5 Reasons why you should know your body shape

Hello and welcome back to my blog!  

If this is my first blog that you are reading, then why don’t you also read my first one? Yes correct, I’m quite new to it but I know already that I am going to enjoy blogging. I’ll put the link to my other blog below though otherwise I’m going to distract you from this important topic!  

So, in here, I would like to tell you why it’s important to know your body shape!  

What happens when you don’t know our body shape? 

How many times have you been shopping and literally bought zero items?  

How many times have you come back from a shopping trip and decided to return half of the items purchased?  

Or even worse, how many times have you purchased clothes which have been sitting in your wardrobe unused for ever?  

I’d like to help you change this pattern.  

There might be various reasons why the above happens but n. 1 must be “I don’t like myself in that garment!”.  

Let’s take a step back and ask yourself “why don’t I like myself in that garment?”.   

So, what is it then?  

• Trousers are too tight on your hips? 
• Your top makes your bust bigger? 
• In that dress you just look like a bin-bag?  
• Or maybe those skinny trousers make your legs too skinny?  
• Or that top too flat chest?  

It’s a question of balance! Carry on reading and you will understand what I mean.  

Now, let’s recognise that you do have a specific body shape and it would be much easier to make peace with it. I know it’s not easy, I know honestly. So, what I can tell you instead is why don’t you try to dress that lovely body that you have, accordingly? So that you are happy with it?  

All right, maybe you could do with being thinner, or weigh a bit more, or have a rounder bottom, or have a smaller bust, but until you do something to get where you want with your body, my best suggestion is to take care of what you have and do your best to dress it to impress. And who you have to impress really is yourself! 

So why do you buy the wrong clothes? Because you don’t know your body shape and/or you don’t know how to dress it.  

So, let me tell you a little bit more about it.  

Body Shapes 

There are five main body shapes with some variations to them as we are not made with a mould obviously, but they should help you identify those areas that you want to dress and highlight and those areas that you might want to disguise instead.  

So here they are:  

• Apple Shape (fullness around your tummy, full bust, quite flat bottom and good legs).   

What should you do if you have this body shape? 

Disguise your tummy area creating a waistline by wearing a good supporting bra; by doing this you better separate your bust from your tummy. See your bust as an asset hence V-neck tops are best and empire style dresses are ideal. Avoid high waist trousers and tops with sleeves that finish next to your bust. Why? Because high waist trousers wouldn’t help in creating a waistline and sleeves that finish next to your bust would just add more bulk to the area.  

• Pear Shape (full hips and thighs, defined waist and small bust).  

What should you do if you have this body shape?  

Enhance your top part with ruffle tops, horizontal stripes and colours, while you keep black or dark colours in the lower part of your body. Buttoned up shirts with puffed sleeves add some inches to your shoulders. Your jackets and tops need to finish either above or below your hips otherwise you will make your hip area look wider. Straight boots cover the chunkiness of your calf. Wear fitted style around your waist to accentuate your waistline. Your waistline is an asset, show it off!  

• Rectangle Shape (little definition between your shoulders, waist and hips)  

What should you do if you have this body shape?  

You want to create the illusion of curves with patterns, colours, layers in those areas that you want to enhance. Colourful or printed skirts and trousers are perfect. So, with this body shape is not a matter of hiding but you can really be creative with colours and patterns and layering.  

• Inverted triangle (your widest part is your shoulders, medium bust, little definition between waist and hips)  

What should you do if you have this body shape?  

You want to enhance your bottom half to balance the body. It’s a balancing game. Even though this body shape can literally get away with wearing pretty much anything, the fuss should be around your bottom half hence go for colours, patterns, pockets! 

• Hourglass (good bust, waist is well defined, wide hips)  

What should you do if you have this body shape?  

You want to show that curvy body with clothes that follow the curves. So, scoop neck, fitted tops, wrap dresses and pencil skirts. Avoid chunky knitted jumpers/dresses as they wouldn’t be flattering to your body.  

Once you know your body shape dress it accordingly 

As I said your body might not be as defined under one of this body shapes, but you should be able to see if you are more of a shape than another.  

In my case, I have always been a pear shape with small bust, flat tummy, defined waist and wider hips until I had two children and my tummy is not as flat anymore. For me the principles of the pear shape still apply though. But now I also need to make sure that maybe I don’t wear tops that sit on my tummy.  

So, do you see what I’m trying to say here? It’s a matter of enhancing the best parts of your body, disguising those bits that you are less fond of.  Create a balance. 

Now that you have read this, why don’t you identify what body shape you are?  

And now that you have identified your body shape I have a little exercise for you; open your wardrobe and get all those garments that you haven’t worn for a long while (or haven’t worn at all) and ask yourself this question?  

Why haven’t I worn this for so long?  

Maybe you don’t even remember why, so try it on and see if it is right for your body shape, now that you know what you know.  

This will help you tremendously on doing that wardrobe detox that you have postponed for so long and also to make the right shopping choices going forward!  

Has this article potentially changed how you feel about shopping? It’s not an overnight fix but there is a lot you can do to improve your look.  

Oh yes here the 5 reasons why you should know your body shape!!! 

1) Make the right shopping purchases 

2) Dress to impress 

3) Feel confident about your look 

4) Have a wardrobe that is right for you 

5) Open your wardrobe with a sense of achievement (It’s not made up to get an extra reason – it’s real!) 

Leave any comments or thoughts below or any questions you might have, and I will be happy to answer!  

If you need some more help, why don’t you join my Facebook group? It’s a lovely small community where I share tips and where you can exchange ideas with other women who are in the process of finding their style too.  

And as promised at the beginning of this post, here the link to my first blog. https://caterinaavanzi.com/the-style-secrets-that-no-one-told-you/