Describing the shape of your body helps us personal stylists offer guidance around what type of clothing suits you best.
Whether we like it or not, our BODY TYPE has a huge part to play in defining our personal style.
We’re not going to wear sleeveless tops all the time if we don’t like our arms, are we?
Image from Fashionopolis via Pinterest
Click here to read more about my body shape analysis service to help you make the most of your figure and check out my portfolio for how I’ve transformed my clients using simple strategies you can try too. Click here to read their positive feedback
Google ‘how to dress an apple body shape’ and the fashion advice is generic and they don’t take in to account body proportions (discussed below) or how round your bust & torso might be
In fact, a slimmer apple shape should wear quite different things to a rounder apple, that’s why obtaining PERSONAL style guidance around what is right for YOU is vital
THAT’S WHY I’VE CREATED 6 BODY TYPE GUIDELINES YOU CAN PURCHASE & TAKE SHOPPING WITH YOU
I’VE PACKED SO MUCH IN TO THESE BODY SHAPE GUIDELINES, YOU’LL WONDER HOW YOU GOT DRESSED WITHOUT THEM
WHAT THEY CONTAIN:
Horizontal AND Vertical body analysis
Horizontal proportions = how we’re seen from a front on view ie. pear
Vertical proportions = difference in your torso & leg length and how to work out of you’re balanced or unbalanced
Detailed description of how to flatter your specific body type
What styles to avoid
How colour & pattern effects your body type
Pinterest Board of flattering outfits to try
All women fit in to these 6 body type categories but in my experience, many can straddle 2 and that’s when it gets very tricky when a client asks ‘what is my body type’ as it’s not so clear cut. I’ve worked with an ex-model who struggled to dress well because she couldn’t work out what physique she had… until I told her she had a combination of 2!
I asses body type horizontally AND vertically
Read my descriptions below plus click on my PINTEREST boards for outfit inspiration including WHY these garments suit particular body types
(8.5% of women)
When shoulders/bust and hips are similar in circumference and your waist is significantly smaller
(14% of women)
When shoulders/bust are wider than hips so you can tend to look top heavy or broad
(46% of women)
When shoulders, waist and hips measure similar creating a straighter torso
(20% of women)
When hips are wider than shoulders so you can tend to look bottom heavy
(11.5% of women)
When you carry your weight over your bust & tummy area, with slim hips & legs
(many women are a version of this)
When you carry your weight through your torso but you’re not round through the tummy like an Apple, you’re straighter
Now, we could get caught up in specific measurements to calculate exact ratios between hip & bust etc, but to be honest, it all gets a bit technical so I like to keep it simple, however if you don’t identify easily with one of these, read on…
Want to understand YOUR body type? Then give me a call or book an online session
So if you can’t identify yourself easily through the imagery, then you could always take a tape measure and note down your measurements to help categorise the shape of your body.
It’s about understanding the fullest part of your body, compared to your narrowest.
It’s also really interesting to do this as often it can yield different results than what you might think.
Many of my clients wrongly self diagnose their body type, when people have lost weight and struggle to re-identify themselves for example, or maybe a childhood hang up follows us in to adult hood? We need to strip back and start again as a lot of the ‘rules’ that used to block us when deciding what to wear, no longer apply
Now, to throw a complete spanner in the works, body SHAPE is not the only factor, BODY PROPORTIONS is the other KEY driver of why you will look good in some styles versus others
This means comparing your torso leg to you leg length
This can include a long body or long neck/sloping shoulders which would mean that your physique is slightly out of proportion and would benefit from certain styles
Many of my clients are under 6ft 3″ and struggle to find clothes that fit their petite proportions. I’m also an expert in this area so book in a PERSONAL SHOP to find clothes that flatter YOUR body type here
We also need to address the following groups of ‘non-standard’ sizes. I used to design clothes for these types of physiques hence why I’m an expert in shopping for them!:
*Concerning as the average Australian dress size is 14-16, so categorising plus-size to start at size 18 isn’t representing a typical Aussie woman as *plus* sizes should be starting around a 20-22!
So you can see that the subject of body types can get quite complicated for some. For others it’s more straight forward as they will look good in most styles and this is where the science stops and the art begins as personal style takes over in the decision making.
That’s why my bespoke body shape summary gives you exactly the right guidelines for YOUR body type AND your personal style, or you can buy comprehensive guidelines below
So many of my female clients struggle to dress their new body after giving birth, read about my MUMMY MAKEOVER service here
A huge issue regarding body types and sizing that makes working as an Sydney personal shopper a little more challenging is because there’s… cue gasp…
NO INDUSTRY SIZING STANDARDS IN AUSTRALIA!!
Yes, you heard me right!!
Click here to read my article published by MamaMia on the subject that explains this and SO much more about why the size of clothes vary’s so much!
So please don’t ever blame YOUR body. It’s chaos out there so contact me so I can help you!
1/. Client journey – a visual diary of her mindset transformation
2/. Fashion designer industry insight
3/. My top 10 tops to flatter your body type
