​Clothing can add volume, create shape, re-balance, highlight and disguise, but if you don’t have a good understanding of your shape and what you might want to re-balance or highlight, or where you might want to add volume or shape, you may well end up spending money on clothes that don’t look as good as you’d hoped they would.
A really great way to get a better understanding of your shape is to align it with one of the 4 elementary body-types (you’ll have heard of them – Apple Pear, Hourglass and Column) as this will help to simplify your shape, making it easier for you to identify your attributes and to figure out your proportions.
But there’s more to this body-type malarkey than just simplifying your shape! Scroll on to find out 5 reason why it's a good idea to find out what your body-type is!
WHY IDENTIFYING YOUR BODY-TYPE IS A GOOD IDEA
1/ Identifying your body-type helps you to understand some of the frustrations you might have with your shape.
For example, if your shape is most like the Pear body-type then you’ll discover that the reason you struggle to find jeans that don’t gape at the back is because you’re curvier on the bottom half than your top half, and you have a defined waist that many jeans styles don’t account for. Once you start to understand why you’re experiencing a particular frustration, you can start to look for ways to solve it. So, in the case of jeans for pear shapes, you can start to look for styles that are tailored for a curvy fit.
2/ Uncovering which of the elementary body-types you align with the most can give you a sense of belonging or camaraderie.
There’s something reassuring about discovering you’re not alone, that you’re not the only one struggling to wear certain clothing styles because of your shape. It’s a relief to know that there are others struggling with similar frustrations as you!
3/ The process of uncovering your body-type will encourage you to look at your body as a whole rather than focus on the areas you’re less happy with.
Once you start to look at your shape as a whole, you start to notice great things you’d not seen before, such as a defined waist, a wonderful long neck, or great legs!
4/ It helps you be more appreciative of your shape
You probably view your shape with a rather more critical and unkind eye than others do. But once you start to assess your shape and look at it as a whole – as they do – you’ll start to notice the great things about your shape and focus less on those things that bothered you. And in turn, your confidence will start to grow. When I started to assess my shape properly I was surprised to learn that my top and bottom half aren’t as unbalanced as I had thought, and I started to worry less about whether something made me look bottom heavy (which was what I had spent years worrying about).
5/ And finally, it helps you to dress your shape so you make the absolute best of it
Identifying which of the 4 elementary body-types is most like yours enables you to find and follow a set of general guidelines to dressing to flatter your shape. This will give you more focus and confidence when you go shopping, and will help you create outfits that you enjoy wearing!
​If you don't know what your body-type is, and you'd like to find out, I’ve created a simple quiz for you that will tell you in a matter of minutes!
Just click the button below to start ​THE QUIZ