No Pears, No Apples: Dressing For Your Human Body Type

Yes, we’re bringing up this dress again. In our humble opinion, everyone needs a dress like this. Wrap dresses cinch the waist, flatter small and large busts, and accentuate thinner bodies’ curves and smooth and shape already-curvy bods. In a word: perfection.

The biggest name in the game of human body-styling is balance. Puffy sleeves and smocked tops like this one from the Loft balance out fuller busts and offer reliable coverage (aka no gaps and no slips). These textured tops also work to add dimension and depth to smaller, narrow busts.

How to Elongate the Legs

Sassy is the perfect word to describe how you’ll feel in this flirty, flouncy skater skirt from Nordstrom Rack. Above-the-knee skirts help to elongate the legs, and the A-line cuts of skater skirts flatter hippy and narrow figures alike.

If you’d like to look a little less leggy, opt for tops that fall past your hips. Tunic tops like this one from Free People help give the appearance of a more balanced torso to leg ratio and come in lots of neutral colors for endless mix and match options.

Like cropped pants, a midi skirt that falls between the knee and the ankle helps to shorten the appearance of your bottom half. Flowy midis like this one from Lulus help balance the upper and lower halves of the body, narrow the waist, and subtly accentuate the hips.

How to Cinch the Waist

A belt at the narrowest part of your waist (where the torso bends side to side) literally cinches your silhouette, drawing the eyes inward and creating the illusion of a slimmer middle. This skirt does double duty by adding lighter colors only near the hemline; light colors create fullness and volume, dark colors narrow and slim.

Opting for horizontal stripes and wide, full sleeves can give the illusion of a wider torso. This trick is great for petite figures looking to better balance their upper and lower halves without having a lot of height to work with.

A floor-length duster or a hip- or knee-length cardigan can add height without having to reach for a pair of four-inch heels. Pair with high-waisted, dark-wash skinny jeans and a dark shoe to add as much length to the legs as possible.

Before images of JNCO jeans appear in your head, rest assured we’ve come a long way since the 1990s. Wide-legged dress pants, culottes, palazzo pants, and wide-legged jeans have become all of the rage without the angry teenage aesthetic. They also help fill out the legs and, subsequently, narrow the waist.

How to Add Dimension to a Narrow Bust

Thick cords, ruffles, embroidery, and other decorative elements on tops (both cropped and normal) add dimension to flatter chests. Opt for crop tops without a cinched/drawstring waist; these naturally create a wider top half thanks to the bottom hem falling away from the body.

Another quick way to add dimension to a flat chest is with a structured, cropped jacket. Cropped jackets help widen the upper torso the same as crop tops, and moto jackets’ signature wide lapels and zipper details add even more dimension.

A turtleneck can flatten already small chests, but a combination of a high neckline and bare shoulders visually widens the upper torso area. The high neck’s modest coverage suggests a fuller chest, further emphasized by ruffles, pleats, or eye-catching patterns.

How to Minimize a Fuller Bust

Round, scoop, or boat necklines keep the silhouette feminine by showcasing the neck and collarbones while minimizing attention to the chest by stopping just above the cleavage. This affordable go-to dress from Old Navy features a lightly cinched waist so you can be comfortable without feeling like a box.

Large busts have rounded, curved lines. Offset the, well, roundness of that area by opting for angular square necklines. Square necklines offer a flattering contrast between the neck and shoulders and the bust, and the higher coverage is less-risqué than a V-neck without feeling stuffy.

How to Accentuate Upper Arms and Shoulders

The best way to accentuate and broaden narrow upper arms and shoulders is to add dimension via puffy-sleeved tops: balloon, peasant, bishop, and juliet sleeves are great places to start. This Ann Taylor balloon sleeve sweater features an ultra-flattering color and thick, knitted ribs for added depth.

You can also widen your upper torso by showing it off in an off-the-shoulder neckline. A line is drawn directly across your upper half from one arm’s outer edge to the other, creating the illusion of a fuller, more balanced shoulder to hip ratio.

Aside from making you feel like a well-tailored goddess, a structured blazer with defined shoulders adds depth and dimension to your upper torso area, narrows your waist, and pulls away from the hips for an all-around flattering silhouette. We’ve been swearing by this lightweight blazer from Lulus for a while now.

How to Narrow Broad Shoulders

A kimono top’s drop-sleeve silhouette not only narrows broad shoulders; it’s also a breezy, comfortable way to cover the upper arms, shoulders, and neck without feeling stuffy. We’re currently in love with this flowy cardigan-kimono hybrid with eye-catching detail from Free People.

If your upper half is wider than your top half, create the illusion of a balanced ratio with wide-legged pants. Printed, patterned, or textured wide-legged pants also work to draw the eye towards the bottom half, automatically creating the illusion of balance.

It might seem counterintuitive to narrow the shoulder area by exposing it, but it’s all about those continuous lines. By breaking up the distance from one shoulder to the other with a diagonal one-shoulder strap, the distance spanned by the upper torso is shortened, and the shoulders appear more narrow.