Dress to your shape

Understanding how to dress for your body shape will stand you in good stead when you get to choosing any type of clothes in reality.

Bodies come in lots of different shapes and sizes and so you need to dress for your shape to really look your best. Not every fashion suits every figure, so if you can learn how to dress for your body shape, you'll have a better chance of making flattering purchases.

Learning to dress for your shape means finding out how to celebrate the unique features of your figure instead of struggling to hide or ignore them.

If you're learning to dress for your shape, you'll also see the value of choosing clothes, cuts, lines and patterns that have the effect of balancing out your shape, so that no one feature gets all the attention.

Learning to dress for your shape can revolutionize the way you think about your body, and it's doesn't take much effort, only a little know-how.

There are many different factors to look at when determining the type of figure you have. Are you tall or short? How wide are your shoulders? What size are your breasts? How prominent is your waist? Do you have a tummy? Are your thighs more like Nicole Kidman's or Beyonce Knowles? Is your bum diminutive or do you enjoy Jennifer Lopez curves? The answers to these questions will help you to categorise your figure into an established type, making it easier for you to shop for yourself.

There are lots of categories you could fit into, but the basic ones are:

Pear : which is slender in the upper body with full hips, thighs and bum

Apple : which has broad shoulders and full breasts and tummy, with smaller hips and bum and slender legs

Hourglass : which is curvy with full breasts, hips and bottom, with a smaller waistline and slender legs

Slender : which is generally slim all around, with small breasts, hips, bum and waist, and long slim legs

Full Figure : which is curvy all over, with broad shoulders, large breasts, wide waist and full hips, bum and thighs

Once you've placed yourself within these categories, read up on your particular figure type to learn what styles, cuts, colours, patterns and textures suit you!