Week 1: Dress to Flatter your Shape OVERVIEW For most of us developing and creating our own unique, flattering and pleasing style is not an innate skill. However, as with any skill, it is something that can be learned. What’s needed to help you on your style journey is to: Learn more about you: your proportions, your colouring, your personality, and Learn more about clothes: where to find them, what’s contemporary, how to style clothes into outfits. It’s also good to get into the habit of editing your wardrobe regularly to keep your style in great shape. To make this an easier process I’ve identified what I call the six steps to savvy style. These are: 1. Understanding your shape and how to dress to flatter your shape (Weeks 1 & 2) 2. Expressing your personality and personal values in what you wear (we won’t explicitly be looking at personality in this program, although I ask you to notice and note when your personal preferences come to your attention) 3. Understanding and wearing your best colours (although you won’t be learning your specific colouring in this program, you will be learning about aspects of colouring from a shape perspective that will help you wear colour better) 4. Assessing your grooming (Week 3) 5. Editing and planning your wardrobe (Weeks 3 & 4) 6. Strategic shopping (Week 4) Grooming is a fundamental and ongoing aspect of style and the easiest to fix. Understanding your style criteria (1. shape, 2. colours, and 4. personality) are essential to consistently creating great style. Your style criteria can change over time, but will usually remain constant (when you’ve worked it out) for years at a time, at least until a significant change occurs. (Changes that might trigger a re-assessment of a style criteria could include: a major lifestyle change which may mean you want to change how you reflect your personality eg moving from a city to the country, changing jobs, retiring from paid work a change in your hair colour; a change in your shape such as after child birth, with significant weight changes, or after illness) Style steps 5 and 6 are where you apply your style criteria and create the inspirational wardrobe that takes you everywhere you need and want to go! Depending on your lifestyle, you should aim to work on these steps at least twice every year (ie at the major change of fashion seasons, when temperatures are about to change from cool to warm and vice
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Week 1: Dress to Flatter your Shape
OVERVIEW For most of us developing and creating our own unique, flattering and pleasing style is not
an innate skill. However, as with any skill, it is something that can be learned.
What’s needed to help you on your style journey is to:
Learn more about you: your proportions, your colouring, your personality, and
Learn more about clothes: where to find them, what’s contemporary, how to style
clothes into outfits. It’s also good to get into the habit of editing your wardrobe
regularly to keep your style in great shape.
To make this an easier process I’ve identified what I call the six steps to savvy style. These
are:
1. Understanding your shape and how to dress to flatter your shape (Weeks 1 & 2)
2. Expressing your personality and personal values in what you wear (we won’t
explicitly be looking at personality in this program, although I ask you to notice and
note when your personal preferences come to your attention)
3. Understanding and wearing your best colours (although you won’t be learning your
specific colouring in this program, you will be learning about aspects of colouring
from a shape perspective that will help you wear colour better)
4. Assessing your grooming (Week 3)
5. Editing and planning your wardrobe (Weeks 3 & 4)
6. Strategic shopping (Week 4)
Grooming is a fundamental and ongoing aspect of style and the easiest to fix.
Understanding your style criteria (1. shape, 2. colours, and 4. personality) are essential to
consistently creating great style. Your style criteria can change over time, but will usually
remain constant (when you’ve worked it out) for years at a time, at least until a significant
change occurs.
(Changes that might trigger a re-assessment of a style criteria could include:
a major lifestyle change which may mean you want to change how you reflect your
personality eg moving from a city to the country, changing jobs, retiring from paid work
a change in your hair colour;
a change in your shape such as after child birth, with significant weight changes, or after
illness)
Style steps 5 and 6 are where you apply your style criteria and create the inspirational
wardrobe that takes you everywhere you need and want to go! Depending on your lifestyle,
you should aim to work on these steps at least twice every year (ie at the major change of
fashion seasons, when temperatures are about to change from cool to warm and vice
This is not based on the BMI. It’s a subjective measure of how you look
Bra Cup Size A, B, C, D, E+, DD
Neck Length Short Medium Short Medium Medium Long Long
Select what you think and I’ll verify.
Neck Thickness
Very Thin Average Thick or Double Chin
If your neck is much narrower than your head If in doubt select ‘average’ Neck width similar to width of head or you have a double chin, or no defined chin
Bone Structure
Small Medium Large
Gently wrap your thumb and middle finger around the wrist of the hand you write with: Your thumb and middle finger easily pass each other Your thumb and middle finger just touch There is a gap between your thumb and middle finger
Very sloped from base of neck to edge of shoulder Slightly sloped from base of neck to edge of shoulder Square with little or no slope (swimmers shoulders)
Step 5: Identify any figure challenges
Only select the prominent features that truly apply to you. For every feature you select you
will lose clothing options.
Very Thin Arms Usually associated with very thin body (prefer to keep covered)
Heavy Arms Full fleshy upper arms (usually prefer to keep covered)
Aged Arms Your upper arms have lost their tone and are ‘crepey’ (usually prefer to keep covered)
Sway Back A definite curve in the lower spine causing straight skirts to have a roll of excess fabric below the waistband in the back.
Large Bottom A bottom that is out of proportion to the rest of your body. Straight skirts can be difficult to fit. Your hemlines often rise up at the back. Tops get caught up on your bottom
Flat Bottom You have the appearance of being almost bottomless. Your pants and skirts are often baggy in the back around your bottom and down the back of the leg. The Hem of your skirts and dresses may hang lower in the back.
Bowed Legs Your legs bow outwards anywhere from ankles to thighs and there’s a rounded gap between your legs where they bow.
Thin Legs Legs that are very thin, especially at the ankles
Heavy Lower Legs Legs that are very heavy or thick in the region of the calves and/or ankles. Also select this if your legs are severely marked eg varicose veins, and you prefer to keep them covered.
Saddle Bags Thighs that are very full and wide, dimpled at the top and have the appearance of jodhpurs.
Thick Outer Thighs Thighs that are very full and at the outside edges are substantially wider than the widest part of your hip line.
Thick Inner Thighs Your thighs rub together when you walk.
Large Midriff A large roll at the midriff that makes tucked-in tops and fitted tight garments unflattering.
Large Stomach A full stomach that protrudes in front and causes the hemline of dresses and shirts to rise up in the front.
Dowager’s Hump Select this if you have a head-forward position, with a very rounded shoulder line.
Select a clothing item from your wardrobe, for example, something you love and
wear all the time
Step 2: Assess garment
Start at the top of the garment and work down using your MPS to check:
External design lines
The silhouette DESIGN & COLOUR > Garment Silhouette For SKIRTS and DRESSES > Basic Shapes For PANTS > Pant Width For all other items look at each of the outer style elements in the drop down menu for the item
The length [Garment Type] eg Tops > Length
Internal design lines
Patterns: scale, type, placement
DESIGN & COLOUR > Pattern Scale, Pattern Type, Pattern Placement Also check where the pattern falls on your body. Is it drawing attention to an area you don’t want to draw attention to? Is there a light colour in the pattern over an area you don’t want to draw attention to, or to appear larger? It’s surprising how many women forget to check this detail!
Pocket placement [Garment Type] > Pockets
Borders and other embellishments
Do they form a horizontal line across your widest point? Do they form a horizontal line across your narrowest point? What do embellishments draw attention to? Make sure borders and embellishments are flattering and balancing, rather than emphasising an area you don’t want to emphasise!
Colour changes Where ever there is a change of colour within a garment or an outfit it draws attention, so make sure it falls in over an area you want to draw attention to.
Seams Seams within the silhouette of a garment can also form distracting or enhancing design lines. Seams where the thread is in a contrasting colour to the garment are particularly obvious. So check the orientation and placement of seams and where they fall on your body.