Hi everyone. It's Justine.
You may already know my series about how to dress
for your body type.
In that series, I tackle the apple, the pear, the inverted triangle,
the hour glass and the rectangle body shapes.
Now some of you wrote to me and said "You know, I don't recognise myself in those types.
I'm actually curvier than that."
Others said "I'm a plus size girl. How do you think I should dress?
What would apply to me?"
And actually I didn't mention that as a body type because
it's a matter of size.
You know for fashion design purposes
if you're plus size, you're still an apple,
or a pear or another type.
However, since so many of you asked for that
I'm going to try to answer the question
in the form of how to style and dress
a plus size body shape or curvy shape
the best way I can. And to be sure
we talk about the same definition:
I understand plus size or curvy
as being something that looks like
this
This.
Or this.
Okay?
Now let's give it a try.
So this video will tackle the following elements in that order.
What actually makes you curvy?
What are the characteristics of your body?
Then I give you tips or kind of tricks
to style for your body shape.
Then I'd like to have a look at two celebrities
who are plus size and we'll learn from them
And their stylists
about how they do it.
And to finish I'd like to give you recommendations of silhouettes
and types of clothing that really work well for you.
First let's talk about what makes you a curvy girl.
And that's actually the most challenging part in this video
because, as I said, it depends.
Some girls will say
"My problem zone is my chest. I find my breasts too big.
When I wear t-shirts, it pulls here on the side
horizontally and I feel uncomfortable."
Others will tell you "My problem zone is my waist."
Others will say "Well definitely my hips."
And the other group will say
"Well I hate my legs"
So once you've said you're plus size, you still don't know
what to do with the information, so to say.
The one thing that you guys have in common is
that you have problems to find clothes
in stores, that actually fit you
even if it's your size on paper
because, and that's what I can tell you as a fashion designer,
most brands make patterns for a size S
a model size S
with no curves
and then they just scale up the pattern
two by two
and you end up with a size that actually fits you on paper
but that looks like no real person.
Yet you do want clothes to fit, right?
Because... because - Right!
Conclusion: If you're a plus size girl, you still have different proportions
Plus size is not a homogenous body type.
Right? So how do you do it?
What's the best strategy to style your body type?
Here it goes.
You need to define, identify the part of your body
the zone that you like most
that's the zone you want to highlight
no matter where it is
your arms, your waist, your legs
your shoulders , it doesn't matter.
Find that zone, so to say, and then highlight
that zone and build all the rest of your outfit
around it.
Let's have a quick look at celebrities
and see how they do it.
The first one is Adele.
Adele typically wears longer sleeves
at least below the elbow.
Her hem on dresses is always below the knee.
I think always, no exception.
She rarely shows any cleavage
And she always has a marked waist.
When you look at her, you can immediately see
which parts of her body she likes
and which ones she doesn't like.
And this silhouette, this dress shape,
is really flattering on her.
Actually, it's the perfect outfit for her.
Another good trick is to wear big sleeves.
On that outfit she does it really well.
It makes your core, which is
hips, waist, torso,
look thinner.
And that's quite smart of her.
The second example I really wanted to show you
is Amy Schumer
because she's quite the personality, right?
But she's also a plus size model so she's more
body positive and body confident than Adele.
And that's quite a contrast you will see.
Her dresses are always shorter,
usually mid-thigh, at least above the knee.
She often has a cleavage
It seems to be a part of her body that she really likes to show.
She doesn't mind wearing bare arms
on red carpets and she likes to show her shoulders.
She plays with decorations and drapery
and that's another smart trick for your body type.
Now those examples were red carpet
- I'm with you -
so let's switch to ready-to-wear.
And I'll show you types of clothing that can work
really well - really well - on your body.
The first technique was to have large sleeves
They can be all large and flowy all along
or just flare at the bottom.
Like you saw on Adele - that's a very smart technique.
The other one was using decorations and drapery
to attract attention away from your silhouette
so that you have to look at the decorations first.
So that's the Amy Schumer technique.
Those were the two first ones.
Then if you're going to wear jeans or
or pants made of stiff fabric that doesn't stretch
- jeans are a good example -
then it doesn't matter if you take them in low-waist or high-waist
but take them loose
The waistband should not compress your belly
otherwise you're going to feel uncomfortable.
Next thing that works well for you: an empire waist.
So it starts at the top, on the breasts,
and just below the breasts, it starts to flare out
towards the waist.
When you're looking at the waist
make sure it's long enough
to not show the pot of your belly
between the pants and the top.
Or you go for really cropped
really, really cropped
just below the breasts, and very boxy
because it will make your waist optically look thinner.
So that's also a smart technique.
Since we're talking about cropped,
the things that you should avoid though
are pants that are six-eighths or
or seven-eighths of the full length.
I would go for full length or really short.
But with something that's just a bit cropped
it can make your legs look shorter
and that's not just on you, it's on everyone!
Let this be clear.
One more thing about the waist.
If you feel uncomfortable with your waist
another method is to wear a jacket or cardigan
or something on top, or a blazer
that you leave open
and that's in stiff fabric
because it will stand a little bit stiff in front of you
and it will also make your waist look a lot thinner
so nobody's going to notice if you had too much food for lunch.
That also works for every woman, by the way.
PS: and for men.
The shoes that match the leggings,
the tights, or the pants that you're wearing
will also visually, colour-wise, extend your legs.
That's another way to make you look taller.
Next step. When you look at fabrics while you're shopping
you have thin fabrics,
you have heavy fabrics that are stiffer.
Go for the stiffer fabrics
because they're not going to follow
all the contours of your body so precisely
a.k.a. they will hide your flaws.
Everything you're not completely comfortable with
is going to disappear under the thick fabric.
If you're looking for a dress now
for example, a festive look
you can go for one that's fitted at the top
then at the natural waist it starts to flare out
and it ends somewhere between
mid-thigh and mid-calves.
That's the Adele technique.
That's perfect for a party.
Or you wear a cardigan on top.
Those are two examples that I found on Pinterest.
One more tip.
If you're not happy with your outfit
and you can't find the solution in clothes
then why not think of accessories?
You could use a statement necklace
that hangs at the height that you want to highlight
it's going to distract from the rest of the outfit.
Or you add a purse
Or you play with fancy shoes
You play with makeup
You have many more options
to create the image you want
than just the clothes.
If you would like more inspiration than that
I also created a Pinterest board on my page
You're welcome to look at it
I selected outfits that I find
smartly and smoothly proportioned
on plus size girls or curvy girls
so it will give you more combination ideas, so to say.
And I added more articles - everything is below -
on instagram accounts that you can follow
other tips
You will see. If I find more, I'll put more.
Now do you feel better equipped to tackle
your wardrobe and build your outfit strategy?
If yes - thumbs up!
Thank you very much!
If no - leave me a comment below
and ask me your remaining doubts and questions
and I will do my best to answer all of them.
If you haven't subscribed to my channel yet
you can go ahead and click on my head
- no pun intended.
Here are two more related videos
on the matter of body type,
how to measure the pear-shaped type.
I'll see you on Sunday for a new video
maybe even before.
I thank you so much for 10 000 subscribers on this channel.
Take care. Bye.