Learn how to complement your body type and showcase your personal style
I Don’t Want to Choose
“But…I don’t like to wear that,” I replied when I was told how I SHOULD dress for my body type.
“And I’m not giving that up!” I insisted when I was told some of the things I SHOULDN’T wear because they don’t flatter my body shape.
Is the information on how to dress for your body type helpful? Yes. Did it go along with my signature style? No, and I felt so torn by these conflicting desires. Dressing to flatter my body shape is important to me, but not at the cost of telling my style story.
Wearing clothes that feel authentic to who I am, Minimal Classic with a side of Edgy, goes beyond being stylish, it’s about representing who I am on the inside through my personal style. It makes me feel centered, authentic, and confident. Dressing to spotlight the best parts of my figure also makes me feel confident, and I hated feeling like I had to choose between the two.
This article and the video below are taken from the Stunning Style Weekly Style Snack! Join us Wednesdays at 1pm ET on the Stunning Style Facebook page or the FREE Capsule Wardrobes for Classic Style Facebook Group.
I Am What I Am
While I can choose to be the best version of myself, the core of who I am doesn’t change, so changing my style to look like someone I’m not wasn’t an option. Dressing to highlight my best physical features can trick the eye to make my figure look more balanced, but I can’t change my basic body shape.
Your body shape is determined by your skeletal structure; and even as you lose or gain weight, your body type remains the same. It might be more extreme or more subtle as the scale goes up or down, but you are what you are.
First of all, only you get to decide what rules you follow, and I prefer to think of them as tools in my toolbox. I pick and choose which ones serve me on any given day. Secondly, not every single idea has to be implemented. It’s like a buffet of options you can pick and choose from to fill your plate, or to dress your body.
By choosing the options that go along with your personal style you can learn how to dress for your body type AND not feel like you have to choose one or the other.
Learn the Rules to Dress for Your Body Type
Part of creating a signature style is capitalizing on your best assets while still remaining true to what you love, and it’s one of the reasons I created the Style Your Silhouette Body Shape Courses.
Knowledge is power, and understanding your personal body shape, what all of your best assets are, and how to shine the spotlight where you want it allows you to love and dress the body you have and create your best silhouette. In Course One we learn all the tools available to you, and that helps with the first problem of not wanting to wear something you SHOULD.
Signature Silhouettes
When we discussed the question what is a signature style and the value of personal style uniforms, we debunked the myth that you have to make fashion history every day to be stylish. Anyone who is a style icon has some go-to uniforms that make her style recognizable. In another one of our recent Style Snacks we looked at Kate Middleton’s personal style uniforms.
Just as you can with signature style uniforms, one way you can learn how to dress for your body type and your personal style is to come up with some signature silhouettes that work with both.
Zooey Deschanel is a wonderful example of a celebrity who has a signature personal style and a signature silhouette. As a pear-shaped woman, she has nailed her signature silhouette with the fit and flare + a puffy sleeve.
This silhouette adds volume to her shoulders, nips her waist and balances her lower half.
She manages to make it work with dresses:
Skirt and top combos:
And even pants and top combos:
Reese Witherspoon also has some silhouette uniforms that flatter her apple body shape. She loves a peplum with skinny jeans
This silhouette creates a waistline, adds some curve to her hips, while showing off her incredible legs.
And a straight top with straight short shorts or a mini skirt.
Both of these women have found ways to dress for their body types without sacrificing their personal style with signature silhouettes.
Learn How to Break the Rules
Once you know the rules, or tools for how to dress for your body type, you can decide which rules you want to break and how to break them. In Course Two of Style Your Silhouette we learn how to break the rules, because something that’s core to your signature style doesn’t have to be discarded. There is always a way.
Do you struggle to dress for your body type and your personal style?
My new 2-part course, Style Your Silhouette is dedicated toward teaching you how to dress for YOUR body shape (and no one else’s!). You can sign up and start Course 1 now with the link above!
As promised, here is the info on the blue light glasses I mentioned in today’s live video.
This is the link to the first blue light glasses I bought. They were a little too wide for me, but fit pretty well, are very comfortable, and are a very budget-friendly option. They do make everything look yellow and have a very pronounced glare/reflection so not great for doing video calls.
This is the pair I wore today. I’m wearing the tortoise pair, but they are so dark on the front they look black. I do need to take to an optical shop to have them tightened a little. They have a non-reflective coating and don’t make the whole world look yellow. You can also get them for prescription glasses and the blue light reduction.
This post contains affiliate links, which means if you purchase through my links I get a small commission, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra.
2 thoughts on “How To Dress For Your Body Type Without Sacrificing Your Personal Style”
April,
Thanks for the email, and for sharing your story. I am aware of my body type, which is rectangular, or in another stylist’s terminology, soft-straight. However, your articles and Posts have helped me hone in on what my personal style is, Minimalist Classic with a hint of Edgy. I loved studying your personal style and plan to begin expressing my style more accurately. Thanks again for your blog! Gloria
You have great skin and also the dark hair looks awesome on you.
What determines if you have pear( I read somewhere call it spoon too) or hourglass? Some silhouette are in-between.
Hope to hear from you soon.