Monday, August 1, 2011

Tips on dressing a pear shaped body

08 Aug 01 - Pear Shaped (1)
Hello everyone! A reader asked me to please write a couple of tips on how to dress a pear shaped body. For those of you who don't know, having a pear shaped body means that your hips are wider than the rest of your body (You know, like the shape of a pear) (Oh, btw, I am aware that the pear I used in the pics is kinda round and not "pear shaped" at all... it's the only one I had!)

08 Aug 01 - Pear Shaped (8)

I consider myself a person with a pear shaped body; my hips are much wider than the rest of my body. However, I have developed a couple of tricks to hide my hips and emphasize other parts of my body. I'm no expert, but hopefully you will find these tips useful:

1. Highlight the narrowest part of your body: This is by far the MOST important tip I can give all of you. The smallest part of my body is my waist (for other people it's right under the bust line), so I make sure to highlight that part of my body in each and every outfit. You can highlight your waist by wearing A-line shaped dresses and skirts (the ones that are cinched at the waist and then flow away from the body... you know, like the letter "A") and by wearing belts at your waist.
08 Aug 01 - Pear Shaped (2) - Waist

This is by far the easiest way to hide your hips, just buy A-line shaped skirts and dresses and always highlight your waist.

2. You CAN wear pants: I don't wear pants that often, but you most certainly can wear pants being pear shaped. I recommend using a pair of pants that go straight down after the widest part of your hips, like this one:
08 Aug 01 - Pear Shaped (3) - Pants2

Skinny jeans are a little harder to pull off. Since they are tight from the top to the bottom, they completely reveal the entire shape of your body (showing the large hips which is a big no no) and sometimes makes your legs look like drumsticks. However, if you want to wear skinny jeans, I suggest wearing a top that covers your hips and ends just when the thinnest part of your legs begin. Like this:
08 Aug 01 - Pear Shaped (3) - Pants

That way, the only part of your leg that is exposed is the part that looks lean and thin.

3. Stay away from bubble-shaped tops and dresses: I know this might not apply to everyone, but I have found that bubble shaped tops and dresses highlight your hips (a big mistake) and hide your skinny waist (yet another mistake). So I would stay away from dresses like the following picture and rather stick to A-line dresses and skirts:
08 Aug 01 - Pear Shaped (4) - Bubble dress

4. You CAN wear form fitting dresses:
I know that it is intimidating sometimes to wear something form fitting because it doesn't hide the large hips, but fear not! It can be done! All you need to make sure is that the dress/skirt has structure (in other words, its not a loosy flowy fabric. It must maintain its shape on its own) and that the skirt/dress goes straight down after the widest part of your hips. Look at this dress for example:

08 Aug 01 - Pear Shaped (5) - Structure
If the dress would cinch in after the widest part of my hips, it would allow you to see just how HUGE my hips are. But since it goes straight down after the widest part of my hips, it gives me a sexy hourglass shape without looking large.

5. Bring attention to your face: When all else fails, make outfits that bring attention to the top part of your body and that "hide" the bottom part of your body. You can accomplish this by pairing patterned or colorful tops with darker bottoms. Or you can also wear a statement necklace or earrings so that people's attention is brought to your face and not your hips. This isn't a rule that I follow all the time, but its a good option for those days that nothing else seems to work.
08 Aug 01 - Pear Shaped (6) - Top Half

So there you have it, my top 5 tips on how to dress a pear shaped person. I'm sorry I don't write tips on dressing other body shapes; honestly, I only know what has worked for myself. But if anyone has any tips for other body shapes, please share in the comments below!
08 Aug 01 - Pear Shaped (7)

Remember that you can always write me an email at thejoyoffashion (at) hotmail (dot) com if you have any questions, suggestions, or if you just want ideas on how to wear something. Thanks for the support everyone!

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