Bottom-heavy
If your hips are wider than your shoulders and your thighs are round, you have a classic pear-shaped body. Dressing is a snap if you remember to accentuate the positives: a shapely waist, delicate upper body and attractive shoulders and arms.
Bottoms
- Avoid anything too tight.
- A-line skirts that hit around the knee area are ideal because they draw attention away from problem areas. Miniskirts are generally a bad idea because they accentuate heavy thighs.
- Pant waists should fall somewhere below the natural waistline for a better fit. A straight or slightly bootcut leg is the most flattering. Avoid patterned or light-colored pants. Skip fussy details like big cargo pockets, rouching or excessive zippers around the hip area.
- Shorts can be tricky, but for workouts and casual wear choose lightweight, loose-fitting shorts (no bike shorts). Slimming side stripes on shorts can give the illusion of sleekness.
Tops
- Avoid too-baggy tops or too-tight tops: the looser tops will make you look large all over, the tight tops will make you look out of proportion to your hips. Look for fitted -- not skintight -- T-shirts (something with some stretch) and button-front tops. V-necks, turtlenecks and open collars all call attention to the face, which is always a good thing.
- Jackets and blazers should hit anywhere but the widest point of your hips. That could mean right below the waist to mid-thigh, depending on your height. Wear jackets and blazers open for the best vertical lines.
Dresses
- Look for dresses that nip in at the waist and slightly flare out over hips and thighs.
- You can pull off a full-skirted ballgown because it will hide heavy hips and thighs.
- Try sleeveless and strapless dresses to play up pretty shoulders and arms.
- An empire, or raised waist dress brings the eye up away from problem areas. Careful, though. Sometimes this gets mistaken for a maternity look with fuller figures.
Body basics for every figure
- Wear colors that look great on you. Not sure what those are? Grab a trusted friend and head to the mall. Hold up tons of colors next to your face and get feedback from your friend. Hues that compliment most complexions: pink, blue, white (you'll just need to change the intensity of these colors to suit your coloring, i.e. hot pink for darker skins, carnation for fairer, ivory for olive tones, etc.)
- Nobody looks good in high-waisted, pleated pants with narrow ankle openings, but manufacturers still turn these out in droves. Avoid!
- Don't worry about being trendy when you look at what suits your figure: concentrate on what flatters, and add up-to-date shoes, handbags and accessories later
8 ways to flatter a bottom-heavy figure:
1. Fitted pieces: Balance figure with colour
You can wear a fitted suit, even with a slim skirt, if you are bottom heavy. Just remember:
- Keep the line long by using all one color with slim-cut pieces. It elongates and slims the figure.
- Choose fitted jackets that end well above your widest point.
- Wear a top or jacket with structured shoulders, puffy sleeves, etc. to balance out your larger bottom half.
- Rely on a form-fitting, but never tight, skirt in a non-clingy fabric
One of the classic recommendations for the bottom-heavy figure is the full skirt. It's still a great option, especially for dresses. How to make the full skirt work:
- Go for a fit and flare silhouette. Draw attention to the waist with a belt, gathers, band or other feature. The skirt should flare out from the fitted waist.
- Take the fit and flare silhouette one step further by opting for a strapless dress. You'll get the benefit of showing off your shoulders, while concealing your hips. Also, the strong line of bare shoulders helps balance a wider bottom half.
You can look great in jeans. The key is to choose leg openings and back pockets to fit your figure. Here's how:
- Bootcut leg openings are the most flattering jean legs of all. The slight flare balances out wider hips and fuller thighs.
- Opt for a darker wash jean for the most slimming look.
- Five-pocket styling looks best, but you'll want to avoid excessive embellishment on the back pockets if the size of your backside bothers you.
- The longer the jeans, the longer (and thinner) your legs look. Wear bootcut jeans as long as you possibly can without having them bunch up around your legs. If you can stand them, pair jeans with high heels for a super-flattering look.
Another way to balance the bottom-heavy figure is to accentuate your top half with prints.
Vertical stripes, menswear checks or plaids, florals and polka dots are all great options.
Wear a solid pant or skirt and keep jackets short (never let a jacket end right at the widest point of your hips).5. Go for a raised Waist:
If your natural waistline is thick, along with full hips and thighs, one of your best options in dresses is the empire-waist (raised waist) dress.With this silhouette, the focus is shifted to only the top third of your body because the waist falls right below the bustline. This look works best with pear-shaped women who are small-busted.
6. Pick a Pretty Neckline:
You don't need a plunging V-neck or tons of cleavage to pull this off. What you do need is added interest -- a sweetheart neckline, a halter, a knotted front -- to draw attention up and towards your face.
7. Light on top, dark on bottom:
As basic as it sounds, the best way to use color to camouflage/highlight figure areas is to use contrasts.The black bottom with white top works like a dream: it brings the eye up to the lightest hue and the top half of the body.
8. Swimwear: Choose Slimming
The idea of high-cut legs on your swimsuit may make you uncomfortable, but they are a flattering way to make your legs look miles long. Here are more Do's and Don'ts for swimwear:
- Don't wear boy shorts. They'll look boxy on you because they accentuate thighs.
- Do choose swimwear with graphic interest -- vertical stripes, colorblocking -- strategically placed to draw the eye up.
- Don't wear a teeny-weeny bikini bottom. The less fabric on bottom, the fleshier you'll look from the waist down.
Your main style aim is...
...to balance your top half to your bottom half by creating the appearance of a wider upper body.
Do wear...
- Accessories and designs to draw attention to your upper body
- Short-sleeved tops
- Shoulder pads to broaden your shoulders. This may sound very 80s advice, but they really do work. However, they should not be visible
- Medium to high necklines
- Garments to emphasize your waist
- Skirts and dresses that are straight or slightly flared
- Low rise pants to avoid gaping at the waist
- Boot leg and straight pants
Don't wear...
- Baggy garments
- Stiff fabric
- Garments that add bulk to your hips
- Hems or design lines at hip-line
- Open pleats on skirts or pants
- Tapered skirts or pants
Flattering tops
- Trendy slim-fitted empires,scoop-necks or boat necks, button up blouses, detailed tops balance the pear figure.
- For colder days, wear princess, single-breasted or a-line coats and jackets.
- No tops that hit right at the waist and No waist length puffers
Slimming Bottoms
- Knee-length a-line skirts with flared hems narrow the hips of the pear shape.
- Low-rise pants, boot-cut pants and jeans best compliment the proportion.
- Always buy pants that fit well in the hip area and then visit a tailor to take in the waist or adjust the length.
- Don't wear super full or clingy skirts.
- Please no drawstring pants, gathered, pleated, cuffed, or tapered ankles.
- Be cautious when it comes to skinny jeans.
Dresses
- Empire waist with a-line skirt look the best on pear shapes. This rule is perfect to use for formal events.
- Also, an empire waist at knee-length is exceptional for a cocktail party such as the classic black below.
- The same rule applies for skirts has it does for dresses. No full and clingy dresses.
What about those swimsuits
A swimsuit is the hardest piece to work with as you already know. Don't worry. There are swimsuits made just for you but this is what you have to look for.
- Find lighter tops and pair with darker bottoms.
- Purchase bikinis or one-pieces with wide-set straps to disguise the smaller shoulders or upper frame.
- Stay away from boy-leg styles or super-high cut legs.
- No vertical stripes for the bottom half.
A cool "calculator": HERE
How to Dress a Pear Body Shape
The key to dressing a pear body type is to enhance and add volume (or the illusion of volume) to your upper body while emphasizing your waist and deemphasizing your lower body to create a balanced, hourglass appearance. Create the most curvaceous effect by mixing and matching our suggested separates. Please click on the thumbnails below to learn more about how to dress a Pear body type.
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VENUS DE MILO
Michaelangelo's Armless Beauty
Narrow Top/Full Bottom
If you have wide hips, try being thankful for them while you curse them. They're probably your grandmother's hips and they bore her many children. If it's your tummy that has grown and childbirth is the culprit, love it for what it's given you. (If it were perfectly flat, chances are your children would not be with you.)
Many American women, especially those whose ancestors were taken from the western part of Africa, carry this shape in a most beautiful way. Balance is the key word with this shape as with the others. Think of the widest part of your body as a strength that doesn't need any more attention and dress accordingly.
Key: Draw the eye up with accessories and keep all detail away from the hip area (i.e. buttons, ornaments, jacket hemlines and trim). Don't cinch anything at the waist or tuck in tops. Try monochromatic dressing, shoulder pads, sleek high heels instead of clunky footwear.
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Dressing the Pear-Shaped Figure: We have to think about balance. We want to give the appearance of wider shoulders and bigger bust this will help take the attention off the widest part of the body by bringing the eyes up to your face, neck, bust and waist. So in other words what you need to do is to over play your upper body and give your lower body a slimmer sleeker look. Do this by using color on top, wide neck lines, accentuate your waste and wear dark colors on the bottom. Top it off! Because your bottom half is slightly larger than your top, you can wear slightly looser fitting cloths on top with out any problem. However, fitted tops look great on you as well. Blouses with a lot of detailing, tops in all sorts of prints with lighter and brighter colors, or textured fabrics are what you want to look for in your tops. This will help balance your lower half. Puffy sleeves and tops that hug the shoulders or ones with wide-set straps will help to visually widen the chest and shoulders. Look for necklines that are scooped, draped, v'd, rounded or squared. Any neckline that has a lower and wider neckline will look great. These will emphasize your bust and draw attention to your face. Also look for an under-wire or molded bras to help with balance. A halter top that ties at the neck will give the shoulders the appearance of width they need, and this will help balance out your hips and thighs. A-line and flared skirts look best on pears. When choosing a dress, choose a dress with an empire waste or a wrap dress which will flow over your hips. Keep the prinst on top and darker solid colors on the bottom. Don't for get, your dresses will want to have the same features mentioned above on the top. Stay Away! Stay away from body-hugging tight skirts. This will only show every bump and curve. You also want to keep away from full skirts or jeans with large pocket. Pockets will only add dimension to your already fuller hips. Stay away from tight jeans with too much detail on the hips or bottom, such as flaps or embroidery on back pockets. This will only draw the eyes right to your problem area. Stay away from pants with bulky side pockets. Stay away from tapered jeans or pants, this is something you never ever want to wear. The narrow and tapered legs will only make your hips appear huge. Stay away from high-waisted pants as these tend to make your bottom look larger. Stay away from jackets that finish at the widest part of your hips.
Dress it up!
Bottoms Up!
You want to look for jeans or pants that are flared or have a wide-leg, this will help hide your thicker thighs. Straight legged jeans are also a good for a sleek slimmer look. Go for mid-rise dark jeans (the darker the better) and dark pants. This gives the illusion of a slimmer hips and bottom. Be sure to check my Jeans for your shape page.
Step it up!
Shoes with a pointed toe will help give the illusion of an elongated figure. A rounded toe shoe will make you look chunkier as will chunky footwear. Keep in mind that shoes with a generous cut that show the start of your toes are much more flattering than a closed to shoe . Avoid stiletto heels as they will make you look out of proportion, however, sleek shoes with a thinner heel will work better visually.
Avoid dresses that have a bias cut that hugs the bottom. Bold patterns, large checks, and light colors are not recommended for below the waist.
