It’s easy to fall into the trap of ‘dressing for your body type’ when you go out clothes shopping.
After all, around us so many stylists advise people to draw attention towards certain parts of their body if they’re an ‘apple’ shape, or away from other areas if they’re a ‘pear’.
But Australian stylist, Alarna Hope, recently revealed to FEMAIL that this is all nonsense – and there’s no such thing as dressing for your body type, provided you follow a few key rules.
Here, FEMAIL takes a look at her advice.
Australian stylist, Alarna Hope (pictured), recently revealed to FEMAIL that there is no such thing as dressing for your ‘apple’ or ‘pear’ body type
From picking pants that fall to the ankle to opting for slightly less fabric on the sleeves, here FEMAIL takes a look at Alarna’s (pictured) advice
Alarna recommends ditching the focus on body shapes – whether you think you’re a pear, apple, hourglass, rectangle or strawberry – as they don’t encourage you to love your figure
According to Alarna – who works as a stylist in Sydney – the most common thing she hears from new clients is that they ‘can’t wear a certain item because it doesn’t suit their body shape’:
‘On the list of things which don’t suit are things like skinny jeans, blazers, casual jackets, dresses, most skirt styles and things that are fitted,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It breaks my heart that they’ve felt so limited when looking for clothes that could make them feel so confident.’
Instead, Alarna recommends ditching the focus on body shapes – whether you think you’re a pear, apple, hourglass, rectangle or strawberry:
‘Ditch them all,’ she said. ‘They are designed to minimise the biggest area of your body, not to give you personal style or encourage you to love your figure.’
Alarna said that you ‘can wear anything you want if you wear a size that fits you properly’.
She also shared a few rules you should instead live by if you’re looking to change the way you dress forever.
According to Alarna, excess fabric below the ankle will ‘bring attention down to your feet and shorten your overall appearance’ (stock image) – instead, try just above the ankle
FIX YOUR HEMS
The devil is in the detail is something your grandparents might have told you.
But it couldn’t be more true when it comes to fashion and what you wear.
‘The hem of a pair of pants, skirt or dress will not only lengthen you when it’s sitting at the right point on your body, but it will also give you a neater appearance,’ Alarna told FEMAIL.
‘For those who prefer wearing flat shoes, your slim leg pants should finish at your ankle and your dresses or skirts just on or above your knee.’
The expert added that excess fabric below the ankle will ‘bring attention down to your feet and shorten your overall appearance’:
‘Take your pants to a tailor and have them taken up,’ she concluded. ‘A clean line means a neater, more polished appearance.’
Next, Alarna (pictured) recommends thinking about sleeve length – a good tip is to opt for less fabric around your arms – which will make your posture look straighter and your arms longer
THINK ABOUT SLEEVE LENGTH
Next on Alarna’s list of rules is a note on sleeve length – something we should all give far more thought, apparently:
‘When you’re wearing anything long sleeved, be that a dress, jacket or top, make sure the sleeves aren’t too long,’ Alarna revealed.
‘Casual items can be shortened to end at the crease between your hand and your wrist and professional jackets and coats can end about a finger space past that.’
A good tip to remember is to opt for less fabric around your arms – which will make your posture look straighter and your arms longer.
‘Try folding up the sleeves of one of your current items to your wrist crease to see what a difference it makes,’ she advised.
‘If you sometimes feel a bit blocky or cut in half by separates, then it may be because your tops aren’t ending at the right place on your body,’ Alarna said (stock image)
TOP LENGTH IS IMPORTANT
Another thing you might not think about when clothes shopping is the length of your top:
‘If you sometimes feel a bit blocky or cut in half by separates, then it may be because your tops aren’t ending at the right place on your body,’ Alarna said.
‘Mid-crotch is a good place to have your tops end, you’ll not only bring more attention to your top half by doing this, but your legs will look a bit longer.’
As a rule of thumb for knowing how a clothing item should look in real life, the stylist said you can’t go wrong with looking at the mannequin – you’ll see how it’s supposed to sit
LOOK AT THE MANNEQUINS
As a rule of thumb for knowing how a clothing item should look in real life, the Sydney-based stylist said you can’t go wrong with looking at the mannequin:
‘A little trick that I find always helps to have clients pick up their tailoring and alterations knowledge is to have them go on the brand website of the store they’re currently shopping in and look at where the garments are starting and ending on the model,’ she said.
‘Sure, you might not look like that model in the slightest way, but they’re there to show you how the designer intended those items to fit.’
Alarna said you can alter your lengths to start and finish at the same areas – ‘so you come away looking just as gorgeous and well-dressed as the model’.
However, there is one area where Alarna said you should never make alterations in store: when you buy a jacket.
‘Never let anyone, a sales assistant or loved one talk you into buying a jacket that needs shoulder alterations,’ she said.
‘It’s a much more expensive way to alter the size of a jacket when you could instead size to fit your shoulders and alter the jacket elsewhere.’
She concluded that if you start paying attention to how clothing fits, rather than the numbers on the tags and the body shape rules, then you should ‘open up your wardrobe and personal style to so many other possibilities’.
To read more from Alarna Hope, you can visit her website here.