Nearly any thorough article or book that offers fashion guidance will usually tell readers to determine and then gravitate towards those styles that work best for one's particular body type. This is solid, wise advice for sure, and is often one of the hallmarks that can help make someone look like they clearly have a great eye for style and styling alike. I too suggest that you do the same, but by the same token, it's important to stop and think about the pieces that don't work for you and why such is.
It's easy to slip on a frock in the dressing room, take one quick glance in the mirror, and quickly shake your head as you shimmy out of it at the speed of light. Did you stop though to consider why this piece didn't seem to work for you at first glance? What was it about the item or how your body suddenly appeared in it that didn't sit right with you?
Chances are, if I asked you to tell me five styles right now that almost always look great on you, you can, and that's wonderful. Can you though, tell me just as quickly five that don't do you any favours? Ideally, you want to be able to answer both questions with the same degree of confidence because knowing what not to wear for your body type can be every bit as important as knowing what to wear.
{What are your figure's strengths and weaknesses? Do your wardrobe choices currently flatter your best features and minimize or help disguise those that you'd happily banish in a heartbeat if such were possible? Image source.}
You might be thinking, well, Jess, if I know one, don't I know the other by default? Solid question. To a degree, yes, but not entirely. Think for example of all those middle ground styles. The ones that look so-so on you and that you might own some of at this very moment, perhaps often pairing them with others that suit you even more better.
They look neither awful, nor flat out fantastic on you. They're functional and may be filling a void temporarily until you can replace each one with an even more flattering similar piece, or you may be content with them as they are, but they're not clear cut stars in your wardrobe and you'll want to move away from them over time, if possible.
One of the true keys to having a stellar wardrobe, of any size, is filling it not so much with pricey items, but with ones that fit you excellently, compliment your skin, hair and eye colouring, and which look not just good, but marvelous on you - and when paired with each other.
Believe it or not, while certain styles will flatter each of us more than others, there are actually not a great deal of pieces that most folks can't wear at least one version of. Usually it comes down to a matter of fit, cut, colour, length, and material used as well as - and this is a biggie - the other elements of the outfit you're wearing that day.
For example, the following are some examples of styles that typically look horrible on me, why such is, and what I've learned from years of devoted fashion experience can help get around those problems in many cases (this is by no means a complete list of such items, just three that really stand out in my mind).
-V-necks: As discussed back in this 2012 outfit post, v-necks rarely do me any favours. Why? Because I have small shoulders, am not overly busty, don't have a particularly long neck (which you'd think a v-neck would help with, but oddly, doesn't seem to in my case), and am relatively short waisted. V-necks tend to suddenly give me unwanted linebacker shoulders and only serve to shorten the appearance of my waist's length further.
As a common fashion element though (very much including on many 1940s dresses), I'm not in a hurry to bypass them entirely though and have discovered that I can sometimes wear them if I opt for a wide v-neck, not a narrow one, a fitted cut to the garment (and/or over all ensemble) such as with this great 1940s red wiggle dress, and a thin fabric. Adding a layering piece with a different type of neckline that is more flatter can also be very helpful, as can not wearing a necklace, which would further "chop up" the shape of my collar and chest area, thus further shortening the over all appearance of my torso size.
-Pleats: As someone who is short and curvy, pleats can spell style disaster for me in a New York (Fashion Week) minute. Often they add width to my hips and the appearance of many unwanted pounds to my figure, especially if they're either very wide or very narrow. The trick, I've found in many cases however, is to opt for pleats that start not at my waist, but lower down my legs, say at mid-hip or ever further down (such as with this great vintage pleated plaid skirt).
In doing so, I keep the top of my hips streamlined looking, not wider than that area really is, and allow the volume of the pleats to pool towards the lower half of my legs, which can at times actually help make them look longer, especially when partnered with high heels (as I almost always do when wearing a pleated skirt or dress).
-Stripes: We've probably all heard that horizontal stripes make you look wider, and in some cases that can be true. I've experienced as much, but have also found vertical stripes to be unflattering, arguably even more so. For some reason, they (especially if they're wide), just don't seem to work on my petite height-ed hourglass figure. Unless...I keep the width of the strips very narrow and only sport small does of it at a time. Case in point, this charming cropped thin knit top (even there though, I'm not wild about how wide the stripes make my upper arms, which are by no means the thinnest part of my body, look).
Now, inquiring minds will no doubt want to know, are there pieces that no matter how much you play around with their proportions, shapes and other elements are simply so unflattering that you avoid them like the plague. Yes!!! Goodness gracious, yes!!!
{Like everybody on the planet, I have certain styles (and colours - but that's another post entirely) that don't do a lick of good for my figure. I've worked diligently over the years to recognize and be honest about myself when it comes to such pieces and rarely purchase or wear them, as I know they'll simply languish in my closet and be a source of frustration for me when I do try them on. Three such examples of which - cloche hats, drop waists, and skirts that hit above the knee - appear in the 1920s photo above. Image source.}
Though I am typically the type that's keen to live by the expression "never say never" and that certainly applies to my fashion choices, as a general rule certain things that look so intensely unflattering on me that I never or almost never wear them in any form are shorts (unless they're Bermuda style and hit below the knee), mini skirts or any skirt that hits above the knee, leggings, collar-less suit jackets (they, like v-necks, tend to make my top half look wayyyy bigger than it really is), mock necks, round eyeglass or sunglasses frames, knit skirts and dresses, slinky 1930s style bias cut or other similar dresses, drop waist dresses, thick cable knit sweaters, cloche hats, pillbox hats, white and other really light coloured tights, lace and most decorative patterned hosiery, choker style necklaces, sheer sleeved tops (unless I'm wearing something with opaque sleeves overtop of it, say like a blazer or cardigan), and two-piece swimsuits, amongst others.
Note, this is not a list of fashions that I necessarily dislike. The two can, and often should be, very separate camps. These are garments and accessories that time and time again I have tried on and looked frighteningly bad in. Instead of lifting up my figure, playing to my body's strengths and making me feel positive about my appearance, they did the precise opposite.
The universe, compounded by very key factors like genetics and my health, has not blessed me with a supermodel's body by any stretch of the imagination, however by learning about, and honing my eye for spotting, those pieces that don't do me one red favour, I've been able to build up a wardrobe of items that genuinely do. They (or at least the bulk of them) make me look taller, leaner, and better proportioned.
I've learned that 3/4 and full length sleeves work best for me. That I absolutely need my hemlines to hit below (not at or above) my knees and ideally in the mid-calf range. That wide skirts are best partnered with fitted tops, that bulky fabrics can actually make thicker upper arms look bigger than they are, not camouflage their size, and that t-strap shoes can actually work well for those with curvy calves and short legs, assuming you have fairly average sized or slender ankles. There are other points like this too, all of which I think about every single time I go clothes shopping, get dressed, or even in many cases, add an item to an online wishlist.
Each of us, no matter the shape and size of our body will have pieces that don't work for us. While it may be tough to accept that, for example, a turtleneck sweater, a mini skirt, or a crop top isn't our fashion BBF, in doing so, we allow ourselves to focus on those items that do work. We stop wasting precious fashion budget dollars on pieces that end up gathering dust in our closets and build a wardrobe of items that we can turn to day after day with the utmost of confidence.
{Just because you've been wearing a style for years, it doesn't mean that it's actually one that works well for your body. Take a long, hard look at the way a piece falls, hugs, drapes and sits on your. Does any part of your figure look bigger or smaller or differently shaped than you'd ideally want it to? What would an unbiased stranger say if they saw you wearing that piece? What is your own inner voice telling you when you're brutally honest with yourself? All of these things should factor in when building up your vintage wardrobe. Image source.}
If you haven't spent much time in your life focusing on the pieces that don't work well for you, I encourage you to do so asap. Go to closet and take out five, ten, twenty, however many pieces you want that you rarely, if ever, wear.
Try each one on in front a full length (or the largest that you have) mirror and access the situation. Is there a reason that you've worn an item so infrequently? If it's not because you need something else to make it work (say, the right pencil skirt to match a vintage suit jacket that's missing its original skirt) or it's a piece like an evening dress or holiday sweater that typically only gets worn once or twice a year, what is it about that item that has kept you from embracing it?
Chances are, the fit is a good part of the problem. You know it already, but you may not have wanted to admit as much to yourself. After all, you probably plunked down some cold hard cash on that piece at one point, loved it on the hanger (or online listing), and kept telling yourself you'd make it work one day, but you haven't - and in all likelihood, you never will.
That's okay! Fashion, like all things in life, is not without its own degree of trial and error. Instead of bemoaning the fact that that pair of 1930s beach pajamas, wide shouldered 40s suit, or strapless 50s sundress make you look like you've gained fifteen pounds and/or shrunk three inches, confidently decide to sell or give it away and move on. Focus your attention on the pieces in your closet that work wonders for you and purchase others like them. The more you surround yourself with, and actively wear, fashions that look fabulous on your current figure (and that's a key point unto itself, as few us will have exactly the same figure throughout our whole life), the less likely you'll be to buy items that don't work for us.
You'll have only to spot that over-sized polka dot blouse or Grecian goddess inspired dress to know that, no, no, that's not for you, as you beeline towards the Swiss dots tops and sweetheart neck dresses instead. No one can have everything work for them. That's just a simple fact, and while I do ardently believe that one is free to where whatever they please any, ol' time, objectively most of us to want to get the best out of our figures that we possibly can and making smart fashion choices centered solely around items that we know work well for us is a vital component there.
So the next time you go shopping, online or off, remember to keep your eye out not just for pieces that work well for you, but for those that don't, and before you find yourself tempted to buy a coquettish floral cape or cute culottes, stop and ask yourself, will they actually look good on my body or just when they're hanging in my closet? Your wardrobe, your wallet, and most definitely your figure, will all thank you for it.
