In the wild west world of women’s clothing, sizes are trivial, fabric and construction can be questionable, and body shapes are reduced to fruits. We are told that pears should do this, apples that, and hourglasses are the golden children of fashion possibilities.
As real-life humans made of bones and squishy bits, we are here to cut the crap. Dressing for your body type should be dressing however makes you comfortable. Love a crop top? Rock a crop top. Love high-waisted jeans? Wear. Them.
Rather than focusing on making apples look like pears or pears look like hourglasses (and on and on it goes), we’d rather prioritize what clothes can do for us. There are no “no-nos,” and we don’t care "what clothes men love the most." Is he going to be buying and wearing these clothes? No? That’s what we thought.
We’ll explore how to emphasize, lengthen, minimize, and cinch any human body type. First up are three wardrobe essentials that work for humans of any size or shape.
High-Rise Slim-Cut Jeans
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Skinny, slim-cut, and straight legged-jeans make legs look longer effortlessly, and opting for a high-waisted rise adds even more inches. Pair these sturdy Levi dark-wash jeans with a tucked-in blouse or crop top for legs that go on for miles.
Smocked and Puffy-Sleeved Tops
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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
Above the Knee Skater Skirts
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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.
Go-To Heeled Booties
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A quick way to lengthen the legs is to wear heels. We’re not talking stilettos (unless that’s your thing); anything equal to or higher than two inches should do the trick. These booties made by Clarks are comfortable, versatile, and durable.
How to Shorten the Legs
Tunic Tops
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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.
Cropped Pants
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Uninterrupted lines create length. To shorten the legs, interrupt the line of your silhouette with cropped jeans, culottes, or capris. These high-rise straight ankle jeans from Lee come in two washes: an everyday medium-wash and retro royal blue cords.
Flowy Midi Skirts
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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
Belted High-Waisted Bottoms
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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.
Off the Shoulder Flounce Tops
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Whether a bodysuit like this one or a separate top, flounced, off-the-shoulder necklines create a wider shoulder and neck area, making the waist appear smaller. Create even more of a contrast between your bust, waist, and hips by pairing flounce necklines with wide-legged pants or full skirts.
How to Add Body Volume
Wider Torso: Horizontal Stripes and Big Sleeves
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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.
Longer Length: Dusters and Long Cardigans
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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.
Fuller Legs: Wide-Legged Pants
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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
Textured Tops and Crop Tops
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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.
Cropped Moto (and Other Structured) Jackets
redirect.viglink.comAnother 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.
High Necklines with No Sleeves
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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 Neck Waist-Defining Dresses
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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.
Square Necklines
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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
Puffy-Sleeved Tops
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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.
Off the Shoulder Necklines
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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.
Blazer with Structured Shoulders
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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
Kimono Tops
redirect.viglink.comA 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.
Wide-Legged Pants
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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.
One-Shoulder Tops
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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.
