When it comes to what is in style and what is not, it’s pretty much subjective. This is to mean that what may be exquisite to you may not be so grand to another person. That’s the beauty of fashion – diversity! It’s never cast in stone. For trends of what best flatters the apple-shaped woman, there are simple guidelines that you can follow to achieve that alluring appearance. Here’s how;
Apple shaped women should opt for clothing that distracts from their middle section and highlights some of their other body features such as their busts and legs. This would mean that you select clothes that do not hug or highlight every bump and lump in your belly area, but instead clothes that distract the eye upwards to your bust or downwards to your legs or both. In distracting the eye, you should aim to balance out your frame to have equal or near-equal proportions of your upper body to your lower body. Here, the type of fabric, texture, style, structure and length of what you wear will be of essence.
There are numerous fashion options to style an apple-shaped woman. But, the first fashion step is the awareness of what constitutes an apple-shape figure, and what the distinct features of this silhouette in comparison to other body shapes and frames are.
According to Dr. Nina Franklin, http://ninacheriefranklin.com/get-fit/means-apple-shaped-body/ an apple-shaped woman is one with a larger middle section. Her torso is predominant because of the accumulation of fat tissues in and around her belly area, shoulders, and in most cases arms. This gives the impression of a ‘muffin top’ because of the hefty appearance of her mid-section in proportion to her lower half.
This is definitely not a disadvantage, as most apple-shaped figures come with great legs and a curvy full bust. Playing up these features, to showcase those slender lovely legs or highlight your fuller bust are some of the ways you can flaunt your figure, wherever you go. Bear in mind, there are several women with apple shaped figures who look stylish. Celebrities such as Amy Schumer, Adele and petite apple shapes as Liz Harley, continuously dazzle the fashion scene with the mastery of their shape and wearing pieces that looks great on them. There is simply no excuse to look flabby.
Before delving into actual clothing styles, here are some of the things you would want to consider as you pick and select your outfits.
- Your Age
- Your Height
- Your Style
- Season/weather
Age is crucial in determining what look to go for. Often, elder women would prefer more formal looks, cuts and structures, whereas more youthful women may desire pieces that are more playful and vibrant. Equally important is your height, if you are short and would like to have an elongated appearance, you should shop with this in mind and pick pieces that help give this illusion. Conversely, if you are tall and would want to down play this, you should pick pieces that vertically ‘cut’ across your silhouette or darker pieces such as an all-black outfit that optically decreases your height.
Your personal style is also essential. Fashion becomes ambivalent if you wore things that did not make you feel good or reflect your persona and imprint. You should like what you wear, period. Always think of what you want to portray or express to the world then tailor-make your wardrobe to the same. Lastly, you should factor in the season/weather because these will heavily influence your styling options and choices.
How to Style an Apple Shaped Figure
The difficulty and near dilemma that confronts most apple-shaped women is in identifying the proper clothe ‘size’ for their frame. This is because of their disproportionate thick upper body and substantially smaller or slender lower body. Some women mistakenly opt to wear larger unflattering sizes as a ‘safe option’.
Girl, dress to flaunt not to hide! Go for fitted pieces as opposed to oversized ones. This includes tops, skirts, blazers, pants and dresses. Well-fitted clothes tend to flatter your body giving you a strong feminine aura. Wearing over-sized apparel, gives the impression that you are trying to hide your frame. As much as that may be true to some of us, it should not be that obvious. Take your time and pick the size that best flatters your frame.
At this juncture, it’s important to differentiate between ‘fitting clothes’ and ‘small clothes’. The latter are those that tend to squeeze you out of breathe. You should stay clear of these as they tend to cause your midsection to bulge out upwards, if its pants or skirts you are wearing, or bulge downwards, if it’s a small top or blouse you have on. All in all, this is very unflattering to anybody frame.
For your best fashion hay-days, you can try the following additional tips and tricks to achieve a stylish and polished look.
1. Add Structure
Greater structure can be achieved by highlighting particular features other than your torso region and balancing out your proportions. Structure helps you achieve a polished crisp look as opposed to a sagging or blunt look.
- Create a Higher Waist-line- Belt it up!
According to Deborah https://www.fabulousafter40.com/5-tips-for-dressing-your-apple-shaped-body/ in most instances, apple-shaped women may lack a distinct waistline. However you can create one by synching a belt at the smallest part of your waist, this part is usually higher than your natural waistline. If you do not have a belt, you can go for tops or dresses that are structured to synch you just below your boobs.
- Strategically Create Other Focal Points
Your neckline, chest, synched waistline and legs are other features you can highlight and center your outfit on. This helps keep attention off of your belly area, which is superb. You can choose to highlight your neck with a neck piece or scarf that is left to drape down the sides; you can highlight your bust by picking deep V-cuts or plunging necklines and highlight your legs by picking short pieces that reveal your legs.
- Pick a 2-piece outfit
A 2-piece suit or style gives you more room to play around with when it comes to balancing your upper and lower halves. Instead of an overall one-piece dress that may tend to flatter one half and disadvantage the other, pick complementary pieces which you can individually work with to give an overall impression of a balanced appearance.
- Add a 3rd piece
Dresses are not out of the picture, in any way. You can add a blazer, cardigan or a fitting overall over your dress or your two-piece outfit to add more detail and finishing to the look. Be cautious, however, not to pick pieces that increase the volume of your upper half. Go for single-breasted and well-fitting blazers and overalls instead.
2. Patterns and Color
Playing with patterns and colors is enjoyable. You may never know what works for you unless you try. You can come up with interesting pieces by mixing and matching your pieces, by keeping this in mind:
- The art of vertical lines
Vertical lines are an absolute gift to apple-shaped women. They seamlessly do what we need them to – distract from the mid-section. Vertical lines tend to trick the eye to only see the width within them. This means that well-spaced distinct vertical lines can easily give the impression of a narrower mid-section. In addition to this, vertical lines give an elongated appearance, thus further helping to ‘stretch out’ the ‘bulk’ around the mid-section.
- Color-blocking and patterns
A touch of color or a distinct pattern may be all that your outfit needs. Color blocking is one of the best ways to infuse your personality and a touch of contemporary class to an outfit. For an apple-shaped woman – embrace color. Pick patterns that draw away from your-midsection. For example, a black dress with a white vertical band at the front that runs from the neckline to the hem of the dress. The use of this simple pattern is commonly referred to as ‘splicing.’ As fashion blogger Carmeilli in https://middleagedmama.com.au/style-inspiration-from-apple-shaped-celebrities/ puts it.
3. Fabric
We all know that when picking any apparel, the type and style of the fabric must be put into account. Different types of fabric- fit and feel differently. There are fabrics that stretch and are more form fitting, whereas others are too stiff and rigid. An apple-shaped figure should select tops, blouses, skirts or pants that:
- Are moderately light and flowing in nature
According to Giedre, flowy fabric helps to skim over your curves and gives a general outline of your lovely body frame. Don’t go for jersey fabric or figure-hugging fabric as they tend to show every lump and bump on your waistline. Also avoid stiff fabric, because they tend to swallow up your body frame and blur every possible curve. In selecting a piece, go for a dress or blouse that naturally falls down off your bust and shoulders.
- Go for textured fabric, if you are wearing solid colors.
Textured fabric adds detail and persona to your outfit which draws the eyes to them. Textured fabric is especially good with garments on the lower half of your body. Avoid shinning or metallic fabric on your upper half as the ‘bright illuminating effect’ tends to draw the eye into your mid-section. Also avoid very light and flimsy fabric which tends to move around and not sit in place. Instead go for fabric that sits well over your frame.
- No bulky knits for sweaters
Sweaters are delightful especially in the chilly weather. Large bulky knits tend to give an enlarged appearance thus making every body part it covers bigger. This consequently emphasizes your mid-section. Rather than large knits, you can opt for smaller knits which are mild or neutral in effect.
4. Apparel Designs
- Upper body
In addition to their wide mid-section, apple-shaped women have broad shoulders which need not be highlighted or emphasized. Selecting tops that have asymmetrical cuts and also carefully placed draping, make wide shoulders appear more flattering. However, apple-shapes should avoid off-shoulder designs, for this typically emphasizes their wide shoulders. Also, batman shaped sleeves, voluminous kimono tops are fashion don’ts. Instead, go for styles that slim down your wide shoulders by incorporating pieces with defined and structured neck lines.
Spoon shaped, deep V-necked or a plunging neck line tops are some of the ways to flatter your chest area and distract from both your mid-section and wide shoulders. A distinctively defined neckline draws attention to the neck, and shortens the distance between the neckline and chest. This gives the impression of a perkier set of boobs. The longer the length between your neckline and breasts, the more sagging your breasts look, the shorter the length, the firmer these babies look.
According to Giedre, ruffles and turtle necks are generally discouraged. The former because it simply adds volume and bulk to one’s overall appearance while the latter, elongates the distance between your neckline and bust, leading to ‘sagging’ breasts. However, there is no cast in stone rule. You can wear a ruffled top and a turtle neck with an additional 3rd piece such as a blazer or jacket. The vertical lines created by the blazer may distract the ‘bulk’ or the ‘sagging’ on your upper half. Simply play with things and see how they look.
- Lower body
On your lower half- go for pieces that add a bit more volume so that they balance out your heavy upper body. A-line skirts and flared out trousers are splendid choices. Avoid leggings as they tend to slim down your legs, thus giving a disproportionate overall look. Instead you can wear jeggings
Short skirts, dresses and shorts are also wonderful options. These draw attention to your legs. However, do not go for very short pieces as the shorter they are the nearer they are to your torso region, thus increasing volume/bulk to your mid-section. So moisturize those legs honey and show them off!
As for shoes, avoid chunky shoes as they will steal away the attention from your legs. Instead opt for shoes such as sandals, flats or the classic pumps which will elongate your frame. Wearing shoes strapped at your ankle may give the impression of shorter legs, as they cut vertically. If you want to increase length, avoid them but if you want to reduce your length they are a subtle trick to look some inches shorter.
Final thoughts
There are great options for apple-shaped women to infuse to their everyday styling to add dazzle and sass. The above guidelines shall be of help. Ensure to choose what works for you and what you feel comfortable in. Have fun experimenting and just being you. Be sure to check out our top picks for more ideas.
