Learning to make the most of your flaws and features is often key to great style and the success of many great dresses through out the decades.

Many of the world's most memorable women have turned their 'flaws' into their trademarks. Would Cindy Crawford have been quite so fabulous without her mole? Would Lauren Hutton be so gorgeous with perfectly fixed teeth or Kate Moss with out her elfin frame or Oprah as a size zero? No!

Make a promise to yourself, today. Accept the things that you can’t change, no matter how many inches or bulges or unwanted curves you imagine come between you and perfection. Confidence and knowing what suits you are what matters when it comes to style.

Tips for pear shapes:

• Never try to make a straight line out of curves. Voluminous clothes will not camouflage extra pounds; they will make you look shapeless and bigger than you are. Try to go in and out a bit: thinner at the waist and narrower at the knee to balance your proportions.

• The perfect look for pear shaped figures is a figure skimming silhouette eg: a tailored dress or tailored blouse and pants toped with a loose-cut knee-length coat left open. Don’t be afraid to make statements with a coat that has a rich texture or strong colour eg: David Lawrence red trench coat ph:1800 100 366.

• Pear shaped women should try to avoid clinching their waists. Instead try raising or lowering your waistline which will make your legs looks longer and smooth out the silhouette. Eg: Cardigans that fit loosely buttoned to just above your waist and with the top buttons left undone will help raise your waistline. A softly buttoned shirt worn undone over a t-shirt will also do this and help to rebalance your proportions, still showing off your figure rather than hiding it under oversized clothes.

• An off the shoulder neckline or seaming across the upper back of a dress or shirt that reaches from shoulder to shoulder will minimize the waist by widening the shoulders.

• A great hip-minimizing outfit is a cropped jacket, that slightly nips in at the waist (so that it is not boxy), worn over straight legged trousers or a skirt in a fluid fabric, with high heels. The slight flare of boot led trousers or a soft A-line skirt balances full hips.

• Remember figure skimming vs figure hugging cuts are more flattering every time.

• Always opt for trousers with flat fronts or flapless pockets – this will only add width across your hips – which noone wants!

• Try trousers with out cuffs to elongate your legs.

• Dressing in one fabric from head to toe does nothing for a curvy body. Opt for separates and experiment with textures and colours to create interests.

• Pear shaped women can look fantastic in jeans. Go for stretch and figure skimming boot cut jeans rather than loose cuts.

• A common mistake among pear shaped women looking to make a fashion impact is to go for the big shouldered look. Don’t! Big shoulders are really not the best counterbalance in this case. Your natural shoulder line, sharply defined looks much better than shoulder pads which only end up making your shoulder line look sloppy and boxy.

Enjoy dressing for your shape — love your body, have fun experimenting, and happy shopping!

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