How to dress for your body hang-ups
Body hang ups. Almost all of us have them. If we don’t, we’re considered a humility vacuum. Meanwhile, the body positivity movement is changing the language used to describe the way we look. We’re discouraged from thinking in terms of flaws and encouraged to focus on the positives. Nothing radical about that - a song entitled Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive became a huge hit in 1944. Back then, the bolstering was generally accompanied by a hefty dose of what would have been called “home truths”.
Confusing? In some circles, even the word “flattering” has become contentious because it has become a synonym for slimming, which, say the Body Positivity lot, fuels the feeling many of us have that we’re never quite good enough.
Without wishing to condone fat or skinny shaming, we feel there’s still value in talking about how best to dress for your shape. We may have moved on from the bossy diktats of, say, MGM costume designer’s Edith Head’s book, The Dress Doctor, which came out in 1959, but that doesn’t mean we’d jettison everything she says in it. This, after all, is the woman who dressed Grace Kelly on and off screen. While her advice about what to wear for an archery session is firmly rooted in an era when women still wore hats and gloves to go shopping, who wouldn’t want a bit of the glossiness and poise that Head helped Kelly achieve in Rear Window. When she says that “even a perfect figure looks better if it doesn’t resemble a sausage”, we hear her.
Of course you might be partial to a sausage effect and, to paraphrase Carol Vorderman, we can all wear what we b***** well like. That doesn’t have to be at odds with ac-cent-tchu-ating the positive. There are so many tools to help us look our best, the prime one being that little oblong thing in your hand. Full-length pictures of ourselves are usually more reliable than the mirror. No need to beat ourselves up when we see a bad one. Some cool analysis of what it is about the outfit that’s making us wince - then move on.
I’m still learning. These days, if I’m unsure whether something suits me, I ask a sales assistant to take a full length of me before I buy. Trends evolve, so do bodies. Proportions that looked right five years ago suddenly seem off. The amount of skin we want to show changes. A style or length that suited to a tee can go out of fashion, although if it looks really good on you, it can always be tweaked and become your trademark. I know plenty of stylists who’ve always worn maxis/ blazers/short hair even when minis/cropped jackets and waist-length hair were the thing.
Sitting out a trend shouldn’t be thought of as a deprivation but as an act of discernment.
I’ve never worn short skirts for instance. Nothing to do with age and everything to do with my knees. They’re a family trait, and they’ve always seemed disproportionately - how to put this positively… podgy. Call me old school, but I think life is best when they’re discreetly behind some kind of veil.
Trousers, skirts (anything below the knee is fine) are all fine and for the past few years, I’ve been spoiled for choice. That’s not about to change. Minis might be back for some, but so are maxis. And midis are still going strong. Waistcoats and knitted tanks are in big time and they’re a smart, sophisticated way to show off your waist and arms (for every style you reject there’s a better one you can embrace). As Edith Head said, “clothes are the way you present yourself to the world, they affect the way the world feels and thinks about you; subconsciously they affect the way you feel and think about yourself”.
You may as well set them to work to your advantage.
Lisa wears:
Linen cotton trousers, £140, Jigsaw (jigsaw-online.com); Leather platforms, £299, LK Bennett (lkbennett.com); Leather bag, £360, DeMellier (demellierlondon.com); Waistcoat and blazer, Edward Sexton and sunglasses, Tom Davies, Lisa’s own
Cotton cashmere vest, £95 and Ottoman jersey skirt, £150, both ME+EM (meandem.com); Leather platforms, £299, LK Bennett (lkbennett.com); Leather bag, £360, DeMellier (demellierlondon.com)
‘‘Showing too much arm is my biggest no-no”
Charlotte Moore, Acting Fashion Director
It was a teen mag, Just 17, that gave me the best advice I’ve ever had about confidence. “Never look in the mirror more than once a day” were their brilliantly basic words of wisdom. It worked wonders. Don’t look at your spots and you don’t pick them; don’t stare at your tummy and it’s whisked from your thoughts.
Genius brain training for my 14-year-old self. Even now, I only have one full-length mirror at home. But confidence is slippery. Give me a stressy morning and I’m suddenly horrified by everything I put on. Surprisingly, 25 years working for fashion magazines has helped me dodge these doubting moments - mostly.
While I’ve revered duvet coats gliding past me at the bi-annual fashion shows, cooed over mini kilts and longed to wear enormously wide high-waisted trousers, I’ve learnt that at a smidgen over 5ft 2 I can’t get away with most of what fashion has on offer. I’m not averse to trying an edgy new trend - give me a chunky shoe and I’m in - but I know my limits. Showing too much arm is my biggest no-no.
To that end I’ve eschewed this summer’s trend for Prada-esque white tanks and shied from frocks that come anywhere close to a spaghetti strap. Instead I’ve spent the summer in dresses that flare at the shoulder and skim my upper arm. I avoid fitted shirts that are miserly cut and always ensure my jackets are suitably roomy. Oh and I still avoid the mirrors. Thank you Just 17, we still miss you.
Charlotte wears:
Dress, Stine Goya and sandals, Prada, both her own; Leather bag, £245, Staud (zalando.co.uk)
Dress, Ganni and boots, Dune, both Charlotte’s own; Leather bag, £245, Staud at Zalando
“I’ve learnt to fake a smaller waist”
Tamara Abraham, Acting Senior Fashion Editor
I am, in fruit terms, a classic apple: curves up top with slim arms and legs. After many self-critical years, I’ve come to embrace it. Love it, even. I probably owe my career to it, because without it, I wouldn’t have the skills to advise others on dressing to enhance what they love about themselves, and conceal what they don’t.
The most challenging area to navigate is my stomach. It’s the reason I avoid tent dresses (I look like an actual tent) and wrap dresses (they cling to my midsection in all the wrong ways). I also tread carefully with florals, which can look frumpy on a larger chest.
It sounds counterintuitive, but the most effective way to create the illusion of a smaller waist is to cinch it. I have a fashion formula that I wear most days: wide-legged, high-waisted trousers with a shirt or T-shirt, and a blazer. It works best when the rise of the trousers is almost ribcage high, hitting the narrowest point of my torso. The top should be tucked in and loose enough to conceal any muffin-top. The blazer hides the width of my waist, the lapels drawing the eye vertically, and voila, one fake waist, no diets required.
Tamara wears:
Silk shirt, £325, Tabitha Webb (tabithawebb.co.uk); Leather sandals, £170, Ancient Greek Sandals (ancient-greek-sandals.com); Leather bag, £450, Noirgaze (noirgaze.com); Cream jeans, Tamara’s own
Blazer, £149, Whistles (whistles.com); T-shirt, £23, & Other Stories (stories.com); Trousers, Essentiel Antwerp (essentiel-antwerp.com); Clogs, £175, Sezane (sezane.com)
“My hips are both a blessing and a curse”
Melissa Twigg, Fashion and Lifestyle Writer
No pleats, please - and dear God, save my hips from A-line skirts, boyfriend jeans or skin-tight jersey dresses. One of the reliefs of getting older is understanding why some of the biggest trends each season were never destined to grace your body - although achieving this enlightenment requires a great deal of youthful trial and error (in my case, looking somewhat reminiscent of the Incredible Hulk in an array of early Noughties cargo pants and crop tops).
I now think of my relatively wide-set hips as both a blessing and a curse. Dressed badly and they make me - at 5’10 - look much bigger than I am. Dressed well and they give me an hourglass shape I really like. Realising this has meant bidding a reluctant farewell to loose silky slip dresses, wide-leg trousers and anything with an elasticated waist, and instead embracing some structure. Fitted skirts or dresses that cinch in my waist and show a bit of leg will always be my holy grail, but midi-styles also work well so long as they’re cut on a bias or come with a belt. On weekends, I’m in jeans, but only buy ones where the waistband sits above my hips and the legs are straight rather than flared. At 15, all this felt unfathomably complex; thankfully now it’s like second nature.
Melissa wears:
Cotton dress, £69, Cos (cos.com); Leather shoes, £169, Pretty Ballerinas (prettyballerinas.co.uk); Leather bag, £545, Strathberry (strathberry.com)
Linen dress, £130 Jigsaw (jigsaw-online.com); Coat, Joseph and shoes, Zara, both Melissa’s own
“It may be summer, but I’ll never wear sandals”
Sophie Tobin, Junior Fashion Editor
In the sweltering heat of the past few weeks I’ve looked enviously at friends’ Birkenstocks, chunky sandals and strappy heels, wondering if this would be the year that I finally embraced the Greek-shaped feet that I’ve inherited from my dad.
In the winter I’m safe. Boots or Converse with everything. When warmer weather creeps in, I switch to loafers and ballet flats. I’m wedded to my G.H Bass Penny loafers, which I pair with coloured socks, jeans and a white shirt. I’ll swap the jeans for shorts or A-line skirts in summer.
I’m 6ft tall, so there’s little need for extra height. For event dressing I wear Mary-Janes with a low heel. They’re more comfortable than strappy sandals anyway, and I’ve found them to be quite versatile. They’re enjoying a resurgence in popularity at the moment, especially platform, ‘60s style versions - see Russell & Bromley, Aeyde and Carel Paris for great options. A slingback or ballet pump with a slight block heel is a great flat option - I like Camilla Elphick and Augusta. This way, my summer shoe wardrobe looks light and airy, while covering as much of my feet as possible.
Sophie wears:
Poplin shirt, £95, With Nothing Underneath (withnothingunderneath.com); Leather loafers, £135, G.H. Bass (ghbass-eu.com); Shorts, Uniqlo; bag Coach and sunglasses, Black Eyewear, all Sophie’s own
Leather shoes, £169, Pretty Ballerinas (prettyballerinas.co.uk); Blouse, Cos; jeans, Citizens of Humanity; bag Coach and sunglasses Black Eyewear, all Sophie’s own
Photographer: Rii Schroer
Hair and make-up: Amanda Clarke
