How To Dress Your Body Shape As A +PLUS+ Size Woman

The first thing you need to do before shopping for womens plus clothing is to take a close look at the contours and proportions of your body figure.

Plus size isn't a category by itself. There are both tall and short full figure women, and each and one of them has a different body shape that requires different set of styling and clothing strategies to look their best. For example, you might have wider shoulders compared to your hips, while your girlfriend who is also a plus size has wider hips than shoulders.

Well-Balanced Proportions Can Make You Look Trimmer

By knowing what body shape you have, you'll be able to decide where and how to correctly place clothes and accessories, to create curves on the right places so that you'll make any prominent body part less obvious, but still keep your waist defined to help you look trim. These balanced proportions equal a proportional hourglass body shape.

Basically, downplaying any prominent areas of your body to achieve well-balanced body proportions, can help you look leaner and taller. Balanced outfit proportions de-emphasize and conceal any prominent body part you may have. Ever thought about why many pear shapes look shorter and "thicker" than they are? That's because their hips take the center-stage and make the eye go horizontally. 

Do You Have Short or Long Legs?

Also, another key factor to dressing your full-figure size is your body frame's vertical line; meaning, how long your upper half is compared to your bottom half (torso versus hips and legs).You might have longer or shorter legs than your upper body or vice versa, which also requires a couple of outfit adjustments. 

Despite that image consultants are preaching about balanced body proportions, having long legs is considered attractive - simply because it elongates your frame and can trick people into thinking you're taller and thinner. Short legs can make you look stumpy. However, super-long legs and a super-short torso may throw off your proportions.

Plus Size Fashion Advice: Petite Plus Size Clothing

If you're a plus size at 5'4" (163 cm) or shorter then you need to look for petite plus size clothing, as well as work strategically with prints, shapes and other details - helping you look taller. 

Petite plus size clothes can be found at online stores such as: 

Woman Within

One Stop Plus

Jessica London


Avenue


Lane Bryant


Fashion Bug

Land's End

Talbots

Torrid


ASOS (size 12 to 16)

Here are 3 tips on how to look trimmer with clothes and accessories: 

Wear heels. If you're not a high-heel gal, then an inch or two is enough to slim your legs and body figure

Go for knee-length (or shorter) skirts and shorts. If you have muscular legs avoid garments that extend right on the thickest part of your legs - your calves. It brings attention to this area and can visually make you look stubby!

Show more skin. Deep necklines and short (knee-length or shorter) skirts and dresses instantly slim down your full-figure stature. They might come off as tacky for conservative 

tastes, but as long as you keep the other part modestly clothed then you're safe!

For example, wear a sweater with plunging neckline and go for a bit more conservative looking pants or skirt