How To Dress For Your Body Type!
Trouble identifying what suits you best? Failing to pull off a look in your desired outfit and blaming it on the size or color of the garment? Or having a hard time building the perfect wardrobe that complements your body and perfectly defines you? We totally feel you!
Some clothes simply “fit and flatter” your body better, making you want to wear them all the time. Upon surveying a group of 128 women within the age bracket of 18–35 years, we found that 39% of women define their dressing style as Chic, 35% of women say Casual or Comfort wear style defines them, 15% of them consider their style as Classic formals and rest 11%, define their dressing style as Bold and Experimenting. Yet, 85% of such women believe comfort to be an essential factor while styling outfits. Finding such clothes that are both comfortable and flattering on our bodies is a bit difficult and a time-consuming task for a lot of us. 12% of women face a hard time finding the right clothes. 9% of women go for stretchy garments because that’s a safer bet, 36% of these women say, they sometimes have difficulty finding the fit and the remaining 43% who are sincerely aware of their body types, find it fairly simple to manage when styling clothes. Finding the right fit for your body can be difficult if you have no idea about the categorization of prevailing Indian body types. Hang on with us for a little longer and comprehend yourself…
Amongst the 128 women surveyed, 10% of women fall in the category of pear shaped body type, 45% of women under the hourglass category, 14% of women have a rectangular shape body, 6% of women can be categorized under inverted triangle/cone shaped body and the rest 25% having an apple shaped body. Lets learn what your body type actually is!?
1. Pear Shape
Bust : Waist : Hips ratio 3 : 2 : 4
Masoom Minawala (global influencer/entrepreneur), Ileana D’Cruz (Bollywood actress) and Rihanna (singer/actress//businesswoman) have pear-shaped body figures, and they have a unique way of carrying the garments that suit their body. Women having such a body type should choose garments that balance out their upper and lower body. It is favorable to wear A-Line dresses or skirts to draw the attention away from the lower body. Bold and bright colors with big prints on top works perfectly for women having a pear shaped body. Look out for tops with sleeves which give volume to your arms, like puffed/power-shoulder sleeves, cap sleeves, bell sleeves on top, wide sleeves or kimono sleeves. The emphasis should be to make the upper body seem a bit broader than it actually is. Moreover, opting for the right neckline, gives a more noticeable factor giving a major emphasis on your shoulders and bust. So women of this body shape must consider open, wider necks like boat necks, asymmetric necks, off-shoulder ones, or even turtle necks. For the bottoms, women can choose among straight bottoms, wide legged pants, flared pants, bootcut pants, or high-rise jeans, in darker shades for a thin and reduced look. For a longer, drawn out look, pair them with heels.
Avoid jeans which are narrow and taper at the bottom.
2. Hourglass
Bust : Waist : Hips ratio 3 : 2 : 3
Kylie Jenner (model/businesswoman), Beyoncé (singer/actress) and Jennifer Lopez (singer/actress) are some of the famous celebrities with hourglass body shapes who never fail to impress us with their flattering outfits. This body shape is regarded as the most feminine and balanced type. Accordingly, almost anything which maintains a balanced look can be worn as an outfit. To seem and feel more confident, wear clothes that delicately skims over your body. Dresses with open necklines that define the waist and flaring out at the bottom is a good option. Pair it with broader belts for a notable look. A bodycon dress is an ideal option for a woman who likes to flaunt her curves with a more prominent look. These dresses completely stick to the body like second skin and hug your curves at both the bust and waist areas, giving a desirable look.
Moreover, Tapered and high waisted: A-Line, tulip or pencil skirts with body fit tops serve one of the most flattering looks onto such a body type. Simple and clean bottoms, such as the classic bootcut or straight legged, suit the hourglass figure best. Wide-leg, loose-fitted and slightly tapered jeans may also look good and can create the illusion of elongated height when wearing mid to high-rise bottoms.
Avoid oversized garments which further add volume to shoulders and hips.
3. Rectangle
Bust : Waist : Hips ratio 1 : 1 : 1
Taylor Swift (singer-songwriter) and Anushka Sharma (Bollywood actress) with such a body shape, carry themselves with utmost confidence and inspire us to love our body. In order to perfectly style outfits on a straight body type, the focus should be on defining the waist by breaking the straight silhouette. Dress in a way that creates an illusion of curves and a defined waist. This can be done either by adding volume to the bust and hip areas only, or focusing on a well-defined waist to make it appear more slim.
Make use of bright and bold colors with prints and textures on upper and lower body- leaving the waist, experiment with different cuts and shapes to look curvy. To define the waist, wear belts for a clinched look and avoid tucking tops into bottoms for a curvier appearance. A fit-and-flare dress with a belt and wider neckline such as V-neck, off-shoulder, or scoop neck, is a fabulous choice for women of rectangle body shape. A round or narrow neckline is also a great alternative. Go for wide and loose sleeves for a voluminous, curvy and flattering look. Trousers like flared bottoms, bootcut trousers, or wide leg jeans are amazing styles to add volume to the body. Skater skirts are a great way to add volume to the lower body.
Avoid baggy styles and dresses that can make you look bulky.
4. Cone/ Inverted Triangle
Bust : Waist : Hips ratio 3 : 2 : 2
Bipasha Basu (Bollywood actress), Sonam Kapoor (Bollywood actress) and Vaani Kapoor (Bollywood actress) are some famous Indian celebrities of cone/inverted triangle body who stun us with anything and everything they wear. As the body forms a “V” shape and gives more of an athlete-look, the objective is to lay more emphasis on the hip area and create the look of a voluminous and balanced body. In order to create a well-balanced frame, opt for dresses that add dimension to your hips and create an illusion of a waist. The best style is that flares out from the waist like tulip, layered, ruffle, box-pleated, or an A-line silhouette, making the lower body appear wider. Choose open necklines like halter tops, V necks, tie-front tops to draw the attention away from your shoulders to the lower half. Balance out the body by selecting a more vertical stripe design for a narrow and leaner look. Style your trousers in dark and bold colors to pull out the focus from top half and consider wearing more baggy and loose-fitting bottoms with pockets for a more curvier appearance.
Avoid off-shoulder necks and body fit trousers for a well balanced body.
5. Apple Shape
Bust : Waist : Hips ratio 3 : 4 : 3
Adele (singer-songwriter), Sonakshi Sinha (Bollywood actress) and Kate Winslet (Hollywood actress) are some of the well-known celebrities with apple-shaped bodies having a significant fashion influence on the masses. Apple body type is when you have a round body with an additional weight in the midriff compared to the lower body. While deciding on what to wear, put more emphasis on styles that draw attention towards the arms and legs while creating an illusion of a smaller waist. Empire line tops and dresses are the most ideal choice for a woman with a round body. To hide extra fat, opt for more structured and flowy-style dresses, ruching on the waist, A-line skirts, flared bottom-wrap dresses or even a loose-fit jumpsuit that skims over your body beautifully. Look for darker shade tops with wide and v-necklines to pair it with flared/bootcut bottoms, or straight leg pants for a defined look.
Avoid highlighting wider waist by keeping away from shapeless, tight fitted and boxy clothes.
Many women lack self-confidence and believe that particular clothing doesn’t look good upon them based on their body type. According to the survey, 49% of women said that sometimes the garment fits them well, other times doesn’t, 25% of women consistently feel that certain clothing doesn’t look good on them at all, 17% of women think they can pull off any look and the remaining 9% wish they were a little slimmer or thicker overall. This research was conducted to help women identify their body type and be aware of the right kind/silhouette that fits, the next time they go shopping.