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- How to Dress An Hourglass Body Shape
How to Dress An Hourglass Body Shape
With its balanced proportions and feminine waist, the hourglass is often upheld as the ideal female shape. Indeed, when perceptions of female beauty were researched at the University of Texas, the researchers found that a small waist is a core feature of feminine beauty that transcends countries and cultures - from Jessica Rabbit to Beyonce Knowles.
While your curvy hips and boobs are beautifully balanced, sometimes your womanliness can be a barrier to fashion. Smock dresses make you feel pregnant, skinny jeans just don't look skinny and boxy blazers are bulky.
"Hourglasses may feel frustrated at not being able to walk out of uber-fashionable boutiques armed with bags of the latest styles, but your shapely proportions mean there'll be something for you in every shop, whether it's a fitted jacket, strapless dress, sexy sweater, crisp shirt (you fill it so well) or gorgeous belt," says stylist Emer Dewar. "And if you want to make a nod to fashion, you can do it with colour, fabric and accessories."
Tips for Hourglass Shapes
- Use puff-sleeves or epaulettes on a jacket to emphasise your shoulder-line.
- An A-line skirt teamed with a fitted top will mirror your fabulous hourglass shape. Make like Marilyn Monroe and use some 50s-inspired accessories to complete your look.
- A peplum detail on a skirt creates a line down from the waistline to the hip, which will exaggerate your curvy hips.
- You can wear any shape skirt, but the pencil skirt is the most flattering on you. Team with a simple shirt, tucked in and unbuttoned to reveal a little cleavage.
- Straight-legged jeans that skim your thighs and are cropped at the ankle work well for you. Bootcut jeans will balance your curves - look for darker shades and ones with large pockets on the bum.
- High-waisted, wide-legged trousers will emphasise the curve of your hip without making your bottom half look big.
- Use draping to your advantage. Not only will it accentuate your curves - look for diagonal draping from the waist to hip area - but will also disguise the tummy area.
- Wear fitted clothes but make sure they're not too tight. Consider going one size up so your clothes really mirror your figure, rather than pull at it.
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