I’ll let you all in on one of my secrets as a stylist—I can immediately (upon looking at a client’s figure) determine his or her body shape and formulate a mental list of clothing pieces that would look good on him or her—regardless of size (whether tall, petite, plus, et cetera)! While I’d I like to attribute it to some magical ability that I possess, in truth, I’m not the first stylist to encourage dressing for your shape and not your size (okay, I’m talking about you, Stacy and Clinton!)
Most clothing manufacturers would prefer you NOT to know the exact pieces that look good on your body shape—if you’re just buying up everything in your size, you’re usually buying more! I’m an advocate of buying some real staple pieces that you can go back to again and again—there IS a black blazer and pair of jeans to fit everyone.
The point is, you should know your own body type—and at the very least, think about how your own aesthetic and some general guidelines can inform your purchases. Trinny and Susannah of the UK version of “What Not To Wear” made it plum easy in “The Body Shape Bible”—in which they detailed 12 (!!!) different body shapes and clothing suggestions for each (only 8 are pictured below).
What's your shape? Find out with this shortcut flowchart!
Use this as more of a reference guide, and realize that there will be fluctuations over time and different body weights (I go from a Lollipop to Goblet to Brick and back again). And when in doubt, start looking at celebrities and public figures who share your glorious shape for style inspiration—a brick may not sound too glamourous, but if Kim Cattrall is a brick too, I’ll take it!
What shape are you? Need some help figuring it out? Drop me an email!
Thank you for this! This is a new concept for me and I am finding what I am reading about my shape (the column) very helpful!
Hi Kimberly!
I am so glad you find it helpful! And you’re v. lucky that you’re a column!!!
Even with tall womenswear, you have choices between different shapes and silhouettes and it’s great to have a frame of reference…
A helpful tip: I carry a “cheat sheet” in my wallet of styles/shapes/designers I’ve liked in the past when I go to non-specialty (really, non-tall-sized) stores…
Thanks again for checking out my blog!
Kacy