Dressing for a Pear cont'd

Here are some more specifics.. as requested by Noriki :)

She asked if there was any way to "hide" her bootylicious booty.

Thanks for your question hun!

It helps to look at celebrities and what they wear.. they have stylists that help them pick out what to wear.. and you can follow their styles. Beyonce is a great example of a pear shape.. yet she manages to stay sexy! I know I used this image before.. but it's a great example. I'll refer to this image a few times during this post.

When you're looking online for tips on how to dress, make sure to pull up LOTS of sites (and believe me, as long as you search correctly, there are TONS of sites out there). They all give contradictory tips.. and I even found a site that had photos of their fashion tips--but the model wasn't even pear shaped! Most sites are just a list of tips.. with no pictures.. which I find fairly unhelpful.. it's hard to imagine what an "a-line" type of skirt or dress is when you're just getting into fashion or fashion terminology.. I had to look it up separately.

I tried to show pictures of what I have in my own closet.. not me wearing them of course xD if I'm feeling super YAY-BLOG-ish, maybe I'll do a fashion shoot of.. pear-wear. Unfortunately I don't get paid to blog :P otherwise I may be more inclined, hahaha.

All images taken from Google; all images found otherwise will be noted.

Hope this helps! Feel free to request YOUR body shape in the comments :)

DRESSES (touched on this on my last post)

The biggest thing you should look into are A-LINE dresses. Think of the capital letter A.. and imagine the top of the A being your waist, or basically "flaring" at your waist. This is the most flattering.. pinching in at your waist (smallest part of your body) then skimming over the rest of your lower half, effectively hiding it without wearing a potato sack.

Several sites suggested wearing skirts or dresses that are in the LONGER lengths.. ending at or past your knees. I think that mostly depends on how you feel about your calves and thighs.. I'm used to wearing shorter length skirts due to tennis, so I don't mind them, plus I think well-defined calves and thighs are HAWT!

Remember the celebrity image? Beyonce wore a body-hugging outfit that flared out at her knees.. definitely daring, but she has the body tone (and the confidence!) to wear it. Christina Aguilera wore a dress that fell above her knees.. but I think she has great legs also.

If you're insecure about your legs, then wearing longer length skirts and dresses would probably be your best bet.

Another great cut or style is the WRAP DRESS.

This style is a low plunge, bringing attention to your top half and AWAY from your bottom half. This is also an a-line dress.. covering the hips/thighs. The puff sleeves make your shoulders look wider or more defined (since most pears are slim up top, including their shoulders) and balance out your hips. The tie cinches in your waist, making it more defined and making it look smaller. This is also a great example of the "longer" length dresses, without being floor length.

My one complaint is that if you have chunky thighs, the model's shoes may not be the best since it will create a LINE at your ankle, thus stopping the eyes and making your calves look thicker. She has great legs though, so it's all good :) and another option if you want to "elongate" your legs.. wear "nude" colored shoes! This is a great tip for everyone :)

If you want to hide your legs further, boots are a cute option. This can stray though.. one of my teachers at school constantly wears past-knee-length denim skirts with knee-length boots.. and I think it just looks sloppy.

If you're wondering, I wouldn't necessarily call this model a PEAR shape.. but she's dresses appropriately for the shape (better than the other website I found!).

NECKLINES / TOPS

Anything (well, as long as it's not a horrible Christmas sweater) that brings more attention to your upper half is better. Boat necks and scoop necks are awesome.. and I always stand by my v-necks.

I love longer-length shirts.. they just skim over your hips. See how you just look immediately at her neckline? Even if this were shorter sleeved, it would still bring attention to the upper half. This has a great cinch at the bust.. and a-lines (picture the A!). This is loose without bringing bulk to your figure (remember my blue shirt post?!).

On that note, I usually try to avoid RIBBED tanks or tshirts.. they really hug the figure and can bring out some not-so-good qualities.. and aren't the best to be wearing after you've eaten a huge meal =P but as I've been working out and eating more healthily, I don't mind wearing them and think that they can actually help define your waist.

Depending on the width of your shoulders, you can also look great in strapless tips/dresses. I have several in my closet (even with my wide shoulders) and I can wear them.. depending on how I feel about my shoulders that day, haha. Anyway, strapless tops bring more attention to your top half since more skin is showing (be sure to wear sun screen!).

PATTERNS AND COLORS are also great!

This will DEFINITELY bring your attention upwards.. cinches at the waist.. and is still a dark color so it doesn't accept your stomach (if you're worried about that).. overall, very cute. Not sure about the length, since the model obviously isn't pear-shaped.. you'll probably want to look into something a bit longer, so it doesn't end RIGHT across your butt (bringing attention, especially with that white hem!).

BUTTON DOWNS

I have two shirts in this style.. two tunics? Cinched waist.. sleeves are great for covering up not-so-toned arms.. flares out to cover up your butt.. pattern to bring your eye upwards.. v-neck (or just low neckline) to bring MORE attention upwards.. not to mention comfy and great with stockings (I hate leggings, will talk about that more later) or jeans.. or if you're particularly daring, shorts and bare legs!

Anddd.. like I mentioned before, getting a padded bra doesn't hurt either. Adds va-va-voom to the area, bringing attention there, makes your waist look smaller, draws attention away from your hips.

The biggest "NO-NO"

The most recurring "no-no" is to not wear shirts or jackets that end at the waist. It creates a visual "STOP" or "END" and brings attention there--unwanted. I'll talk about that more with more pictures in the next section.

CELEBRITY INSPIRATION

I'd have to also include jackets that end right at your hips.. I mean, this is a good jacket because it cinches at the waist but look how wide it makes her hips look! Wiiiiiide! I have a jacket at this length and it's not the most flattering on me either. If she can't make it work.. I don't know.

Big lapels makes up for any lacking in the bust area.. cinched at the waist.. length seems OK.. but I'm not sure why she has that white top stretched so far down. Not only does it make her hips seem wider, it makes her thighs seem wider too (since they just START.. there's no "flow" from her waist to her hips). Plus, it's a bad photo, but hey.

Oh, and keeping the details mostly up top brings your attention upwards.. and by using darker colors with less details on bottom, you sort of just don't look there. Cute shoes btw! I love me some peep-toes.

I looooove this outfit! Long black top (that we'd probably need to belt).. dark leggings.. peep toe shoes (just a personal preference for me, there's no real reason why I wear them besides the "air conditioning".. feet get less sweaty). Leather jackets are hawt, and especially when paired with such a simple outfit, the sheen brings your attention UP.

Great fashion! Summer casual.. bringing attention upwards.. shorts are looser so they skim over the hips and tops of the thighs which are usually problem areas for pears.

The dress hugs at the bust and skims over the rest. This and the last outfit are decorated at the top.. and she brings more attention there with her accessories.

I don't particularly like the last outfit.. but there are some good points. The jeans hug at the top.. and get looser towards the calves, evening out the leg thickness. She has a smaller waist so she wears lower-cut jeans (which probably have bigger pockets on the back). There's a lighter/shinier top.. belted.. it works.

Just as a personal preference, I prefer wearing DARK or DARKER jeans (haha) just to minimize the leg area. Many sites tell you to avoid wearing skinny jeans.. but I think as long as you keep them dark and bring attention upwards, you can wear them. I have a pair that I bought for $10 that I absolutely looooove!

MORE ABOUT JACKETS

Bold patterns.. you look UP! Scarves.. big lapels.. darker, simple bottoms with heels. Great for pears. Thank YOU Glamour (magazine)! Boot-cut (almost skinny) jeans/pants. Works great.

Other examples of good jackets/coats.. see, they're all longer length, details up top, cinched or belted, a-line. I have a coat in this style and looooove it!

If you have particularly narrow shoulders, you may want to look into jackets with shoulder pads.. it adds definition and bulk to even out your hips. I don't particularly like shoulder padding.. but, hey. It works. Try it! :)

JEANS / PANTS (whew, almost done!)

If you have a NARROW WAIST (think: Beyonce)

Low-rise jeans are your friend. They give space for your waist to shine and look skinny--if you wear jeans that are higher waisted, it adds bulk/layers there.. making your waist look thicker. I don't know if I agree with this--guess I never noticed--but one website said to look for pockets that are larger in size.

If you have a LARGER WAIST

Wear jeans that may have a slightly higher waist (but no grandma style pants!). It adds support to your stomach and will, in effect, narrow it. Looser fit pants are your friend. Pants with flare bottoms (or boot cut) will even out your legs (pear shapes tend to have calves that are or look small in comparison to their hips/thighs) by adding width to your ankles.

One website mentioned that BABY PHAT is a good brand to look into. I think the overall best tip is to wear darker bottoms. Dark = minimizes! I have a pair of white jeans and they do NOT get worn very often unless I'm feeling particularly awesome.

Another way to make your legs look more shapely is to wear HEELS. It lengthens your legs also (great tip for petites!).

If you have great legs, wide-leg pants are OK. If you don't.. some websites suggest to stay away from it. I'm not sure if I like the style in the first place.. so I don't really have a personal preference. I definitely prefer fitted around the butt/thighs.. and looser around the calves.

OTHER HELPFUL WEBSITES

- Dress Your Body Type

- Womens Fashion

- Fashion Sensei

LAST TID BITS

- Necklaces! Necklaces! or earrings.. be sure to accessorize, since it brings attention upwards. You don't have to pile it on though. Be tasteful.

- Padded bras (I only mention these so much because I love them).

- Heels! or nude-toned shoes. At least.. no ankle straps.

- You don't have to take me seriously! This is mostly my own personal preference.. my thoughts.. and research from a good 10 other sites.

- HAVE FUN!! Enjoy shopping, and more importantly, shop through your own closet. Sometimes all you need is a belt or a safety-pin to bring things in a bit.

WHEW!! Sorry for the super long entry.. I think I got a bit carried away :P hahah! If you'd like to see YOUR body shape featured in my next post.. drop a comment :)

Thanks for reading! x3