shapes and sizes... and you happen to be flat all over. A woman’s greatest assets in this category are her long legs and her flat stomach because it gives her the ability to wear pants that sit below her hips, which provide the illusion of curvature. The bottom line is that if you’re a banana shaped female, you’ve got to wear a padded bra, horizontal and bright patterns, wrap dresses, large necklaces and belts to create those feminine curves that others take for granted.
Salma Hayek
If you’re an hourglass, you’ve got the bust, the booty and a smaller waistline in between; therefore you’re the envy of all other shapes. When picking out attire, you should focus on drawing attention to your waistline because genetics have given you the natural ability to accentuate your bust and rear end. You can do this by using more clingy fabrics or by wearing a printed top with a solid-colored bottom (or vice versa) with a belt in the middle. The most important thing to remember is that ill-fitting items can work against you, making you appear wider as opposed to curvier.
Those who are pear shaped have more going on toward the bottom half of their bodies than the top and because of this disproportionate ratio of bust to buttocks, you’ve got to downplay your butt and kick up the tempo up top. You can accomplish this by wearing dark colored, form-fitting pants or a pencil skirt accompanied by a bright or print top. Accessories such as necklaces or a V-neck top can also draw attention away from your lower extremities. Please note: these tips are not meant to discredit one half of your body, rather to downplay the emphasis on your buttocks and legs and give your top half some time in the spotlight. So remember ladies, less is not always more when it comes to summer fashion. Sometimes less is just an ill-fitting outfit that’s overexposing all the wrong features of your particular body type. You’ve got to play to your strengths and know that all outfits are not created equal for all bodies.
The Stiletto Statement Katelyn Gendron is a native of New York, who is currently living and working as a newspaper editor in Western Massachusetts. She is a collegetrained journalist and world traveler, who has documented her journeys for various publications spanning five of the seven continents (she plans to visit the remaining two during her lifetime). Her motto: “Life’s a ball. Let’s play!”
Jennifer Lopez
LIONESS JULY 2012
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