Dressing Your Body Shape: – Fundamentals of color and style

The place where you separate the two colors will also draw attention so if you have a thick waist, big tummy or wider hips, you will want to avoid having your colors change from light to dark at your waist, tummy or hips, respectively. For example, if you tuck a white blouse into a black pair of pants, you will draw attention to your middle. You can avoid this by having less contrast between the two colors or wearing the same color. You can also place color strategically. If you are trying to hide a larger middle, for example, the best place to change color is just below the bust or below the hips.

Placing color on your body strategically is only half the battle. You will never look your best unless the colors you wear compliment your complexion. Too many women wear either the wrong colors or ones that are too strong (have a lot of color pigment). Strong colors should only be worn on people who have a naturally defined contrast such as fair skin with dark hair and dark eyes of on women with darker skin. If your skin, hair and eyes are all light, you should avoid wearing strong colors, as they will overwhelm you.

Because choosing color can be difficult, I recommend spending the money to get a color analysis done. Such an analysis will teach you what colors look best on you and help you put them together. Buying according to a color plan means everything in your closet will coordinate with everything else, giving you infinitely more choices. It will also ensure your accessories, handbags, coats and shoes all go with your outfit. I recommend Nancy Taylor Farel, a color style consultant out of Boulder, Colorado. Nancy charges $195 and includes a four-hour color workshop where you learn how to use your colors. You can find more information about her at nancytaylorfarel.com. While this may seem expensive, it is well worth the investment.

Another tricky part of dressing your shape has to do with choosing prints. The No. 1 rule is to keep them in the same scale as your body: Petite figures should wear small prints, while larger figures can handle larger prints. If the print is widely spaced (like large stripes) and placed on a contrasting background (such as red on white), the print will make you look larger. Conversely, if you choose prints that are small scale and have less contrast, (like a muted herringbone) they will have the opposite effect. Prints also draw attention, so use a print combined with a solid item to draw the eye to an asset or act as an accent piece. An example of this would be to use a printed bottom and solid top to draw attention to slim legs and hips and hide a larger upper torso.

You can also use optical illusions to your advantage. You can create the illusion of a smaller neck by choosing a deep V-neck or deep round neck top. Wider necks like the cowl or boat will make your shoulders seem wider. This becomes important when you are trying to balance your upper and lower body.

Ultimately, you don’t have to have a perfect body to look great! You just need a little know how in choosing the best clothing for your shape. In part III, I’ll discuss each body type and give specific instructions on how to make the best clothing choices using the new fall clothing trends.