No, no. I mean how balanced is your figure? Not your mind. Who among us is perfectly proportioned? But that’s not to say we can’t appear to look balanced, no matter what our size. It’s really all in the illusion, isn’t it?
Some say that the measure of attractiveness is all in symmetry. How balanced we appear.
Identifying your body shape is relatively easy. Perhaps these letters come to mind:
- H – straight
- O – round
- A – teardrop
- X – shapely
- V – inverted triangle
We all know the tricks to camouflage large hips, a wide waist, or a non-existent derrière.
But do you know tricks to camouflage your VERTICAL BODY TYPE?
Your Vertical Body Type is determined by measurements taken from head to toe.
Your body can be visually separated into two parts.
- The lower portion is your legs.
- The portion above your legs is called your torso (and includes your head).
In the image below, all three girls are the same height, but they have very different vertical body types.
Why is any of this important? Take notice of Long waisted Girl #1, her legs are appear visually short when compared to her torso. While averaged waisted Girl #2 appears visually balanced, and short waisted Girl #3 appears to have the longest legs.
So ladies, we begin with this knowledge of body shape and vertical body type.We may be able to change our body shape (somewhat) through diet and exercise, but we cannot alter our vertical body type. We ARE who we ARE.
And, on a positive note, we can create the illusion we want. We can appear to lengthen a short waist, or shorten a long waist. We can even make our legs look longer, giving the illusion that we are taller, in turn helping us appear thinner!
My next blog will offer suggestions on how to help you look more visually balanced. If you have a copy of Quintessential Style, turn to page 44 for tips.
To be continued…
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4 Comments
I am short waisted with hips being larger. I always need to buy separates, dresses or the dreaded pantsuit was never an option! Now I have trouble finding jackets – I can wear petite sizes now but they still feel too short. I’m stuck.
Barbara,
My co-author, Stylist Janna Beatty, advises choosing a jacket color that is similar to the color of your pants, so there is less contrast between the line of your jacket and the line of your pants. When you don’t see a visual break between your top and bottom, you create one long, lean line for the eye.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks for the great visual diagrams and explanation of them Sharon. They were very helpful.
You are welcome, Lita.