Dressing Your Body Type

I believe it’s not necessarily how much you spend on a garment, but how it fits, that

makes or breaks any look. Most of us don’t notice why one garment looks better on us

than another. Knowing your body type, however, is the key to understanding what fits

and looks best on you.

Here, I’m not talking about your specific measurements, but the relative proportion of

your body’s segments that determine your “type”: rectangle, hourglass, inverted

triangle, pear or oval. Your weight at any given time, doesn’t typically change the

relative portions of your body, even though your sizes may, because type derives from

your bone structure.

In general, our current societal “ideals” (if you can call them that) are an inverted

triangle for men and an hourglass for women—which very few, meet naturally. So,

when shopping, you use the garment to create the appearance you’re seeking.

If shopping for a client’s cocktail dress, based on body type, I’d choose:

Rectangle: create the appearance of a defined waist, so a belted dress is best.

Hourglass: aim for a fitted-waist sheath that highlights your balanced proportions.

Inverted triangle: choose a fuller skirt that adds “weight” to your bottom half.

Pear: emphasize the shoulders with fabric or detailing to balance out your hips.

Oval: create a “waist” by equally, over-accentuating the chest and hips.

Now, not everyone is comfortable highlighting different areas of their body, which is a

significant factor when shopping by body type, so you will likely make compromises

along the way. Overall, if you don’t feel comfortable in an outfit, you’ll never wear it, so

the rules are merely a guide.

Tammy’s Truism: To enhance or camouflage a feature, it all comes down to the

geometry of balance.