inspiration at the TCF Blog: Also check out the Style Makeover Shop!

Style Guides & Quick Links: