As you all know, my ultimate dream is to become a stylist, so I had enrolled myself in The London College of Style program, and I am coming along quite nicely if I do say so myself :) Today, (and for the next couple of months) I just wanted to share a few things that I have been studying hard on, and felt everyone from men to women would find essential!
This is all about body shapes with a few things I have come up with to highlight with your wardrobe and to steer clear from! Its brief but to the point! SO choose your shape and become knowledgeable with what will rock your body!
WOMEN
Slim/Athletic- Slim with small breasts, small hips, and a square silhouette, and they can wear just about anything. If you are blessed with this type of body there should not be anything the stylist is trying to disguise. On the other hand, you should enhance things such as the breast area and hips to give the illusion of some curves. Most any type of clothing will flatter the slim body type but a few things to maybe avoid will be vertical stripes; because they will diminish any curves that we are trying to enhance, clingy tops, because they will show little of no waist, and also avoid wearing baggy tops because she might get lost in it and she will loose her shape and maybe look sloppy. Types of clothing that would look good on this body type would be: ruffled tops to enhance the look of breasts to create curves, any top or pant that will come up to the waist and define the look of curves, and also for bottoms; a skinny fit pant will help create the look of a fuller body curve as well as tulip-like skirts.
Top Heavy- This body type has large breasts with small hips. A stylist will try to disguise the top half of the body to create balance and proportion with the lower half. They will try to enhance the lower part of the body and bring attention to that area for balance. Types of clothing that do not flatter this body type are: shirts or dresses that are too tight around the breasts or ruffled tops because they will make the top half look even bigger and create a very disproportioned look to their body. Skinny or slim fit jeans are also a bad choice for this body type because they will draw attention up to the bust. Also, do not choose spaghetti style straps for tops or dresses as they will also make the silhouette disproportioned. Some clothing that does flatter this body type are: V neck or low scooped tops or dresses that can lengthen the neckline, A-line skirts and flared pants will best flatter the bottom half to help create a balanced and proportioned silhouette. Also for any of the clothing, a darker color on top will minimize the bust and a lighter color on bottom will enhance the bottom half creating balance between the two.
Pear Shape- This silhouette is bottom heavy with a small bust. The stylist will try to disguise the bottom half (hips and thighs) and enhance the breasts to make them look fuller and to better proportion the body as one. Stylists will also try to enhance the shoulders to make them more even with the hips. Clothing that would not flatter this body type would be: skinny jeans, because they will make the hips and thighs look even larger, jackets that stop at the hip line because they will increase the width of the hips even more, and also, a top with a skinny V neckline because it can cause the shoulders to narrow bring the attention to the large hips. Types of clothing a pear shaped woman should wear would be: any top or dress with structured of embellished shoulders to create attention and detail upwards and away from the heavy bottom, pants that flare or are one width all the way down to create an even line or silhouette from hips down, also, any shirts with ruffles or any sort of detail to bring the eye upwards and detract the eye from the hips.
Hourglass- This is the shape that many women long for. The hourglass shape has even proportions from top to bottom with a fuller bust, a defined waist and fuller, curvy hips that are even with the top half. This body type is similar to the slim body type in the sense that the stylist should not be disguising much of anything and letting her show off her beautiful curves. The stylist should try to enhance the woman’s curves by choosing body con clothing that fits her perfectly to show them off. Some clothing that would not flatter this body type would be: loose, flowing clothing because they can disfigure and hide their curvy figure, high waisted styles because they will shorten the waist even more, and also don’t choose any type of boxy styles because they will also hide curves. Some clothing styles that will show off the beautiful curves will be: Any type of top or dress that is belted to show off the defined waist that will highlight the rest of her curves, body con dresses are also a great choice because they will flow with her natural curves and show everything is just the right light, also if you choose anything with lines or pattern, make sure they are curved lines to flow with her soft and curvy body shape to enhance it.
Apple- This body shape has large breasts, large tummy, and skinny legs. A stylists should focus on disguising the large tummy and diminishing the breasts a little to create a more proportions shape. They will try to enhance the bottom half and make it look fuller to make it even and more balanced with the top half. Clothing to avoid with an apple shaped body would be: skinny pants as they will highlight the slender leg too much and give attention to the large tummy and breasts, any detail such as ruffles, pleats, embellishments around the tummy area, because they will just attract attention to that area and add inches to make them even larger, and also avoid skin tight tops and dresses that will cling to the large tummy making it look bigger. Clothing that would best suit the apple shaped woman would be: flowing tops, especially tunic tops that will float over the tummy, wide-legged pants will help create balance for the slim legs, and also with any of the clothing choose a darker color on top and a lighter color on bottom to give the illusion of a better proportioned body. Chunkier heals such as wedges can also help balance the leg out with the top half.
MEN
Athletic- This body type seems to be the perfect shape to wear just about anything. For stylist the most concerning thing to focus on would be his color palette and personality, because just like the woman slim body shape the male can also wear just about anything and it will look great on him. There is not much of anything to disguise on this man with his very in shape and easy to work with body. So, the stylist should try to enhance what he thinks are his best features. Some types of clothing that might not look good on him would be: baggy clothing because it will swamp his body and not show off his great figure, also avoid clothing that it too tight or short for the risk of disproportioning his body. As stated before, just about any clothing style would look good on him, just make sure you are getting his color palette right as well as his personality to create his perfect look for any occasion.
Tall- This man can also wear just about anything as well; he already gets attention for his height, it’s the stylist job to enhance the attention with great fitting clothing. Some clothing that a stylist should not choose would be: thin vertical stripes because they will just get lost in his height and not create any sort of effect for him, and also loose baggy clothing will not do anything for this frame besides make him look tall and sloppy so steer clear of that as well. Some clothing that would flatter the tall mans shape would be: Thick, chalky stripes to create more of an effect for him and also wont get lost in this height, single-breasted jackets and coats will make your tall man look more sleek and put together, and also, for shirts and jackets it is VERY important that the length of everything hits at the right point to ensure that it does not look too small on him or even cheap. So, make sure the sleeves, and are just the perfect length. Make sure when choosing colors, you break the colors up instead of just one color head-to-toe to and even more inches to his height.
Short- A short man can essentially be easy to work with as long as you know all of the tips and tricks to lengthen his body. A stylist will mostly just try to disguise how short he is be enhancing all of his other great features and adding the right wardrobe to lengthen his body. A few clothing choices that would not flatter the short man would be: horizontal stripes on any part of the body will instantly take away inches which is not what he wants, breaking up color in the outfit will also take away inches from his height, also avoid wide legged pants as they will do the same thing. Some choices that will lengthen his body will be thin, vertical stripes, and wearing one color head-to-toe. Fitted pants will also help add to his height. Make sure that his shirts, jackets and pants are the perfect length because if they are too long he will look like he is drowning in them and will also make his look shorter. When dealing with a shorter man make sure you have a good tailor as well that you can recommend to ensure the perfect fit every time.
Heavy- This man is difficult to dress for a stylist as you do not want to make him appear larger than he really is. You need to make sure the clothing fits everywhere; if it helps disguise his tummy, many times you will run into the problem of it being too big in the shoulders and that is not acceptable. SO, for a heavier set man, a tailor will also be your best friend, if you can find something that will disguise the problem areas of your heavy man, stick with it, and alter everything else as you go to fit perfect. A stylist will try to enhance any other great features he has such as a handsome face or even a great personality by dressing him in what suits just that. Some clothing types that will not look good on a heavy man will be: anything with vertical stripes as they will instantly widen his figure even more, light colors as they will also enhance the larger frame, and also avoid patterned fabrics as they will attract unwanted attention to the larger body. The styles to avoid are much like those of the shorter man, as the goal is to lengthen the body. So, choose things like thin vertical stripes, one color head-to-toe, and make sure everything is a perfect fit. Utilizing a tailor can make the world of difference to a heavier man, as they can ensure the perfect fit. The most important thing over all is to make sure that your man feels good about himself, if he doesn’t you need to work with him and try as many different options as possible to get him to feeling great about himself.
Thin- Working with a thin man can be easy to work with depending on how they view their body; for example, if they are a model or not. But, normally a stylist would try to add weight to someone with a thin frame to add some substance and shape to his body. Some things to avoid in clothing when working with a thin body type would be: vertical stripes because they will make him look even thinner with an even smaller frame, also, don’t choose anything too baggy because it will swallow him and make him look shapeless and possibly even smaller, and also on the opposite, avoid clothing that is too tight as well because that can also make him look even thinner than he is. The best clothing style choices will be: horizontal stripes because they will add weight and substance to his body, anything will lots of detail in shirts or pants that will add bulk, and also choose different, lighter colors with his outfits to break it up and make him appear a little wider and thicker.
