How to Dress for Your Body Shape

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Understanding your body shape can elevate your style make getting dressed so much easier, but I think it’s important to start by saying that there are no hard and fast rules. We are all wonderfully different, and dressing well isn’t about trying to change your body or hide certain areas.

It’s really about understanding proportions, discovering which shapes you enjoy wearing and finding clothes that make you feel fabulous.

This is something a personal stylist can help you explore. Once you understand why certain pieces work particularly well for you, shopping and putting outfits together can suddenly feel much less complicated.

How do you work out your body shape?

You may have heard body shapes described as pear, apple, hourglass, rectangle or inverted triangle. These descriptions can be useful as a starting point, but very few of us fit perfectly into one category.

Rather than worrying about a label, look at your natural proportions. Are your shoulders and hips roughly the same width? Is your waist defined? Do you tend to carry more weight around your middle, hips or thighs?

A clothing stylist will usually consider all of these things rather than simply putting you into one particular category.

Why is proportion so important?

Proportion can completely change the way an outfit feels.

For example, if you have broader shoulders, you might enjoy creating a little more interest on your lower half with wide-leg trousers or an A-line skirt. If you have fuller hips, you may prefer pieces that draw the eye upwards, perhaps with a lovely neckline, interesting colour or statement jewellery.

If you have a defined waist, you might enjoy showing it off with belted dresses, tucked-in tops or more fitted jackets.

None of these are rules. They’re simply little styling tools you can experiment with.

Does fit matter more than size?

Absolutely! I always encourage people not to become too attached to the number on the label. Sizing can vary enormously between shops, and the most important thing is how a garment actually sits on your body.

A jacket in your usual size might pull across the shoulders, while going up one size could give you a much more flattering shape. Equally, something oversized can sometimes overwhelm your frame when a slightly neater fit would work beautifully.

A personal stylist can help you look beyond the label and concentrate on fit, shape and how you actually feel in the clothes.

Can colour and accessories help?

Of course, and this is where styling becomes fun! Colour, jewellery, scarves, shoes and belts can all help create balance and draw attention to the parts of an outfit you love. Something as simple as changing the length of a necklace or adding a belt can alter the proportions of an outfit surprisingly quickly.

A clothing stylist can also show you how to use pieces you already own in different ways, rather than feeling that understanding your body shape means buying a completely new wardrobe.

What should you wear if your body shape changes?

Our bodies change throughout our lives, and our wardrobes sometimes need a little time to catch up.

Something that looked wonderful ten years ago may not feel quite right today, and that’s perfectly normal. Rather than trying to squeeze yourself back into an old style, look at what makes you feel good now.

Ultimately, dressing for your body shape should be about confidence rather than correction. Once you understand the shapes, lengths and proportions that make you feel your best, getting dressed becomes easier, shopping becomes more focused and your wardrobe starts working much harder for you.