Dressing
Secrets for Full Figure
1-06-06
Dear
Kathi,
My step-daughter has a clothing problem. She is all chest
and wants to know what to wear to appear less chesty. Any
easy advice for a teenager?
Peggy, San Diego
Peggy,
Start with making sure that your step-daughter has a properly
fitting bra. She should be re-sized by a lingerie professional
each year as she matures. Seamless off-white bras, smooth
and without a fabric pattern are the easiest styles to coordinate
with every type of clothing your step-daughter might wear.
Underwire bras will provide the best support.
Clothing details for a large-chested woman to avoid on shirts
or jackets include wide lapels, pockets over the breast area,
large buttons, huge prints and baggy cuts.
Instead, choose empire cuts with seams just under the breastline.
Empire styles also help to define the waistline. Many large-breasted
women are short waisted and this seaming really helps provide
definition to an otherwise straight line.
V-necklines are great to elongate the torso. Be careful not
to expose too much cleavage—under a deep plunging neckline
wear a camisole or lightweight t-shirt.
When layering shirts, choose solid colors and eschew large
patterns on the outer layer. A great look is to combine a
close fitting shirt under a lightweight jacket. This close
cut top provides definition and the jacket camouflages any
extra large curves.
Wear blouses with minimal decoration. Choose to focus embellishments
and accessories on the eyes, jeans, shoes, etc. In other words,
draw the eye away from the chest area and emphasize the other
more favored areas of the body. If her eyes are exceptional,
choose eye shadows that bring out their beauty. If she has
long legs, wear slacks that make them appear even longer and
leaner. If her hair is a great feature, she might want to
wear hair accessories that attract the eye to that portion
of her overall image.
Shoes are an easy way to draw attention down the torso. Choose
pointed toe shoes to help elongate the bodyline. Wear cute
rounded toes with interesting details. Avoid clunky shoes,
as these add weight to the bottom of your image and also stop
the eye at your feet instead of encouraging them to scan up
and down.
The faster the eye travels up and down an object, the longer
and leaner it will appear. This is a good rule of thumb for
everyone.
Choose your best feature and work on bringing attention to
that area. Don’t dismay if (in your mind) there is one
part of your body that is less than acceptable. We all have
at least one aspect that we would trade in if we could. The
point is to de-emphasize that area and play up the feature
that you are most pleased with! Lead the eye to that area
with extra color, accessories or embellishments. Have fun,
try a few playful image tricks with your friends and see if
you get any compliments.
