Body Shapes: An Easy Guide for Dressing for Your Shape- females

Your body requires special attention when it comes to styling and fashion. Oftentimes as well, you feel that your clothes never look as good as the ones on your Pinterest board and snapshots from Instagram. One vital ingredient missing from your styling is your understanding of your body shape. In this blog, we will address the issue of styling yourself according to your body shape in a straightforward and easy-to-understand manner. Come along with me.

What are body shapes?

Finding your body shape

Rectangular frames + examples

The Inverted Triangle + examples

Hourglass (8 figure shape) + examples

Round (Apple) shape + examples

Conclusion

What are body shapes, and how did I end up here with this body?

Your body shape is the overall form and outline of your body. It is primarily determined by:

Your genetics and skeletal structure
Where your body store fat — upper or lower bodies, or evenly distributed
Your muscle distribution

Note that while you can adjust your body shape a bit with exercise and hormonal levels, your body shape is predetermined by the factors mentioned earlier. So don’t complain and wish otherwise; embrace it.

Finding your body shape

There are two ways to get this done: the first is by using a measuring tape, and the second easiest and fastest way is through a visual assessment requiring a full-length mirror and your presence in front of the mirror. We’ll be using the latter. You can also take a quick mirror picture for reference if you’re having difficulty assessing yourself.

Look in the mirror and begin to observe your proportions. I want you to remember that your body shape is a result of the relationship between your bust, waist, and hips, so based on this, you can either be rectangular, hourglass, apple, inverted triangle, or triangularly shaped. This is the time you need to pay attention to your body’s contours because you’ll need them for the next section.

Rectangular frames

You belong here if:

Your bust and hips fall within a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
You have very little or no waist definition.
You’ve noticed that when you gain weight, it is evenly distributed throughout your body (also bear in mind that other factors like your lifestyle and genetics can affect this).

How to dress a rectangle shape

The major challenge you tend to face here is your subtle waist because you want to avoid looking straight. There are also some variations here, though, because, generally speaking, some rectangles can have a thin and athletic build while others can be curvy rectangles.

So what’s our goal here?

Create the illusion of curves by adding definition to the waist and hips.
Break up the straight silhouette of your frame.
Enhance your best assets — your legs and arms.

TOPS:

Do’s:

Don’t’s:

Wear boxy or oversized tops — they make you look straighter.
Cropped tops — they emphasize the rectangular shape.

DRESSES:

Do’s:

Don’t’s:

Shift dresses (unless fitted) — can make you look boxy.
Straight-cut dresses and body con dresses — won’t add any definition to your silhouette.

BOTTOMS:

Do’s:

Don’t’s:

Low-rise pants or skirts — not as flattering.
Super wide-leg pants — can overwhelm your frame.

Famous rectangular frames

We have Zendaya, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson, and Cameron Diaz.

The Inverted Triangle

You are an inverted triangle if:

Your shoulders or bust are larger than your hips
Have a wider upper body