Body Type Styling: More Around the Middle
Most of our clients come to us during some sort of life change or transition: recovery from an illness, career change, divorce, weight gain, weight loss, and yes…pregnancy and childbirth. Last month, I had a client who recently had a baby and wanted to build a capsule wardrobe to accommodate her changing post-baby body. Her stated goal was “to draw attention away from my midsection.”
We got to work on her closet first looking at pieces that would work during this transitional time, and making note of items we could add that would help her feel comfortable and put-together as she adjusted to her new normal. During her shopping appointment, we applied three strategies that addressed her main style goal: minimize the midsection and balance proportions.
Use Medium-Scale Pattern
You can use pattern as a styling tool to draw attention to or away from any area of the body. Large, bold pattern can draw attention to an area that you want attention. Small-scale pattern (paired with a larger pattern) can minimize an area of the body. For a “more around the middle” body type, a medium-scale, uniform pattern in a dress or blouse will not show lumps or bumps. Whereas a light solid color dress would show more, this dark, patterned dress smooths and camouflages.
Ruching is your Friend
This dress does double-time for minimizing more around the middle. Note the ruching on the side. This whittles the waist, creating an hourglass silhouette.
Elongate Neckline and Upper Body
Another way to minimize a more-around-the-middle body type is to elongate the upper body/neckline. A v-neck top does the trick beautifully by bringing the eye out from the shoulder in toward the bust/waist area, narrowing the silhouette. A long pendant necklace and a draped cardigan or moto jacket (below) further streamlines the silhouette. Any layering piece that drapes down to or past the hip will lengthen the upper body and draw attention away from the midsection.
My client was thrilled with the results, ready to take on this new stage of life with confidence!
For work together, contact me at [email protected].