Curvy and Plus Size Style Tips
Whilst online and high street retailers have made great strides in recent years in catering for the 16 + size market with options such as Asos Curve, Isme and Very along with high street staples such as Next, M&S and Evans there are still many tricks of the trade to consider when dressing to make the most of your curves which don’t involve dressing head to toe in black shapeless sacks in the mistaken belief that this is slimming!
Trousers vs Skirts
Trousers are always the best option as avoids the issue of thigh chaffing and if you have puffy ankles and can’t find shoes to fit a trouser with a front crease for work or a looser fit for a more elegant look gets around that whole issue. Cigar pants and bootcut jeans are also very flattering. Try and choose a semi-elasticated waist with a deep rise to avoid a muffin top and to be as comfortable as possible round the middle.
Dresses
Should be fitted and contoured in a structured fabric especially when paired with a matching/toning jacket. Tent-like dresses and kaftans just make you look bigger and should be avoided at all costs.
Jackets
Wear well cut jackets with deep v-necklines to elongate the body. Also, chose single-breasted instead of double-breasted and wear well-fitting jackets and cardys which skim over bumps and curves. Princess cut jackets and dresses work very well. Shoulderpads are a larger girls best friend as they make shoulders wider than arms and balance out hips and bottom.
Colour/patterns
Prints are often more flattering than either black or or block colours and horizontal stripes can work well on the larger frame for tops especially if the stripes are evenly spaced. Patterns should always be large scale to match the scale of the body.
Fabric
Shiny fabrics and anything flimsy or floppy is a no-no as they’ll just cling to all the wrong bits that need skimming over. Structured fabrics are best as are natural fabrics to help avoid overheating.
Accessories
Jewellery should be bold statement pieces as anything too small and dainty is totally out of scale . Wearing a wide belt in a shallow ‘v’ at the front will help to elongate the torso. Heels should be more substantial than stilettos, again because of the mismatch of bodyscale – try kitten or block heels. Larger women get hotter quicker so avoid scarves which just heat you up too quickly. Bags should be largish to compliment body scale and worn at the height of the narrowest part of the body – either chest or hip. Opera length necklaces are the best length to wear – avoid chokers.
Finally….
Seek out a good alternations service which will be invaluable in getting items altered to fit like a glove to ensure that you and your curves look their best!
