This is continuation to our articles on how to dress for your body type. In this article we are going to look at the apple body shape.
As a quick reminder you have an apple body shape when:
- You have no defined waist
- Weight tends to form on the stomach
- Average bust size
This is a body shape that often develops after 40 when you start to experiences symptoms of (peri)menopause where many women experience the gain of weight around their waist.
To be honest this is not the easiest body shape to dress as many women with this shape will be well aware of. Some women tend to cover it all up with lose garments, which in most cases is not the right thing to do. But the fact is that you can look extremely good if you are wearing the right clothes! What you DO want to do is create the ilusion of a waist and a silhouette, highlight your cleavage and create nice vertical lines.
Below are some rough guidelines what will and will not work for many apple shaped women over 40.
What not to wear?
- Big puffa jackets
- Big shapeless garments that don’t show any waist
- Bulky trousers with lots of pockets and zippers at the front
- High necklines
- Tight clingy T-shirts
- Avoid wearing everything in one solid coloour. Better to mix colour with a texture
Which garments are good for an apple body shape?
Tops
- First of all, since a lot of attention is going to be drawn to the top part of your body, get yourself a good fitting bra.
- Tops that highlight your body at the slimmest point which is often just underneath your bust. They should have enough space for your belly but not be too wide.
- Buy t-shirts that are ruched in the middle. This will confuse the eye and you can’t tell that there’s a big tummy underneath.
- Get Tops with a V-neck to break up the size of your chest and create a lean line.
- Look for tops with a thicker texture that don’t cling so much. Woven tops can be great.
- Patterns tend to look very good on a apple shape body as they flatter and camouflage.
- Tops should cover the whole belly area and end just below the hip bone.
- Shirts look nicest when they are tight just onderneath the boobs and then go out. Also try to get the v shape with your shirts.
- Choose tailered jackets that have a nice v shape at the top.
- Having a tie at the waist is great as it highlights the waist and hides the belly.
- A straight duster coat that ends just above the knee will create a nice long silhouette.
- Make sure that the jacket fits the shoulder perfectly, so choose the size for your shoulders, not your belly. If you can’t close the jacket, you can always use a scarf to fill the gap if you like.
- Dresses should have their waistline just below the bust.
- It’s always good to have some detailing on the tummy area for camouflage.
Bottoms
- Get trousers that have zippers at the side to avoid adding extra bumps on the front.
- Trousers should be wide or straight and not cling to tummy or thighs.
- Also choose jeans that are tailored and wide legged.
- It’s best to get trousers with some stretch for extra comfort and a good fit.
- Choose skirts that have their zippers at the side.
- Make sure that any pleats of skirts start below the belly to avoid adding extra volume.
- Fron under the belly skirts should hang straight.
