Colour isn’t the only thing that can make your body shape look different.
I’m sorry for the gap in my series of blogs, but I put it to one side while we concentrated on adding many new products to our site for internet sales. It’s been hectic! The boutique has also been very busy with all the summer weddings – but it’s been very rewarding advising all my lovely customers on which styles and colours to wear and then how to complete their outfits.
But in this new blog, let’s look now at what else can change the perception of your shape. You will of course all know the body shape that you are by now, having read one of my previous blogs. If you haven’t, can I suggest you go back and read it before continuing?
I talked about using colour in the last blog to minimise or accentuate the different halves of your body.
But colour is not the only thing we can use to give the illusion that we are the perfect hour-glass shape. There’s also texture, pattern, and fabrics that reflect light - and those that don’t. I’m going to start with the simplest of all the tricks – using stripes. I adore stripes. With my triangle body shape, they allow me to make the top half of my body look wider and the bottom look smaller. If you don’t believe me, look at the two shapes below and make a snap decision as to which one looks wider or thinner.
See the difference?
So, stripes worn horizontally will make you look wider, and stripes worn vertically will make you look thinner. HOWEVER, you must consider the width of the stripe. The thinner the stripes, the greater the effect, and with wider stripes the effect diminishes, BUT be careful - there comes a point where wearing a WIDE vertical stripe can actually make you look bigger! So stick to thin, thin,thin!
It doesn't just have to be printed stripes that can have this effect. Anything that is drawing a line across or down your body will create the same illusion. For example, pin-stripe fabric will have the same effect (see below), and it’s also true of fabrics such as needle-cord. Even having a crease down the front of your trousers will make your legs look thinner.
Panelled skirts and dresses will also give the illusion of you being taller and slimmer. So if you are a triangle shape like me, the more vertical seams and darts in a skirt the better. If you are an inverted triangle, nothing is more flattering than a skirt with horizontal stripes.
I’m sure you can find many other examples of using vertical and horizontal lines to narrow or widen parts of your body. I’d love to hear any ideas you have.
To finish off this blog, I’d just like to summarise the rules about wearing stripes or creating lines.
- Be aware of the width of a vertical stripe, too big and they will have the reverse effect.
- Horizontal stripes or lines will make you look wider.
- Vertical stripes or lines will make you look thinner and taller.
That’s it for this time, and I hope you’ve found this blog useful. Next time we’ll be looking at textures. As usual, if you’ve got any comments or questions, please use the form at the bottom of the page
All the best
Luanne x
