It’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it

The clever tweaks that transform unflattering outfits into style winners and enhance your figure

WHEN it comes to getting dressed, it’s not only the style of clothes that matters, it’s also the way you wear them.

If you want to look good whatever your shape, the most important thing to do is to create perfect proportion, and the way to do that is to think about lines.

Ratios are far more important than your shape, which rarely fits neatly into one ‘type’. The human eye registers horizontal lines before anything else. If your lines are in the wrong place, you will look unbalanced.

It starts with the waist. While we all think we want legs up to our armpits, what we really want is to make our legs and torso appear equal and achieve symmetry.

If you’re petite, that might mean wearing a slightly lower waist to make the body look longer, and heels to lengthen the legs. If you’re tall with a long body, high-waisted skirts or trousers will make your legs look longer and your body more in proportion.

Sleeve lines also make a big difference. If you have a small chest and want to make it appear bustier, wear a top with a sleeve that finishes at your bustline. This will also give the look of a more nipped-in waist.

If you’ve got broad shoulders, avoid puffed sleeves or you’ll look like an American footballer. You can still wear a statement sleeve, but you need to choose one that flares out from below the elbow.

For hemlines, try the towel trick. Stand in a bra and knickers in front of a full-length mirror and hold a bath towel lengthways in front of you, all the way down to your feet. Slowly raise it up until it reaches the narrowest point of your ankle/lower leg. That’s where you want your hemline to hit in dresses and trousers.

If you want to wear a shorter skirt, do this again until you find the narrowest point of your knee area. This is the most flattering length for you.