Kate has mastered the art of ‘tall’ dressing
‘We can all learn from looking at photos of ourselves and of what celebrities wear’
It seems axiomatic that celebrities, particularly Hollywood actresses, are genetically blessed. And they are. But – and here’s the encouraging news – they also have many of the same issues you or I do.
The famous have the advantage of seeing endless photographs of themselves and having an army of stylists, make-up artists and personal trainers on tap, which has taught them one or two tricks.
But these days we can all take selfies, and if we’re able to look at them objectively, and not succumb to an attack of body dysmorphia, what they tell us about our shape and the outfits that look best on us can be instructive. As can looking at photographs of celebrities and analysing why particular outfits work so well on them.
Even if you’re not an undying replikate, the kind that immediately orders whatever she last appeared in (presumably most of us aren’t), it’s hard to argue that the Duchess of Cambridge doesn’t do a good job with her clothes, elegantly bestriding the sometimes conflicting demands of Diplomacy Dressing and what is appropriate for her position, age and body.
Last week in Ireland, the Diplomacy Dressing was taken care of with leprechaun green, which she wore three times in three days. Luckily it suits her.
She wore slightly raised waists (The Vampire’s Wife) to elongate her legs, softer fabrics to make her seem less angular, and V-neck and bust darts (also The Vampire’s Wife) to emphasise her curves. She’s good in patterns, but not oversized ones that swamp her slender frame (the polka dot dresses).
Tall is fabulous. Short has its merits, too – and I should know.
Both also have their drawbacks. Constantly towering over everyone else brings its challenges. Jenna Lyons minimises her height (she’s 6ft 2in) by creating several horizontal lines in her outfits with colour and pattern. Good places to shop? M&S often has roomy cuts and lengths. Long Tall Sally, Next Tall, and the online-only Asos Tall (its Ridley jeans are the tall woman’s answer to Topshop’s Baxter),
Suits you: outer circle, clockwise from far left, Jenna Lyons, Jennifer Anniston, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Sussex, Miuccia Prada, Linda Rodin, Sarah Jessica Parker, Catherine Deneuve, Princess Charlene of Monaco and Ashley Graham. Inside the circle, from top: Salma Hayek, Amal Clooney and Kate Winslet
Warehouse and Finery which, while they don’t specifically label their ranges tall and regular, specialise in long languid cuts. Boden offers a lot of its trousers and jackets in regular or petite. Higher up the price scale, Tibi and Nanushka love an oversized silhouette, which can swamp small women but is perfect on the tall. Catherine Quin makes beautiful minimalist fluid clothes that I always have to take up by several inches. Perfect for beanpoles. Petar Petrov and Gabriela Hearst design for the willowy. Cefinn is good for longer silhouettes and Max Mara always has a generous cut. This is a good time to be tall – fashion is full of sweeping coats, maxis and capacious longer jackets. For big feet, French Sole offers shoes up to size 9 ½.
If you want to look taller, take the opposite approach by keeping to one colour, or wearing subtle gradations of it. Jennifer Aniston almost always does this.
That doesn’t mean she never breaks out into pattern. But when she does, it’s usually stripes – worn on top. Below she’ll wear a colour that matches one of the stripes. Alternatively she wears a lot of toning colours. Places to shop? Boden and J Crew both offer excellent petite ranges that don’t look as though they’ve been designed for children. The Fold’s trousers are excellent but need shortening (this is pretty much the case with all labels if you’re small), Whistles, Arket (not everything, but trousers and knitwear), some Joseph, especially trousers and their double-faced coats. More expensive? Victoria by Victoria Beckham, Prada, Miu Miu, Rejina Pyo and Ralph by Ralph Lauren. Catherine Deneuve makes her legs look longer by wearing heels and showing as much as them off as works within a fashion and age context. She also has very long arms, but ensures all is harmonious by rolling up her sleeves and wearing chunky bangles.
You might think a long neck is something to aspire to. I know I did. But it’s also a question of proportion, plus the condition of said body part.
If a neck is creating the impression of a pinhead, or an overly longstemmed flower, or simply throwing outfits off balance, then some retuning might be in order.
Some people with seasoned eyes instinctively tweak what they’re wearing – they may not be able to articulate precisely why, they just know something looked wrong. Linda Rodin, the stylist, Instagram powerhouse and beauty entrepreneur, distracts from a long, thin neck with scarves and high necks.
Miuccia Prada has teeny, birdy legs, and a more solid torso. A fabulous patterned tunic and trouser suit balances out both features. (It’s definitely not for hourglass figures, as it would hide those perfectly proportioned curves.) The fact that she doesn’t have an especially defined waist doesn’t stop her wearing her beloved full skirts, however. She always wears them with slightly loose blouses that make her bust look small and create some volume above the waist, creating a smaller waist look.
Ashley Graham is a classic example of how even the clingiest clothes don’t require a thin body, provided they’re in top-quality fabrics and balanced out with accessories, shoes and the right cuts. She uses colour and lines to throw her curves into the most flattering spotlight, accentuating her hips to make her waist look smaller.
Where to shop? If you’re curvy, it’s really worth buying quality. Dolce & Gabbana, Roland Mouret, Alaïa. None cheap, but all often available on resale sites such as Vestiairecollective.com or to rent – try Hurrcollective.com and Mywardrobehq.com. Also, DVF wrap dresses look amazing on the curvy (and Boden usually has a version).
The Duchess of Sussex has similar issues to Miuccia Prada – teeny legs and a square-ish body. She doesn’t always get it right, but the trouser suit she wore early on in her time in Britain was a masterclass in what she looks best in: crisp slim trousers that showcased her elegant ankles and a jacket that didn’t force a waistline but hinted subtly at one by featuring a very slight peplum. Rather than trying to squeeze a waist where there isn’t one (uncomfortable and ultimately futile), create adjacent volume: here the defined hips create an illusion of a smaller waist.
On to Princess Charlene of Monaco – there’s a reason this former champion swimmer so often wears one-shoulder dresses: the diagonal neckline slims broad shoulders (better still, there will be more and more one-shoulder necklines available in the coming months. This was a big hit on the catwalks).
Sarah Jessica Parker has the grace and poise of a ballet dancer
– and also the slender hips, which doesn’t necessarily make for the best proportions in clothes. The innately stylish Parker invariably wears full skirts to counteract this. Unlike most of us, she has the build that allows her to go full tilt at the Prom Look, and she makes the most of it. Where to shop for prom style? Samantha Sung, Catherine Prevost, J Crew and Anthropologie.
Not that she has to, because they do a good job on their own, but Salma Hayek frequently accentuates her bust. If she’s making the point that you can have a Barbie doll figure and be a powerhouse in Hollywood and the fashion industry, then job done, but sometimes she can look disproportionately top-heavy. At her best, she creates an hourglass effect, by drawing the eye up to some subtle shoulder detailing.
Kate Winslet elongates her short neck by wearing deep necklines and sweeping her hair from her face in low chignons that complement her strong jawline.
Amal Clooney is strikingly slender, which in a fashion sense, means she can wear anything. But she’s also angular, which means she looks best in soft fabrics or fuller silhouettes.