Help! I know that dressing for your own shape is a good idea but how do I know what shapes and styles suit me best?
– Sally, 27
Colette:
This is such a common question. Here’s what I encourage you to do; let go of everything you’ve learnt about traditional body shape dressing. You’re not a fruit or a geometric substance. My team and I do not teach our clients the traditional body shape dressing methods as they put you in a box and create way too many rules that are quite challenging to follow.
Instead, get acquainted with The Ratio System™. I developed this to help women of any shape or size, take the guess work out of what styles suit them best. It helps women create a longer, leaner silhouette, by elongating their legs and taking the attention away from their stomach and thighs (which most of our clients say they want to do). This is achieved by creating a 1/3 torso, 2/3 leg ratio as shown in this image.
Also, when you stand in front of the mirror, I need you to pinpoint the part of your body that you consider your “asset”. For example, this could be your legs, your waist or even your décolletage. Concentrate on this and dress with this in mind. When you put on an outfit, ask yourself – is this highlighting my asset or camouflaging my asset?
Let’s say your waist is an asset. Some ways to highlight this are; using waist belts or cropped jackets or, tucking tops in to high-waisted pants or skirts. When you ensure you are highlighting your assets, the eyes lead straight to this and away from the parts you “don’t like so much”; they’re instantly camouflaged.