Fashion Basics; Flattering Silhouettes(body Shapes)

Check out the use of Line

In my last post, I mentioned that the term silhouette is used in two different contexts, although both of them have to do with outside lines.  The first have to do with the silhouette (shape) of the body itself. There are five different geometric body shapes; the triangle, the inverted triangle, the inverted triangle over a triangle (hour glass), the rectangle, and the oval.  The second context is the five different silhouettes for garments; triangular, inverted triangle,hour glass, a rectangle, and an oval (usually only seen in maternity wear). 

In general, it is pretty safe to choose garment silhouettes that match your body type; A-line dresses on triangle shaped bodies,etc.  Certain silhouettes usually are not especially flattering to  certain body types. For instance, if you have an hour glass shape, an A-line (triangular) dress would hide your best feature, a small defined waist.  If you have an inverted triangle shape, an A-line dress would not flatter your trim hipline and legs but would only make you look wider all over.  A-lines dresses usually flatter the rectangular, triangular, and oval shaped figures. Hour glass shaped dresses usually look good on hour glass shapes or triangular shapes if shoulder detail balances the wideness of the hips and the dress is not too tight in the hips. They would only accentuate the thick waist of a rectangle. Rectangles usually look quite good in garments that have an inverted triangle silhouette.  

An inverted triangle garment is narrow at the bottom and usually makes a woman look smaller and thinner all over. This is true for almost all body shapes; it is even true for the triangle, except that the hips will appear larger, not the overall body.(don't worry, pear shapes; inside lines can come to the rescue!)

The second most important line in the silhouette of an upper garment is the shoulder line.  In past years every stylist promoted the necessity for strong shoulder lines, including shoulder pads on almost all upper garments.  Today's relaxed styles have eliminated shoulder pads on many garments; many of today's fashions do not have any shoulder structure to speak of.  Once again, this "rule" does not necessarily hold true or everyone; your own body shape in the shoulder area should dictate how the rule should be applied, if at all.



Once one gains and understands design elements, and with just a little practice,you can become a shape stylist in no time. Remember, the base rule:  Let your mirror be your guide (BTW, your mirror needs to be a three way mirror or a series of mirrors that will allow you to see yourself from all angles.  Today's camera phones and the prevalence of "selfies" are also very helpful.-although I still have problems trying to stage a "selfie".)

This post explains the use of outside lines (the silhouette) of garments and their relationship to body shapes.  We will save discussion on how inside lines affect styling solutions for the next post.

I know most of you already know these of the design principles, but the styling information serves as a reminder.(I try and review this information when evaluating my seasonal purchases)  If   this post is providing new information for the reader, practice a little by trying different sillhouettes on your body. 

It's the little things:

Good posture is one of the most slimming uses of line; Aside from creating a pleasing vertical line for the entire body, it is an aid to offset the illusion of "old age".