Body Shape is About More Than What's "Flattering"

My body is an inverted triangle, hourglass, rectangle-ish shape. How about you? Do you see yourself in the fruits and geometric shapes used to represent women’s bodies? In my opinion, these visuals (although some feel they’re outdated) provide a good jumping off point for body shape discussions. At the same time, they aren’t adequate to address all the nuances of our individual silhouettes (which rarely, if ever, fit the exact form shown).

One shortcoming of this traditional body shape theory is that it’s premised on an unchanging frame. Ok, well – your frame (as in bone structure) may not change, but the skin, muscle, and fat on your frame can change quite a bit. Each of our bodies is unique and let’s be honest, ever transforming. Even if your size is consistent over time, gravity is (unfortunately) unavoidable. In addition, our body composition can vary greatly depending on our diet, exercise, and season of life.

Since we’re all in a state of flux, I always ask clients what aspects of their body they like to highlight and what aspects they prefer to downplay. What I’ve found is that one woman’s style challenge is another woman’s favorite physical attribute. Since that’s the case, my approach to dressing your shape focuses on three words: accentuate, minimize, and balance.

Let’s use broad shoulders as an example. If you want to:

Accentuate. Choose wide necklines, like boatnecks or off-the-shoulder. Wear fitted long sleeves or sleeves with volume at the shoulders.      

Minimize. Choose a neckline that has an open shape and breaks up the chest.  

Balance. What works will vary. If you’re straight/narrower through your lower half, it may be helpful to add volume there. If you’re curvier on bottom, you may choose to keep it simple and wear tops that minimize your shoulders.  

Of course, this is a limited and simplified analysis of a single physical attribute – not a comprehensive body assessment. But the ability to apply the concepts of accentuate, minimize, and balance to your body is an integral component of your Style Cornerstones. Once you’re empowered with the knowledge of how to utilize shapes of clothing to achieve your desired results, you’ll feel more confident putting together looks and when making purchases.