You probably know what clothes look best on you. Perhaps there’s the perfect work outfit that consistently makes you feel confident or you tend to gravitate towards wide-leg trousers. However, taking a more in-depth look at dressing for your body type is never bad idea to look your best – you never know what snippet of advice might change the entire way you shop.
Every woman has a different physique, and some of us might feel we don’t fit into the traditional descriptions that people like to use when defining body shapes – hourglass, pear, triangle…But armed with some additional knowledge we hope you can walk into a shop confident that the clothes you’re buying will make you look your best. Whatever shape your body is, you want to use clothes to balance out your proportions and highlight your best assets, not hide them.
If you’re curvaceous with a small waist then you want to embrace your shape by wearing clothes that emphasise your waist, wearing a belted dress is the easiest way to do this. Equally, a jacket that nips in above your hips or a pencil skirt that shows off your defined waist is another perfect way complement your figure.
Women with larger busts might be tempted to hide them with high-neck tops. But actually a very flattering option would be a subtle V or scooped neck like, like our lovely soft jersey tops.
If you have a slim lower body but carry some weight around your waist, then you want to accentuate your shoulders and legs. A knee-length, shift dress is fitted just far enough away from the body to be beautifully flattering and show off your legs. For trousers, pick straight or narrow trousers that sit on the hip.
Those who's figures go pretty much straight down might want to find tricks to highlight their curves. Do this by wearing a cropped jacket, which will highlight the thinnest part of your waist, making your hips look bigger and more proportional. Clever layering can also help to break up your body and give the illusion of curvier hips, as do tapered trousers.
Where hips are the widest part of a body you can elongate it by wearing trousers, skirts or a dress that flare out generously, drawing attention away from your hips. Wide-leg trousers never fail to be flattering.
A statement jacket with good structure is another brilliant way to flatter the hips – particularly if the structure is in the shoulder or neck area as it moves the eyes there rather than lower down your body. A high neck helps create a great shape for your shoulders.
The best piece of advice we can give any women is to make sure what you wear really fits properly. You don’t want it digging in at the waist so that the length is right or being too loose on your bottom so that the piece of clothing fits your legs. At Lalage Beaumont we offer a tailoring service so we can take up the hems on trousers, nip in the waists, let out the seam where needs be to make sure you look your absolute best whatever you’re wearing.