I bought a gorgeous little top the other day – a chiffon top with an empire waist and awesome drape perfect for concealing a big stomach. I fell in love when I saw it, tried it on and it looked fabulous. Just like that a wonderful relationship began. But, sadly it was not to be. The first, and only time, I wore it, the entire day I felt really uncomfortable. By the end of the day I’d worked out that the problem was that it just revealed more than I was comfortable with, which is pretty confusing given that the neckline wasn’t particularly low cut or sheer and did in fact cover more of my chest that I would usually go for. What it did do was draw attention to my breasts, which hey, usually I’m happy with cause then it means they’re not looking at my butt or worse my stomach, but in this particular case I felt over exposed. I felt like my breasts were the only thing anyone saw of me that day and I hate when people have conversations with my breasts. They’re not overly talkative as a rule.
What parts of our body that we choose to reveal and conceal is a deeply personal issue and it rarely has anything to do with shape. For instance you might find two pear-shaped ladies of approximately the same size and one hates her butt with a passion bordering on psychotic and the other loves her generous feminine curves. Its simply a matter of personal choice.
Dressing to flatter your particular body shape is all about misdirection – directing eyes away from flaws and to parts of your body that you find more attractive. Much of what I’ve already shared with you is about creating a more even silhouette and it assumes if you have a big ass then you’re going to be comfortable showing off your breasts in order to balance things out. But, as for me, that may not be the case. Each person needs to decide for themselves what parts of their body they want to reveal and what they want to conceal.
No, concealing the whole lot is not an option! Every stylish outfit has one point of interest. If you have a beautiful top with a bright pattern, or lovely beading then it will be the focus of the outfit and it should be paired with a more understated bottom half, like fabulous jeans or a plain well-cut skirt. If you show lots of leg then your top half needs to be more conservative, or vice versa for a low cut top. It’s all about balance. One of the things I’ve been guilty of in the past is wearing clothes that are all neutral which pretty much makes me slide into the background. Instead now I pair the plain jeans and sweater with a big piece of jewellery, or fantastic shoes or handbag to bring some interest.
My lesson with my gorgeous blouse, my very expensive gorgeous blouse that I only ever wore once before gifting to my delighted daughter, is that I need to pay particular attention to what I put on top and whether it reveals more than I’m comfortable with. What works for you? . I’ll be focusing on particular clothes in the future and the way to use them to reveal or conceal particular parts of your body, so get to know what your personal preferences.
Good shopping
LISA
