How to DRESS for your BODY SHAPE (PART 1) | Look elegant, no matter your shape

Welcome back to my youtube channel. My name is Katja Benita and today we will talk about body shapes and how to dress according to your body shape so that you can look and feel your best. In order to go in depth for each and every body shape this is the first of two parts so stay tuned. Looking at fashion magazines and catwalks women might be very slim and have a fragile look. In reality however women have curves as they are actually designed to have curves. It's natural, it's feminine and it's sexy so there is no way to feel guilty about it. Of course all women wish for the perfect body but let me tell you one thing straight away. We need to understand that everyone has their problem area. That's nature and that's totally fine. Let me explain this further. The reality is you cannot alter your basic body line by diet or exercise. It will remain the same throughout your life because your body line is largely based on your skeleton and genes. Moreover the distribution of your body fat is also dependent on your genes. So if you tend to have extra weight on your hips and legs you will most likely have a proportionally smaller waist. Conversely women who carry extra weight around their stomach area will have straight hips and bottoms. Here is the catch. While you think you may have a certain problem area understanding your body type will lead to the bigger picture where you know how to look best in the body you are born with. There is nothing like the perfect body but a perfect body for each individual body shape. There are simple tricks and tips any woman can use to improve her appearance regardless of her size or shape. This is why it's so important to understand your basic shape. It will give you the knowledge to choose clothes that flatter your body line and balance your scale and proportions because size doesn't matter but shape does. Wearing the right clothes is about choosing what actually suits you and what makes you feel comfortable and confident. There are six different body shapes one can have. A neat hourglass, full hourglass, triangle, oval, rectangle and an inverted triangle. You can identify your body shape by simply looking at the mirror but it might be easier for you to take your body measurements on your shoulders, bust, waist and hips. Make sure you wear tight fitted clothing and no bra when you take your measurements as this will lead to false results. For your bust choose the widest point. For your waist choose the narrowest point which is below your rib cage and for your hips take the widest point which is usually at the level of the crotch. In general a balanced curvy body figure is perceived as beautiful. Based on your body shape you may already have beautiful curves, maybe in the hip area if you're a triangle body shape. But regardless of your shape you can alter your appearance easily by adding balance to your appearance, by emphasizing different body zones and by redirecting the focus. You can say goodbye to your former problem zone and feel more confident with a beautiful and balanced body shape. So in the following I will provide in-depth information about the three body shapes triangle, inverted triangle and rectangle. The second part of this short series is then all about the oval, the neat hourglass and the full hourglass. Regardless of your specific body shape it makes sense to become familiar with all shapes. By this you create a great understanding about the nuances why certain styles and outfits look beautiful on you while a quite similar one is somehow flawed. Also by understanding all body shapes you can better advise your friends at your next shopping trip. If you don't want to miss the second part subscribe to my channel and hit the bell. Analyze your body and play with different styles, colors and patterns and you will see the beautiful impact this can have if done correctly. It might take some time to train your eye and get the feeling for different shapes and forms but I will also provide some celebrities as an example so you can use their clothing as a guide. Starting off with the first body shape. If your hips are the widest part of your body you have a so-called triangle shape which is the most common body shape among women. You have full hips and thighs, a defined waist and in general a top half that appears smaller. Your shoulders might slope and are narrower than your hips so the focus of your body weight lies in the bottom part as you carry weight on your hips and thighs. Women with a triangle body shape are for instance Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez or Alicia Keys. As a triangle shaped woman here are the golden rules. You can bring all the attention to your top half of the body as this is your biggest asset and your strategy should be to accentuate your bust or shoulders and minimize your bottom and hips. Basically this can be achieved by building a horizontal line at the level of the shoulders and by elongating your legs but I will explain this more in detail in a moment. So starting off with your upper part what works best for you are boat necks, horizontal stripes or off shoulder tops as this creates the horizontal line that I mentioned previously. This works really well for you as it widens your upper body visually. When it comes to jackets and tops they should be wider at the top slimming down towards the bottom. This can be achieved with padded shoulders for instance and another great tip is to buy jackets or tops that fit your shoulders rather than your hips because you can always leave the bottom button undone. Moreover your jackets and tops need to finish either above or below the widest point of your hips otherwise your body will look less balanced. Another great way to accentuate your bust area is to layer on your top half which creates visual interest and draws the eye upwards. The same goes for any pattern on your upper half it is a great way as well to draw attention to your upper body. As a consequence always wear plain colors below your waist. When it comes to skirts and trousers please forget about slim and skinny pants. It's way better to choose flared pants because again it balances out the width of the hips and makes them look relatively thin. Avoid any skirts or trousers that have lots of details or too many pockets as they will draw the attention more to your bottom half. Speaking about details you can use bigger accessories on your upper part for instance a statement necklace, statement earrings, scarves as well as heels or shoes with platforms as these will elongate your legs. For dresses the best ones you can wear are a-line dresses as these will highlight your waist and hide the hips as there is a lot of fabric flaring out. Or another great option would be bestia dresses as these like i mentioned earlier again create a horizontal line which balances your shape. If the widest part of your body is your breast you have an inverted triangle shape. This is more of an athletic build that women can reach more by training rather than nature. Your shoulders are wider than your hips and you have a straight rib cage. Most often the shoulders are straight and squared. There is a little definition between waist and hips and the bottom half seems smaller than your top half. Here as an example we have princess Charlene of Monaco, Renée Zellweger who played Bridget Jones, Angelina Jolie and Naomi Campbell. As an inverted triangle you have great shoulders. To balance the upper and lower parts of your body you need to highlight your hips and bottom focusing all attention below the waist. This is your biggest asset and this can be achieved by building more of a rectangular shape and by elongating your legs. It will help you to balance your shoulders so generally speaking there should be minimum detail on your shoulder line. Keep this area as simple as possible. Starting off with the upper part what works best for you are necklines that play down the width of your shoulders and bust. These are for instance deep and narrow scoop U or V necklines or even just tops with wide straps. It is also beneficial to wear shirts that flare from the waist to the hips as this gives an illusion of shape. Moreover asymmetric styles help to break up the chest vertically. If you have a small bust even halter necks can elongate your silhouette. Try to avoid wearing anything of shoulder straight and squared or puff sleeves. Of course the same goes for dresses. Here ideal dresses would be for instance tulip shaped dresses, web dresses without many details in the upper part. A-line dresses with a V or a scoop neck or even dresses with an empire waist. Generally you look stunning in dresses that are not so tight at the waist as this makes the shoulders look thinner relative to the rest of the body. Moreover you can wear geometric patterns above and below the waistline to balance the clothing line. Your clothing line needs to be straight clean and sharp and your silhouette should be uncluttered. Avoid any frills and flounces as well as soft fabrics that are lightweight and sheer. Another great tip that can be easily implemented is wearing long sleeved clothing as this will hide the ankle on your shoulders attracting the attention away from your shoulders. Moreover as i already mentioned indirectly cleavage is also a good alternative to draw the attention away from your shoulders. Here opt for muted colors. When it comes to pants you can wear any style that accentuates or adds volume to the bottom and leg line. Here slim types are not so flattering for your body. Rather go for palazzo pants as they hide where the hips actually are but still look very feminine as they are flowing while you move which is very elegant. And if you want to wear more slim fitted trousers try straight or cigarette style trousers as these will balance your silhouette better than skinny fits. For the lower part you can wear brighter or lighter colors to attract attention more towards your bottom part. Moreover you can add lots of details like pockets patterns and prints. Regarding skirts you can wear anything that adds volume to the hips and you can choose bright colors horizontal stripes or even patterns. You can even wear both short flared or long and flowing skirts. Only avoid anything that is very tight fitted as this will again make your shoulders appear wider. Coming to the last body shape of today's video the rectangle. If you found this video helpful so far please subscribe to my channel if you haven't done it yet so you don't miss the second part and more insights for your elegance journey. Also i'm highly interested in your experiences with body shapes and which tips you might have. You have a rectangle shape if your shoulders, bust and hips are around the same size. Usually the waist is less than 25 percent smaller than your bust. You have a straight shoulder line, straight hips and a straight bottom. Your shoulders hips and stomach area create a line as there is only a very little waist definition. Generally the bust is more on the smaller side but some rectangles also have a fuller bust which gives a softer edge to their shape. Great examples are Cara Delevingne, Kate Moss or Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman or Princess Diana. Basically most of the models have a rectangle shape as it is easier for designers to dress them since there is no tailoring needed at the waist or the shoulders. As a rectangle you can basically wear whatever you want as there is nothing that you need to hide to balance your body. The only thing that you can do is to soften the edges more and create the appearance of curves. For that you can define your waist or you can proportionally add volume to your upper and lower body to create more shape. To break up the straight silhouette you can invest in a good push-up bra, wear very structured clothes keeping the clothing line straight or you can play with different cuts, shapes, geometric patterns and colors. Here wearing bright colors on your upper and lower body but not on your waist creates the appearance of curves. Moreover avoid shapeless oversized clothing and don't tuck any garment into your trousers or skirts. When it comes to tops the only neckline you should avoid is a straight squared neck as this will add squareness to your body. Generally you can wear anything that adds interest and volume to the upper or lower body. So embellished tops, cuffed sleeves are nice as well as flared sleeves. They create more volume and make you look curvier. For jackets they should be structured. You can try a piplum style, belted jackets and even a double-breasted blazer. Again anything that gives you more shape and form is perfect for you. Moreover embellishments around shoulders, bust and hip lines are also desirable as this adds dimension to your straight body. Moving on to trousers you should avoid slim fit trousers as this emphasizes your straight silhouette. Of course unless you want to highlight this aspect. Opt for low to mid-rise trousers as well as flowy and soft fabrics to soften the angled frame. When it comes to skirts they are an ideal way to add volume to the lower body especially if they have ruffles, pleats, bright and light colors. Try to wear skirts that define the waist and are flared and moreover detailed skirts are also perfect to add interest to the lower part. For dresses you can wear anything that is not boxy, baggy and does not flare out too wide at the bottom. Maybe you could try strategic color blocking around the waist as the eye will naturally narrow the area without adding anything else to your body. So these were the first three of the six body shapes. Could you already identify with one of them? Let me know in the comments if you had some experiences with such body shapes and your tips. I will explain the body shapes over neat hourglass and full hourglass in the next video so stay tuned. Thanks for watching and see you again soon!