The Complete Guide to Dressing for Your Body Shape
As fashion editors, we likely know what looks good on you. Perhaps there’s a wrap dress that consistently makes you feel confident or you tend to gravitate towards wide-leg pants. However, we’re taking a more in-depth look at dressing for your body type, as it’s never a bad idea to look your best.
From deciding if you’re an hourglass shape, pear, banana, or apple (yes, fruits are very helpful here), there are plenty of different physiques that with just a little knowledge can look even better. That could be balancing out your proportions with a pair of flared jeans, or highlighting the most flattering part of your body with a cutout dress, there are some incredible ideas you might have never even thought of. One thing’s for sure, though: This guide will help you feel and look your best. Scroll down to see the specific styles that make your body type look its absolute best, from coats and tops to skirts and dresses.
Hourglass
If you’re curvy with a tiny waist, then you’ve got an hourglass shape. Your goal is to highlight your curves, not hide them, by emphasising your waist.
Key Buy: A Belted Jumper
Key Buy: A Crop Top
Key Buy: A Pencil Skirt
Key Buy: A Wrap Dress
Apple
If you have a slim lower body and carry weight around your middle, you’ve got an apple shape. Your goal is to minimise your midsection by highlighting your shoulders and legs.
Key Buy: A High-Waisted Skirt
Key Buy: A Shift Dress
Key Buy: Straight-Leg Tailored Pants
Banana
If you’re not very curvy and your hips are around the same size as your waist, you’ve got a banana shape. Your goal is to highlight the thinnest part of your waist so your hips and bust appear larger and more proportional.
Key Buy: Wrap Top
Key Buy: Cropped Jacket
Key Buy: Side Cutout Dress
Key Buy: Tapered Trousers
Pear
If the widest part of your body is around your hips, you’ve got a pear shape. Your goal is to elongate and balance your figure by accentuating your top half.
Key Buy: An Off-the-Shoulder Dress
Key Buy: Structured Jacket
Key Buy: An A-Line Skirt
Key Buy: Flared Jeans
Flared styles provide a one-two punch: They draw eyes away from the hips, and the volume at the hem balances out your hips, making them seem perfectly proportioned. We like slim flares for the most modern feel.Worked out which shape you are?This post was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated by Elinor Block.
Kat Collings has over 15 years of experience in the editorial fashion space, largely in digital publishing. She currently leads the vision for editorial content atReplica Shopping as the site's editor in chief, having risen through the editorial ranks after joining the company in 2012. Collings is a Digiday Future Leader Awards nominee, was named Buzzfeed's best fashion Instagram accounts of the year, and is a member of the CFDA Awards Fashion Guild. Prior toBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing , Collings worked on styling projects for brands such as Vogue, Teen Vogue, Lucky, and Oliver Peoples. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in communications and calls Los Angeles home.