Dress for Your Body Pt. 3 - Pear

Picking up for where I left with my reviews on "DOs and DON'Ts" for different figures, today I'll be posting tips for the pear-shaped girls.The remaining two shapes will follow shortly too.

Pear shape

What we need here is to balance the narrow chest and shoulders with the wide puffy skirt to create a nice silhouette.

Do wear:

• Short-sleeved cutsews and puffy-sleeved blouses
• JSK with wide shoulder straps
• Jackets and coats with shoulder pads to broaden your shoulders. Don't overdo it, they should not be visible.
• Medium to high necklines - wide necklines such as boatneck or scoopneck style that can visually widen the shoulders. Square necklines and ruffled collars are also a nice option.
• Accessories that draw attention upwards - neck bows, ties, fur collars, shawls and short capes.
• Emphasize your waist, but instead of a cupcake-shape choose A-line or a slightly dropped waist for a more smooth silhouette.
• Avoid shoes with ankle straps or t-straps, since they can make your legs look larger.
• Boleros and cardigans are a great way to balance your figure, especially waist-length ones.

Don't wear:

• Baggy garments. This, actually, is an advice for all body shapes, for petite and plus-sized alike.
• Stiff fabric
• Garments that add bulk to your hips, such as salopettes or drop-waist skirts. If the general lolita silhouette conceals the hips, these emphasize them pretty well.
• Avoid shirts that are too tight.
• Avoid babydoll dresses.
• Underbust items and corset skirts are also better to avoid, since they'll make your torso and shoulders look more narrow.

Dress for Your Body Pt.2 - Hourglass and V-shaped

Continuing my series on body shapes, today I make a small review on "DOs and DON'Ts" for the hourglass and V-shaped figures. Since the lolita silhouette annihilates the hips as they are, these two shapes become practically the same.

As much as LF isn't meant to be sexy, most of us still like to emphasize or best features, so there is no need to hide a beautiful waist common for these two body types.

Hourglass figure

Do wear:

• Fitted and semi-fitted clothes.
• Soft, clingy, flowing fabrics.
• Low to medium-low necklines.
• Dresses with defined waistlines.
• Corset tops with a cardigan or bolero.
• Cutsew and bolero combo.
• High-waist skirts.
• Solid colors.
• A-line silhouette.

Don't wear:

• Stiff, bulky, fabrics.
• Baggy styles, long loose cardigans.
• High necklines (unless you have a small bust).
• Peter pan collars.
• Babydoll blouses.
• Underbust JSK (unless your bust is small).

V shape
Since the main "problem" of this type are narrow hips, that in LF are conveniently hidden by layers of petticoats. Though I left the specific tips that are a great help for casual.
Do wear:

• Flowing fabrics.
• Low to medium-low necklines.
• Set-in sleeves.
• Three-quarter length sleeves.
• Princess sleeves.
• Tops and dresses that flow through the waist.
• A-line skirts.
• High-waist skirts.
• Wide belts.
• Chokers, fitted necklaces.
• American neckline.
• Heart shaped or oval neckline.

Don't wear:

• Stiff, bulky, fabrics.
• Styles that emphasize your shoulders.
• High necklines.
• Big collars.
• Puffy sleeves.
• Ruffled collars.

Since LF is rather specific, the most fitting combination would be a JSK that doesn't get bulky in the waist and a fitting cardigan or bolero, since this is the best way to achieve a semi-low neckline without "doing it wrong". Halter neck JSKs would work quite well. Small puffy sleeves are acceptable, since the skirts give some balance, tough I wouldn't risk with solid light colors, that still could make the shoulders seem too wide. Items with full bodice shirring would only create bulk and volume, as well as items sitting higher than your natural waist can make you look wider.

Dress for Your Body Pt.1 - Body Shapes

Lets face it - many clothes in lolita fashion are like the camera, that gives you six extra pounds. Layers of textile, blouses, pettis, lace and ruffles don't do justice for a normal girl, yet alone those on the chubby side. But since we all love them cupcake and a-line dresses, giving up on them isn't an option. So I set myself a goal to try and work out dress up recommendations for different body shapes. But when I started gathering material, I was bummed -  most mainstream fashion advices are based on a bigger variety of colors and silhouettes than LF will ever have. Recommendations about V-necklines and striped pencil skirts barely apply anywhere!

But I don't give up so easily! So, this is the first part of my "mission impossible" article. Let's start with revising of the basic body shapes.

Hourglass Figure

The most proportional figure - the bust-line is almost the same as the hip-line, the waist is well defined. Usually has medium or large bust, rounded bottom.

V-shape or Inverted Triangle

If you have a proportionally large bust, or broad shoulders, or both with narrow hips and a defined waist - this might as well be your shape.

Pear

The bust-line is proportionally narrower than the full hip-line and the waist is well defined. Usually also has narrow or sloping shoulders and full rounded bottom.

Rectangle

If the full bust-line and full hip-line are about the same width and you have little waist definition, then most likely you have a rectangle body shape. Usually the bust is small or medium, legs and arms are proportionally thin and the bottom is commonly flat.

Apple

The waist is undefined, the overall appearance of being round - round stomach and full upper thighs. Hips can be either wide and full or slim with proportionally slim legs. The bust can be full or medium

Each shape has several more defined types, such as diamond, brick, bell, and more, but these basic guidelines should help you  find out your main shape. Though in LF we can almost always cancel out the hips (petti-shape anyone?) we still need to work with proportions and a limited variety of lolita clothes. Tips on each body shape will follow in next parts, so stay tuned!