Wrap Dresses

"Universal Figure-Flattering Dress for All Occasions"

Courtesy of Old Navy

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What's fabulous about the wrap dress is that they consist of 3 self-confidence boosters which are:

• Waist trimmer
• Bust enhancer
and
• Hip reductor

And of course, the one thing many men like about them is: The teaseful yet sophisticated wrap at the bust that they're not allowed to open! ;-)

Courtesy of Lord & Taylor

It's definitely the perfect clothing for feeling feminine, sexy yet tasteful. It basically pulls the boobs forward for a perkier look, separates the bust and defines a waist! Not to mention that it's versatile, given the fact that it doesn't look too formal or casual. You can wear it for both work and play - wear it to office with a pair of sophisticated pumps and a classy leather tote bag, or go trendy by teaming it up with fun lace leggings and platform gladiator shoes. Trés chiqué!

Although the wrap dress is universal you still have to carefully think about what type of details work for your body shape. Like for example, the black wrap dress is a standard choice but you also have to pick the right hemline for your height, the right patterns for your body proportions, etc. Or else you might end up looking frumpy which defeats the whole point of the dress.

Let me give you some tips on how to choose the best style for your body shape:

How to Select the Perfect Wrap Dress for Your Body Shape

The right length.

When buying online always take note of the length of the dress and compare it with your own body measurements.

Why? Because you want to make sure that the hem doesn't hit the thickest part of your legs which are the calves. Letting it hit the calf will instantly make your legs stubby and if you're petite you'll look shorter or if you're a plus-size you'll look heavier.

Make your first purchase a basic one.

Although they are available in a plethora of trendy styles, the black (or dark navy blue) wrap dress won't fail you. It's versatile and goes with anything. Other basic details to look for are knee-length hem, 3/4 sleeves, solid colored. I particularly like the Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress range because of the variety and the trendy prints.

The right hemline shape.

Sometimes a wrap dress can make a straight figure look even more straight. Or if you have curves you might notice that some hemline shapes emphasize them.

Here are some points in mind for two of the classic knee-length hemline shapes:

Flared/A-line: Complement all body shapes; it adds an illusion of curves for women who have narrow hips and thighs compared to their upper body. And it adds a nice proportion to any plus-size of curvaceous woman, making the hips and thighs less noticeable.

Straight/pencil: Emphasizes any curves.

Black Plus Size Dress from Kiyonna

Advice for pear shapes (heavy bottom compared to upper half).

A wrap dress won't always lie and that's the case if you have a bottom-heavy body shape. So if you try to wear it you'll notice that you still look bottom-heavy! However you can opt for a dress with ruffles along the neckline or A-line hem to draw the attention away from your curves.

But a more simpler way to fix this is to draw the eye upwards with a nice necklace or earrings. This will add more volume on top, balancing out your body shape!

Advice for petites.

One tricky thing is that the v-neck goes really low and won't hang well on you. Sometimes, altering the garment won't cut it because you need something proportional.

My conclusion is that most "regular" sized dresses won't look flattering on you because of this so you have to search for styles designed exclusively for petites instead, which is a downside because there aren't many who offer a varied petite clothing range. However, I discovered that Banana Republic offers classic and beautiful wrap dresses for petites that you might want to take a look at.

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Advice for plus size women.

If you feel intimidated by the fitted cut, remind yourself that hiding your figure does not make your problem go away and you'll only look bigger! The trick is to wear a dress with a fabric that skims (lightweight, soft and drapable) the bumps and highlights your best features. Like for example enhancing your decolletage with ruffled neckline, deep v-neck to show off your long neck, or wearing jewelry that brings out the color in your eyes and gives a healthy glow to your skin complexion.

Defining your waist is also a simple way to appear proportional and lean. If you're bottom heavy (like I mentioned earlier in the text) wear an A-line hem to balance it out.

Advice if you're short waisted.

In regards to your vertical body shape, if you have a short waist compared to your bottom opt for solid colored dresses without any contrasting colors between the waist and bottom.

The right print.

Choose prints wisely as they tend to make most of us look frumpy.

Black with Prints Dress from Lord & Taylor

Pick prints that go hand in hand with your proportions, like for example if you're curvaceous (plus size) go for bigger prints, however if you're curvaceous and below 5'4/162cm (petite) then I advise you to stick to simple colors or at least pick something with strong vertical prints like stripes with a couple of inches space between each line to accustom your curvy proportions.

Petites in general might want to go for prints that aren't bigger than their fists. If you have small hands compared to your figure opt for something slightly bigger.

Really big prints can "tip over" petite figures, small ones can make curvy women look obviously bigger. If you're a petite and a plus size, go for medium, vertical prints.

Note: Also use prints to add more volume to the parts you want more curves (see picture to your right).

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