I am fortunate to have the best BFF in the world… and fortunately for you, my BFF and I
- are the same height
- are the same age
- are within 5lb of the same weight
- wear the same size clothing
- look good in exactly the same colors
We’re taking as many variables out of this figure analysis as we can, and hopefully this will help you see how very important proportion is – and why we almost never share clothes.
In the pictures above, K and I are wearing *exactly* the same shirt, purchased on the same day, in the same size, and our respective versions of blue jeans. (K needs to stand up straighter… and I need to use hairspray before photo-ops. Oh well!) On the left, we’re wearing our shirts and denim in the correct proportions for our body types. On the right, we’re not.
These are K’s new clothes. I think her husband owes me flowers for how great those jeans look on her… but the same outfit on me? Oh NO! I look stubby and I could barely walk.
Oh, but let’s try my new sweater and skirt on… Why does K look so out of proportion? Is it because the skirt hem is set to balance my wide shoulders and create hips, when she’s got hips from God instead of the closet?
I don’t know that I can more clearly explain to you that your clothes look good (or bad) on you because of proportion and personality, not just weight and age.
Please stop beating yourself up in the dressing rooms of the world. Just because you and the clothes don’t work together doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. It’s the clothes, dahling.
Let me know in the comments if this helped you.
WOW!
This is very instructive.
Good to hear. 🙂
I see what you mean with the 3rd one, but I’m not seeing it with the first two. I had to double check which pictures you said looked better for your proportions because I thought the 2nd one (in the first set with blue shirts in denim) looked good, and also thought you both looked good in the white shirt with jeans.
Something that would be helpful would be a detailed explanation of what to look for when examining the photos, the way you explained the last one. Then again, I never had a good eye for these things, so it’s probably obvious to you and others what looks good and why, even if it’s not to me.
Glad to sort this out! Hey, what can I do… color’s pretty important and we both look amazing in turquoise. 😀
If you look closely, you can see that (especially on me, who is long of torso/short of leg) the untucked shirts make my torso look *really* long in relation to my legs. Contrariwise, the cut at the waist is doing nothing good for K.
And I may be the only person on the earth who cannot stand low or midrise jeans – they just don’t fit! Well, that’s one of the top 5 reasons that I don’t own a pair.
You’re looking at the color (and everything we are wearing looks great on both of us, colorwise) which is its own lesson – how much color draws the eye.
Okay, this was SUPER helpful. Incredibly helpful, actually!
I’m sort of with Cassie on this one about the first picture. Like you, I have a shorter torso and broader shoulders, longerish legs. I was always under the impression wearing a longer top was good because “borrowing” some length from the leg was good for balancing proportions. I can’t wear tops like that because er, I look fat. I don’t look like my middle is sleek and smooth– just the opposite.
Nope, you and I are both apple shaped, in that we carry our weight in our torsos. But my torso is very long, legs very short. That’s why I always tuck and belt. So you’re right on about wearing a longer top. Because you have more *bulk* (horizontal) on top, you want to be careful that as you create length with a tunic you don’t take on extra volume. So something slim/tailored will be better for you.