Answer:

Dear Karen,

Thanks for your email.
It’s not that some women look good in clothes and others don’t, it is about choosing shapes and styles that suit your shape.

The first step to dressing well is to identify your body shape, which you have done! And then work on accentuating the positives. Eg: great legs, height, bust, curves etc.

Part of our job at AWW involves dressing women of all shapes and sizes, both celebrities and real people. Here are our tips to dressing to disguise your middle:

• A narrow tunic style top worn over slim pants will create an illusion of overall slimness and divert attention away from your stomach. Stay away from billowing smock style tops or blouses – these will only make you look larger.
• Make sure you balance your proportions. If you wear a loose fitting top which is a great option when dressing to disguise your middle, wear a tailored pair of pants or leggings to highlight a different part of your body. In this case it is your legs, this is the perfect way to flatter your figure.
• You are not only limited to unstructured items of clothing. Tailored pieces are perfect for your shape. Just stay away from pencil skirts and body hugging silhouettes. A line dresses and skirts, empire lines and styles that come in at the waist (just above your middle) are very flattering styles for your body shape. Remember that dressing in head to toe baggy clothes will look awful.
• If you have curves like Beyonce – flaunt them! Wear belts to cinch in your narrow waist to show off your divine feminine shape.
• Wear colour! Try to stick with solid colours rather than patterns – some patterns can make you look bigger – eg: large spots.
• Colour will lift your spirits and keep you looking, fresh, stylish and young.
• Another great minimizing trick to cover your middle is to wear darker colours up the top and light colours at the bottom.

Have fun with your shape! And learn to accentuate your positives

The AWW Fashion Team
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