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Top 10 Tips for Styling Your Body.
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Use some of these tips to spice up your wardrobe and dress your body wisely.
1. If you're interested in a trend that may not flatter your body, tweak it to make it work. For example, wide-leg trousers aren't necessarily flattering on petite bodies. Instead, try a high-waist version that makes your legs look longer.
2. Wear what fits—nothing too cingly or oversized. Clothes won't look good if you have to pull down your top or if you have visible panty lines.
3. Fill your wardrobe with mainly classic pieces that you know work for you and seek out a few trendy pieces for each season.
4. Women, specifically plus-sized ones, should get a proper bra fitting. The bust line should sit halfway between the shoulder and the elbow.
5. Women without a narrow waist should invest in a jacket with great seaming that accentuates the area under the bust. It's all about creating a feminine silhouette.
6. Men: Shoulder seams were meant for the shoulders, not the
elbows! Purchase shirts and jackets that have seaming that rests where it should.
7. Don't be a slave to fashion. If a trend doesn't look good on you—skinny jeans for instance—don't wear it.
8. Break free from the typical high school outfitters Hollister and Abercombie and start trying on more high-end styles at relatively priced stores such as H&M and Zara or even a nice boutique downtown or in Kansas City.
9. Accessories can attract and distract if you use them advantageously. For example, carry an eye-catching bag near the part of the body you want to accentuate and draw attention to. If you don't love your legs, wear one over your shoulder to hit at your bust or waist.
10. Embrace your shape instead of fighting it. A lack of confidence shows through in what you wear.
Sources: Misty Huber, Fiona Dieffenbacher & Clinton Kelly
in terms of girls to guys. And when you walk through campus sometimes, a large percent of the more than 11,000-strong male population on campus looks rather drab.
La mode pour les hommes
You guys may wonder, why the French? Well, roughly translated, it means: mimic the runways of Paris and sport a high-end look tailored to fit your made-for-style stature.
However you acquired your body, whether by working hard at the gym or winning the genetic lottery, use what you have. A broad upper-body, angling inward toward a narrow 32-inch waist, all truncated by a pair of lean legs—this, my friends, was what Michelangelo envisioned when he sculpted "David," yet some of our on-campus Adonises still embrace ordinary oversized outfits.
Although most "What Not To Wear" participants are women, Clinton Kelly and gang still have rules for men. Kelly says to accentuate the shoulders and upper-body using fitted clothing with strong seaming. This is achievable with the help of fitted sweaters and jackets that hit right at the hip and have a small amount of cinching in the torso.
Stylish siren, not plus-sized debacle
Sometimes overweight people dress exactly like an extra-small model, when obviously an extra-small frame isn't the same as a larger one. Don't let it get you down, though; with the help of body-appropriate clothing, you can turn fashion no-nos into a wonderful look that's sure to turn heads.
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Finding clothes that don't drown you out isn't easy, but the search gets harder when you know what style you want but haven't quite figured out which areas of your body to play up.
As stated before Kelly emphatically condemns oversized clothing, and this goes for both sexes. Kelly says that jeans and pants should be fitted while maintaining a sense of comfort. A simple straight-leg pant makes a remedial effort against the problem of baggy jeans. Kelly adds that the crotch of the jean shouldn't be too far away from its anatomical counterpart.
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Dieffenbacher says to choose styles that elongate the body and create a flowing line. She recommends that plus-sized women not purchase tight-fitting tops or pants because they break the body into two parts. She says that accessories, such as shawls or scarves, can cover up potential problem areas like upper arms or the neck. Unshapely dresses should be tossed out of the closet, she adds, not only because they make you look like a tent, but they also detract from the areas of your body that you might be comfortable showing off.
Fiona Dieffenbacher, associate director of external projects in the fashion design department at Parsons The New School for Design, says plus-sized women have a more difficult time keeping up with trends. She says plus-sized women's limited silhouettes accommodate only certain items that accentuate a larger frame. Dieffenbacher notes the recent leggings trend as an unflattering style for plus-sized women. She says that when your body isn't necessarily the best fit for a trend, tweak it to make it work for you. She adds that plus-sized women should avoid any clothes that bring attention to the notorious trouble areas; the torso and hips.
Color adds to the appeal of your clothes, Dieffenbacher says. She affirms the common fashion rule that black is a slimming color. She also suggests keeping the color story in tonal harmony or all one color. Too many colors or loud patterns accentuate size. She says it's definitely OK to add an accent color with your handbag, shoes or a jacket.
Styling for women is about emphasizing, or creating, the perfectly feminine figure.
Katie Bohl, Olathe senior, meticulously sifts through the crowded racks at Forever 21, 1847 Village West Parkway at the Legends in Kansas City, Kan.
"There are so many things here," she says, eyeing a dark gray trench. "Sometimes I walk out with nothing and sometimes I find some great pieces."
The 5-foot Bohl, standing in line at the register among a group of tweens half a foot taller than her, mid-length trench in tow, says she can't let her height weigh her style down.
"Most of my favorite stores make clothes for girls with a little bit of height," she says. "So a lot of times, I have to mix and match to find pieces that give me a good sense of style and don't make me look like I'm 12 years old."
Bohl says she typically buys straight-leg jeans and form-fitting tops for a casual look. "Anything else will make you look tiny," she says. "The point is to emphasize everything but your small height, and clothes that make you look a little curvier give off an illusion of height."
She adds that it's important to identify the length of tops and bottoms. Proportionate clothing—tops that touch the hips and pants that hit right at the floor—is essential in order to be a stylish petite person.
From small to tall, fit is essential and it's important to realize that clothes are about presentation and appearance. You don't want to look like a pre-pubescent girl or a lanky toothpick because you couldn't get something right.
Size doesn't matter; it's how you use it
According to Centers for Disease Control, American men ages 20 to 39 are 20 pounds heavier and an inch taller than they were in 1960. In addition, the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics found that nearly 5 percent of men ages 20 to 29 are 6 feet 3 inches or taller, accounting for millions of men.
Six-foot-4-inch "What Not to Wear" co-host Clinton Kelly says taller guys have a more difficult time finding clothes that are lengthy enough to fit.Kelly suggests that you broaden the shoulder with a strong jacket or a sweater with stripes across the chest. He adds that like most people, tall men have to be mindful of trends, such as V-necks, which are a hot item in men's fashion right now.Taller men should avoid V-necks because they elongate the neck to giraffe status.Overall, Kelly says oversized clothes make taller men look scrawny, so wear clothes that fit closer to the body for a fashionable look.
Your body is an empty canvas and understanding what looks best on it is essential. Once you realize this, you can turn a paint by numbers watercolor into an artistic masterpiece worthy of the Louvre. Of in this case, the world outside your closet.
Comfort doesn't always have to be oversized. Loose-fitting clothes make you look screwy and shapeless.