You know how they say that clothes don’t make the man, right? Well, they left out one huge part which is that clothes can affect the way the person feels about themselves, especially when it comes to women. The need to always look our best is in our blood, so we are always searching for those fabulous heels, great pants that make our bum look awesome, and most of all, we are always searching for that one perfect dress in which we feel, and have that million dollar look. Finding a perfect dress is not easy, especially now when there are so many different shapes and sizes – I think that if I would try on one different type of dress every day, it would take me about 5 whole years to try them all out. Of course, why would anyone do such thing, right? Well, if you hadn’t stumbled upon this article today and read these advice, you would have to.
1) Know your body shape
Although the society tries to convince us that all women on earth should be 170 cm tall with small waist, round butt and D cups, we are all still aware that this is impossible. Every woman is unique and beautiful in her own way, and there are not 2, not 3, but 8 different female body shapes:
Straight
This is the most common body type. Your hips and bust are proportional, your bum is rather flat than round, waist isn’t defined very much and you first gain weight in your torso and later in arms and thighs.
When buying dress for this body shape, crucial is to make sure that your upper and lower part stay proportional, and accentuate your waist in the same time.
Pay attention to belted dresses, ones with V or U necks, ones with structured shoulders and the ones which are full and flow around your bust.
Pear
Pear shaped ladies have larger hips than bust, defined waists, long neck and slim arms and shoulders and they gain weight first in their bum and legs and later in upper body.
When buying dresses for this body shape, make sure that you create a balance by adding volume to your upper body and emphasizing your waist.
Pay attention to dresses with fitted waists that fall nicely all the way to your knees, V and U necks, and bright colored ones with bold patterns.
Spoon
Your bust is smaller than your hips which have “shelf” appearance, waist is defined, you gain weight in tummy first and easily get love-handles.
When buying dresses for this body shape, the key is to deemphasize the tummy and draw all of the attention to your torso and legs.
Pay attention to strapless dresses, belted dresses, dresses with embellishments around your bust, and play with the lengths – show those legs sister!
Hourglass
Perfectly balanced hips and bust followed by a defined waist and rounded shoulders which are nicely aligned with your hips.
When buying dresses for this body shape, make sure that you dress your bottom and top part of your body equally and accentuate your waist in the same time. Basically, you can rock any type of dresses, from belted ones, over strapless ones, all the way to the wrap ones. Lucky!
Top hourglass
Basically, it is the same as the previous one, the only difference is that your bust is slightly larger than your hips.
The key is in balancing your bust with your lower body and accentuating your waist with clothes that will fill your lower half.
Opt for dresses with V necks, wrapped ones, A line dresses in darker colors.
Inverted triangle
The upper part of your body is larger, shoulders are broad, back are wide, hips are slim and waist is subtle.
The key here is in trying to create that hourglass effect by choosing clothes that accentuate your hips and bottom and add curves to them. Make sure that dress isn’t too short because it will create a top – heavy look.
Opt for dresses with narrow V necks, A-line dresses, and dark colors.
Oval
Your hips are narrow, your bust is large, waist is undefined and it is your widest part, your neck is short and you gain weight in your stomach and back.
You must De-emphasize your middle area and define your waist.
Look for dresses which are belted, square or wide V necks, wrap dresses or ones with tiered, or flared bottom parts.
Diamond
Your hips are way broader than your shoulders and your bust, your waist is the widest part of your body and it is undefined, your upper legs carry some weight as well and your arms are slender.
The key is to create a waist and in the same time to balance your shoulders with your hips.
Belted dresses, dresses with boat – necks or princess sleeves, and straight bottom parts that fall nicely from widest part of hip are perfect for you.
2) Materials matter
Different seasons and occasions require different fabrics. If you don’t like ready-made dresses and are more into tailored ones, you can find all the fabrics online. Cotton, chiffon or satin dresses are for warmer months and wool, polyester and velvet ones are for colder months.
3) Know your style
By this I mean that you have to buy something you will really wear. If you are not much of a party chick, why would you buy more than 2 party dresses? If you have only edgy, leather and pointy accessories why would you buy a floral dress? Take time and figure out what you usually wear and go with it.
That would be it. I hope my advice helped you.