Clothes Can Make You Look Heavier or Slimmer
Has anyone ever said to you “You look thinner out of your clothes, than in your clothes.”
Before I became an Image Consultant and learned how to dress my body type, I went to a beach retreat. When I put on a bathing suit, several people said, “You look thinner out of your clothes.”
At the time, I felt confused by their comments.
I was wearing an oversize top and wide legged pants.
Can you guess what I was doing wrong?
-By wearing wide legged pants with an over-sized top, I was hiding my thinnest parts.
-When wearing separates, when one piece is unfitted,the other piece should be more fitted. Our eyes automatically search for the narrowest place to look. If there is no narrow place because you are wearing a loose top and bottom, you will look heavier than you are.
-If you are thinner from your waist up, you will look better with fitted tops and more loosely fitting bottoms.-If you carry most of your weight in the upper part of your body and are less weight in your legs, you will look better with a top that has no waist definition and pants or a skirt that is fitted on your bottom half.
-Choosing the right fabrics for your clothes can take pounds off your silhouette.
What fabrics should you avoid wearing when you are trying to look slimmer?
Figure friendly fabrics include knit fabrics such as jersey, slinky knits, as well as tightly woven fabrics such as silk, polyester and wool. Any fabric with a good drape will hang closer to your body skimming your curves and moulding gently to your silhouette rather than standing away from it and making you look larger.
What else can you do to avoid looking heavier?
You can use visual tricks to get people to focus on your face, eyes and mouth. This doesn’t mean you should hide your whole body. Instead, strategically place color and clothing lines, so that people look at your face and just glance at your body. You do not want to draw attention to your body with fabrics that cling to your body showing all your bulges and you don’t want to wear fabrics that are too thick or stiff and make your body look even heavier.
Don’t Wear:
Stiff fabric or thick fabric, ruffles, heavily textured fabrics, shiny fabric or fabrics that are too thin and cling to the body.
Also avoid wide horizontal stripes, and large horizontal patterns. Colors that are too bright for your body colors or colors that drain the color out of your face can also make you look heavier.
Wear:
Choose fabrics that drape and are medium weight in your most flattering colors.
Jackets, A Great Way To Look Slimmer
I love jackets because they are “workhorses,” that can camouflage a tummy or large waist, buttocks or hips. To look slimmer you must choose a jacket that flatters your body and ends at one of your narrowest places. (You can layer an unbuttoned blouse or cardigan sweater over a shell for a more casual jacket look.
If you have a wide mid-section, and waist-line but relatively narrow hips you SHOULD NOT wear a short jacket that ends at your waist because this would be like pointing an arrow at your widest point. You need to wear a jacket that ends at your narrow hips.
If your mid section is wide you will look better in a jacket that has at least 3 or 5 buttons. Two buttons usually stops at the stomach area. This is like pointing an arrow at your widest body part.
If you have a waistline that is larger,the same or only slightly smaller than your hips you need a jacket that does not taper at the waist. If you have a defined waistline (your waist is 8 to 10 inches smaller than your hips) you can wear a jacket that tapers in at the waist.
If you have a small waist and a large buttock or large hips, a jacket that ends at your waist will emphasize your buttock or hips. A better choice for you is a longer jacket that tapers at the waist and stops at the narrowest place near your thighs.
Be careful not to wear a jacket that’s too long usually no longer than the rise of your pants. If the jacket is too long, your legs will look shorter and you will look shorter.
Wear Layers To Look Slimmer
If you wear a jacket and pants or a jacket and a skirt in the same color and a blouse underneath in a different color and leave the jacket open this creates a longer, slimmer line. Your can change the color of your shell or blouse and you will look like you have a different outfit.
By wearing your jacket open, you can create two vertical lines and the illusion you have a waistline, because only a little of your waist shows. Wearing clothing that skims your body shape and is not too tight or too loose will make you look slimmer. Don’t be afraid to get your “ready to wear,” clothing altered to get a perfect fit that looks like it was made, just for you.
Nancy Ruth Goldblatt
