YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style? https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:29:44 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php nicoleb on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style/page/2#post-505797 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:37:37 +0000 nicoleb 505797@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I used to struggle with this a lot! There were tons of styles i saw so many girls pull off with ease -- I would go into the fitting room and struggle, struggle, struggle. Like when those really long straight fitted tunics where everywhere. @_@ But now that i know more about dressing my body i tend to gravitate...what i know it will look good in. Which...i guess makes sense. Plus tricks i've learned on how to pull off the same sort of styles i wanted to wear before, just adjusted to my body. Keix on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style/page/2#post-505777 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:21:06 +0000 Keix 505777@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I definitely have the same conflict--I'm drawn to romantic and feminine silhouettes like full skirts and high waists, but my body type is resolutely apple/rectangle. I need to wear a push-up bra just to fill out a A-cup silhouette. As of yet, I haven't reconciled myself to the masculine or streamlined styles that look great on others. However, I do take heart in my ability to pull off almost any A-line or full skirt without worrying about how it makes my hips look. Also, I agree with goldenpig--no one ever says, "I wish I were an apple shape." I am lucky to have strong rectangle tendencies, being petite with small bone structure, but I still wish for "normal" sized bust and feet (both are -proportionally- very small for my size). Aziraphale on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style/page/2#post-499795 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:39:24 +0000 Aziraphale 499795@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm a bit late to this thread too. I'd be a liar if I said that I can wear everything my little heart desires...but no, on the whole, my physical shape is not at odds with my preferred style. I've occasionally wondered if this is a chicken-or-the-egg sort of thing, though. Has the figure I've got (it hasn't changed much 20 years) literally shaped my preferences? Hopsie on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style/page/2#post-499638 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:44:23 +0000 Hopsie 499638@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ A very good topic indeed, and Rae, I feel you! I too have dealt with some major issues concerning the shape of my body and style (and truthfully, still am). In my teens I had more of a boy's figure with my strong shoulders and slim rear and hips, a true IT. After 8 years of dressing like a boy I was devastated when I noticed that I still looked like a guy regardless of puberty's miracle work. It felt like a sick joke from nature, because I wanted to enter the wonderful world of girly stuff but my body didn't fit in. I still need petticoats if I want my skirts and dresses to look nice. However, in time I figured out style is a choice, not some destiny that falls upon you. People can have control over these things. It doesn't necessarily even require a total overhaul of one's wardrobe, although it is a liberating experience. It's all between our ears. If I feel awful, I can't expect the view from my mirror to seem any better. Just like style, also happiness is a choice. It's difficult to acquire, but definitely worth it. I try to remember this, when I look at my bank account and see just how much money I have spent on clothing and then recall how much I spent back in the days when I wore combat trousers and t-shirts. "It's for self liberation!" One of my victories on my quest to embrace my body type is that recently I stopped worrying about weight gain. I'm naturally slim, but for years and years I deliberately kept myself skinny, and can't even remember why. I just did. 123 lbs. is not alarming, but a tad too little for 5'8 ft person. We'll see, if I develop some curves from a healthy diet. If I don't, well, I suppose that's how it goes. rae on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style/page/2#post-499602 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:29:06 +0000 rae 499602@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm late to this thread, but OH MAN did I struggle with this topic for so long! I've long been a tomboy. I wanted to dress like Kurt Cobain and Axl Rose and like a skater/surfer dude. I wore dickies and board shorts and crewneck tee shirts... Thank goodness Axl was kind of androgynous and wore the occasional fitted shirt. This was okay while I was doing gymnastics and was very much an IT - the baggy pants kind of balanced me out. But after I stopped doing that, I became way more hourglassy, both because of my lifestyle and because of nature. Dressing like a man made me look like... a fat man. o_0 So then I started to try to be girlier to flatter my bod, but I didn't feel like me. I FINALLY feel like I have a handle on it, but geez, I still sometimes wish I looked like Kate Moss. taylor on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style/page/2#post-499591 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:00:04 +0000 taylor 499591@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ What Angie said!! I have always laughed when I read some designers "must have" list and it includes a wrap dress...Not on me :) I try to wear clothes that fit as well as can be, otherwise I look lost in them or sloppy. I would love to be a bit more curvey, but I don't think one can "spot" gain in the preferred spots only:( Elly on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style/page/2#post-499588 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:49:24 +0000 Elly 499588@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Hmm . . . I am a curvy hourglass with some masculine sharp edges (broad, square shoulders, a strong jaw, sometimes muscle-y arms). I like to have clean-lined, menswear or masculine elements to my clothing and style. NOT because it tempers my curviness-- actually, the juxtaposition suits my personality and really plays up my feminine body through the CONTRAST. I can wear most styles-- although sometimes I have to search longer to find pieces that fit and look the same/similarly-- for example, straight leg jeans need to be wider on me so they don't end up looking like skinnies because of curvy thighs. The one thing I've never really been able to pull off with my figure is the androgynous/gamine/schoolboy/girl look. I can pull off a menswear/masculine inspired look, I can go bombshell, but no matter what I have a very "adult" body (and face) and it doesn't suit. Instead of Angie's preppy schoolboy look, I have to change the vibe and the volume of pieces around and go more Sinatra. Instead of the skinnies/striped top/ballet flats gamine french look (which I can wear, it just doesn't look as gamine on me)-- I may wear a pair of slightly more masculine straight/wider legged jeans, with converse, and a looser/drapey striped T that shows off the curves without trying too hard or having stripes bend around them-- the end result tends to be the same "naturally gorgeous" and "effortless" look. velvetychocolate on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499574 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:17:06 +0000 velvetychocolate 499574@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Vix - you made me laugh about Bea Arthur and James Bond. Still laughing out loud here. Verrrry interesting. This is turning out to be a tad bit more complicated than I thought, and I'm glad you posted Vix - because I sense now that what's going on is more than just angsting about whether my particular shape will work with particular styles. I really like what you said about how it can be a bit of a 'hoot' to dress in a way that flatters one's shape while still being the person you are. Thanks for that Vix on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499572 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:56:44 +0000 Vix 499572@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Hi Velvetychocolate -- First, congrats on seeing results from your lifestyle changes! I'm glad to have come later to this thread since there's so much great advice...and since it sounds as if you're getting over your shock of finding curves. I think I may be one of the few who thinks that yes, to a rather large degree my body type does conflict with styles I think would align best with my personality. I've done the tweaking and adapting and so forth -- which I totally encourage! -- and sometimes it works well enough for me to accept as a once in a while choice and sometimes I am too vain to go with something I'd categorize as "not my best look." However, because I've let my body type (and modifiers) drive my style in many ways, I've had an interesting time exploring other aspects of my personality that might have been shoved aside for my dominant and/or "most comfortable expressing" side. Looking the way I prefer to look in clothes has taken me to a more va-voomy and/or more traditionally feminine place and to be honest it's all rather a hoot. There are many days when I call what I wear camouflage, ha. [Perhaps it's a good thing my body type doesn't easily lend itself to super-flowing Bea Arthur or crispy James Bond looks?] I hope you'll have a blast exploring a variety of silhouettes and styles during this new phase of your life. Looking forward to hearing about the results! JennyK (NC) on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499563 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:41:25 +0000 JennyK (NC) 499563@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ btw, I wear skinny jeans AND moto jackets all the time and I look fab in them (not feeling very modest tonight). I'm sure you can rock that look too. Just gotta find the right jeans and the right moto jacket. ;-) There are a few looks I feel really uncomfortable in (please don't ask me to surrender my waist!!!) but I think just about everything else can be modified or restyled in a way that will fit my shape. You can do that too. Everyone here will give you honest yays or nays, so feel free to experiment! velvetychocolate on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499555 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:32:51 +0000 velvetychocolate 499555@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thank you Jenny I will learn to embrace my shape! I have already made great strides in this area in that I now think I have a 'nice' shape even though it doesn't fit with my mental idea of the styles I'd like to be able to wear. I'll get there. It's probably most likely that I just have to stop associating particular body shapes with particular clothing styles. For instance, I've assumed that any hourglass should (must) have wrap dresses and that skinny jeans might be a problem. That you have to be a rectangle to pull off a moto jacket and so on. While I still have more pounds to lose, I wasn't expecting hourglass. I was just thinking slimmer or slim. It didn't occur to me that there might be a shape in there. JennyK (NC) on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499528 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:08:40 +0000 JennyK (NC) 499528@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ When I was much younger I didn't like my hourglass shape. I didn't see it as bombshell and glamorous. I just knew that the designer jeans that were the "in" thing back then didn't work on me. They gaped at the waist and never fit right over my bum. The models all had pretty straight figures and mine just didn't look like that. Then I discovered pin up girls and the glamorous movie stars of yore and had an epiphany. I don't have to have the same figure the other girls have! What I have is wonderful! Now I truly, truly love my shape (though I don't necessarily love every lump and bump, I'll admit). I love to wear things that play up my curves and my small waist. I think a key is to find someone with a similar silhouette whose style you admire. We all love Angie's style (mwah at Angie!) but I'm sure she will agree that there are lots of fabulous women out there with our particular shape whose style we could look to emulate. I happen to adore the va-va-voom look and hope to attract wolf whistles when I'm 90 years old, but not everyone wants that - LOL. I'll bet you could find examples of hourglass shapes dressing in ways you would like. JennyK Suz on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499513 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:02:10 +0000 Suz 499513@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ You know, you can also decide to play against the "rules" for your body type, and Angie even has some posts about this, I believe. I think if you decide to do this, fit and proportion become absolutely key. You can't afford to go wrong with it. I think as an hourglass you can certainly wear skinnies and a jacket; you'll just have to ensure that the jacket ends at the right place for your particular body, and you may want to wear a tucked top. You can still wear checked trousers, cut slim but not skin-tight. You CAN wear a moto: again, it will have to end in the right place. I do not believe an hourglass shape militates against any of these styles in the least; what CAN mess up those looks on a curvier body is poor fit, including length of hem, sleeves, etc. What you might be gesturing towards is the difficulty of finding well fitting examples of those styles if you have curves. I am sure it will be a challenge (but then pants are always a challenge, right?) Check out Sveta's outfits for some inspiration. She's a pretty pear and regularly wears trousers of all kinds (including skinnies) and many different kinds of jackets. She sometimes shows her waist and sometimes surrenders it. And she looks fab! Kari on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499490 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:39:32 +0000 Kari 499490@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ You are so kind, and I am very flattered that something I wore was inspirational to you. I was soooo tentative to try turtlenecks again, especially tucked into pants, and now I'm wearing that look very often! I work the same way - I'm much more likely to feel as though I can give an unfamiliar trend a try when I see people with very different body types wearing similar styles, especially if one of the wearers' figures resembles my own. velvetychocolate on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499482 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:30:15 +0000 velvetychocolate 499482@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thank you all so much - I think I just need to try some of these outfit ideas that I like so much, despite a little voice that says, "Oh you can't wear xyz because...." and so on. I *have* actually tried a few things and been very surprised, so I will just keep going! I did manage to put together a version of the updated sweater dress formula that Angie posted back in late October, and it worked out surprisingly well - to the point where my husband was floored and loved the outfit. CocoLion - thank you for sharing this example - it helps a lot. Perhaps it's more "the idea" of a particular look than the actual, specific pieces. I'm going to work on this - you've given me a really good idea about how to make something work, even if it doesn't seem like it will at first. Suz - thanks for your insightful post - that bit about feeling like a particular style is going to be imposed is just how I've been feeling. I don't feel like a very bombshell kind of person - but the guidelines/ideas for my shape tend to go in that direction. Una - you're so right about how the same outfit can look good on different shapes for entirely different reasons - thanks for this! Kari - you are looking *fab* - and I'm so glad to hear that you're able to just have fun and I have to tell you that your posts are very inspiring for me - it's because both you and Angie tried the tucked-in-turtleneck with flared jeans - that I went and bought the GAP Long and Leans, and the INC ribbed turtleneck sweater. When I saw that this kind of outfit looked equally fabulous on two different shapes, I decided to try it too. I even bought a weird 70's inspired necklace/pendant - way over the top for me....but with the simple jeans and turtleneck - it seemed to work. Debora - I feel a lot like you do, but for different reasons. A few days or maybe a week ago, I asked if wrap dresses were dated, and I asked this question because I felt like this is a shape that suits me, but I really wasn't crazy about the idea. I was actually hoping someone would say that wrap dresses were out of date...lol! I don't really have any (a couple of things that are slightly similar to a wrap dress), and it felt like this particular dress was kind of a "must have" for my shape. But what I really want are checked slim-fit trousers, skinny jeans, a moto jacket, and so on. Definitely a bit of rebellious stuff going on here. Not sure why this is, but it is. In the meantime, I've decided I'm going to try some of the ideas/looks that I like anyway, and find what I can that will work with my shape - employing CocoLion's and Louise's strategy along the way too if/when the specific items aren't friendly for my shape. Thanks again everyone. While I know it's not fun, it's good to know I'm not the only one who has wondered if one's shape sometimes conflicts with wanting to wear certain styles. CocoLion on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499281 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:53:40 +0000 CocoLion 499281@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I say alter a style so it suits your body! Last year Angie did a Chanel Gal on the Go formula consisting of ballet flats, a striped top, jeans, a flower pin, black jacket and chain strap bag. <a href="http://youlookfab.com/2011/02/09/formula-chanel-inspired-gal-on-the-go/" rel="nofollow">http://youlookfab.com/2011/02/.....on-the-go/</a> Lots of ladies posted great WIWs sporting this formula. I kept trying to create outfits, but couldn't make it work for me. The ballet flats and skinny jeans were a big problem for my hourglass with pear tendencies figure. To boot, I am barely 5'4". So, instead of following the formula literally, I adopted it to my own figure. I wore a pinstripe shirt, a navy blazer, and bootcut jeans. I wore flat booties instead of the ballet flats because on me, ballet flats look best with dresses. I have very wide small feet and with jeans on, it has the effect of shortening and stumpifying my legs (even though they aren't short for my height). A flat bootie with a longer toe and no skin showing has an effect of making me look longer and leaner. This outfit is early in my YLF membership and today I would be inspired to create a very different outfit, but the whole exercise was a big lesson for me. I found I could be inspired by someone else's style and create a look using pieces I owned and make it work for my body, even though the end look was quite different from the blog's Chanel formula. Kari on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499273 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:39:41 +0000 Kari 499273@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I used to feel that way, but strangely for the past year - despite being at my highest weight ever - I've really embraced my shape. When I get dressed, most of the time I'm thinking about what strengths my figure and color can bring to my evolving style rather than thinking about clothing as something that I need to use to camouflage my size or mask my flaws. I'd certainly like to be smaller than I am - in certain places, especially - and more in shape again, but I would be sad to lose my overall hourglassy shape because I've so grown to appreciate it. I think I've been focusing so much on having FUN while dressing that I've eliminated a lot of the negativity that I used to feel when I looked at myself in a mirror. In some ways my style preference really jibes with my curves - pencil skirts, form-fitting dresses - but I'm also able to find some items that do NOT automatically work with my shape (jeans, turtlenecks, furry vests, etc.) that can really work well with my figure in a certain context and when the fit is exactly right. Most of the time, at least right now, I do not feel that my figure and my style preference are clashing. Janet on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-499271 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:32:35 +0000 Janet 499271@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ There are things I'd love to wear that look awful on me, but I can't really say there's a conflict between my body and how I'd like to dress it. Sure, ideally, I would love to be a less pear-inclined hourglass (in fact, I wish I leaned more toward being an IT). It would be wonderful if I woke up one morning and my body was symmetrical and my thighs smaller... but really, I have reached a new level of body acceptance in the past year and overall am thankful for the body I have. I am learning to embrace the idea that "it's not me, it's the clothes" that are not right. rute on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498959 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:38:41 +0000 rute 498959@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ no.. I just believe you can go for the style you want no matter your shape, you'll just have to learn to work with the clothes. The problem is not in your body, don't think that you have to change your body! Think: I have to adapt the looks, the clothes work for me and not the other way around! Louise on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498952 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:51:00 +0000 Louise 498952@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ My style has altered unconsciously to my body shape. My favourite things suit my body shape. There is often a few tweeks which can be made to make a look work for different body types. For instance I never thought my pear body could look good in skinnies but I just need to wear them with a longer top. The grass is not usually greener on the other side, on a shopping trip a few years ago my friend who is a straight up and down uk size 6-8 came out of the changing room at the same time as me and said I wish I had your curves as I came out and said I wish I was in proportion like you!! This was a real eye opener for me as I always assumed slim people found it much easier to buy clothes but it's just about buying things that suit you. You're always going to be disappointed if you're constantly looking at things which don't flatter your body x Debora on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498901 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 06:14:10 +0000 Debora 498901@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ What Angie said! Oh my gosh, the first thing that came to mind when I read your post was that I would love to be able to wear wrap dresses and wrap blouses. I then went on to read the next comment (Angie's) and started laughing. It's reassuring to know that I am not the only one who can't wear wrap dresses! The grass does often seem greener on the other side. After all these years, I am just now learning to dress the body I have in a way that feels like me, and it's a whole lot more fun since finding YLF. Suz on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498898 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:51:20 +0000 Suz 498898@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ VC, thank you so much for the sweet compliments; I'm SO honoured! And what a great question you raise. I have often wondered exactly the same thing. Also, it seems as if you and I have both faced some fashion challenges we did not expect on losing weight. In my teens and twenties, if I had known about body shape at all, I'd have considered myself a pretty pear. Really, I was a small-bust hourglass, but my main figure "problem" was my hips and thighs. Then I gained weight (pretty evenly all over) and was a bit more of an hourglass. Now, with weight loss, rectangular tendencies that I had never recognized in my entire life have suddenly become obvious to me. This came as a complete shock. It has actually taken me a full two seasons at my current weight to recognize that the styles that used to suit me best do not look good on me anymore. Full stop. I recently consigned my favourite black and white polka dot wrap dress because it just wasn't doing me any favours. It was stretchy, so it still fit....sort of. But manifestly did NOT flatter. I was really sad to give that dress up. That style was such a reliable go-to for me. I almost don't know what to put in its place! So yes, the grass is always greener. But I think your point goes a little deeper. It is one thing to long to be able to wear this or that item but feel that it is unflattering. It's another thing to feel that a whole style persona is more or less closed to us because of our body shape. Or perhaps IMPOSED on us due to our body shape, i.e. if you are an hourglass you must be a bombshell. That sort of thing. With a significant weight loss (or gain) our identities shift. Sometimes it takes our brains and emotions a while to catch up with our bodies; we literally do not recognize our new selves. So part of what you are feeling now about fashion may be related to this change. Once you get better acquainted with your new body, you may begin to feel more comfortable with your new style choices and possibilities and you may feel less limited by your new shape. I also think you are really onto something when you say that perhaps we should simply choose what we love and then find ways to make it work for our body type. I think EVERYBODY can do a version of Parisian chic, for example. Not everybody will look like Ines when she wears it. But isolating the aspects of her look that appeal and then translating them for a different body type is a fascinating challenge. So, for an hourglass, maybe not rolled up baggy cargo pants. (Actually, is there ANYONE other than Nina who can wear those???) But maybe the horizontal striped top, maybe tucked in straight leg jeans, with the trench overtop? Deborah on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498878 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:57:13 +0000 Deborah 498878@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Inside, I am a 6ft glamazon lol, but in reality I am a petite, hour glass with apple tendencies (I think). I have found it very liberating to understand what suits my body type and flatters it. I have also found it exciting to better understand how I can create a certain silhouette that is maybe not my 'natural' silhouette if that makes sense. I feel that overtime (and YLF certainly affirms this) we become more accepting of the body we have, particularly as we come to understand that its ok to look like ourselves and that we can look totally fab irrespective of size or shape. Anonymous on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498872 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:39:25 +0000 Anonymous 498872@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Good words Una and the rest of you! Yes, we all have our issues. I cannot find tall boots or straight leg jeans to save my life. In fact, the only thing I can wear right now is a skinny jean, so that's why I'm always in them, lol! Dresses are next to impossible because they lack the coverage I need to soften my bony upper chest. Blouses are causing the same issue so it's Jeans and T-shirts most days. I feel like a man in most button front shirts since they hide whatever slight curves I have. And I can't wear heels! I try not to pine for what I don't have, but I'd LOVE to have more curves and look more womanly. So, what was the question again? Oh, ok. So I have decided to let my body shape (and the shape my poor feet are in) *determine* my style, instead of the other way around. velvetychocolate on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498859 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:20:55 +0000 velvetychocolate 498859@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ goldenpig - you look fabulous in your new clothes! I know what you mean though - I think Angie's onto something - the old "grass is greener" idea. I'd like to be a rectangular type person, but I'm ending up with "plump hourglass" instead. Thing is - it's probably true that we'd all like to have elements of a different shape sometimes, if only to feel like we could wear certain styles that appeal to us. In the meantime, you look just beautiful in your new styles - you've really done well and you've picked out the very best pieces. When I see you and your style, I do not see 'apple' or any obvious shape really - what I see is glamour. AHA! I wonder if that's it? Not picking clothing or styles based on your shape, but rather - going for what you like and making it work for your shape instead? I mean, according to a lot of things I've read - you should wear certain styles if you are an hourglass, but the thing is? I don't necessarily always like those obviously 'perfect for an hourglass' styles. This may seem a tad rebellious, but I'd like to find a way to wear what I like, and not just what "they" say a certain shape should be wearing. catgirl on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498848 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:12:21 +0000 catgirl 498848@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Totally. In my dreams I am taller, more lithe, and have a lot less chestage. Friends are always telling me they don't feel feminine and envy my bra size - well, I rarely seek femininity and feel my bust size just gets in the way of everything I enjoy doing, as well as what I'd like to wear. Interestingly, and at the risk of sounding weird, when my friend and I recently shopped together, we tried on the same very expensive lingerie outfit in the same dressing room - and we both bought it! She thought I looked great because of my bustline, and I thought she looked great because of her tiny waist. (We are really good friends and climbing partners, so no modesty at all!) It was an eye-opener. But looking at the larger picture, I'm happy to be healthy and lucky to able to complain about such things. I read a quote by a woman who said she never realized her breasts were perfect till she got breast cancer, and that has stuck with me. goldenpig on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498844 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:01:42 +0000 goldenpig 498844@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Well, sometimes I get frustrated by seeing something looking great on someone else here, trying it and finding out that it doesn't look so hot on apples. In fact, sometimes I really hate being an apple. I mean, nobody ever says "I wish I could be an apple", right? But I try to make it work and keep plugging away till I find something that looks good on me! velvetychocolate on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498830 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:40:37 +0000 velvetychocolate 498830@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ annagybe - you've touched upon something that I couldn't quite figure out until now - I also sometimes feel a little bit too "va va voom-ish" when I wear something that actually shows some of my shape. I would love to be a rectangle too! velvetychocolate on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498828 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:34:35 +0000 velvetychocolate 498828@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thank you! If there's anything I've learned from participating here it's that everyone has issues, and at the same time, I am getting the impression that *everyone* can look fab - that's quite something! Meanwhile, before finding YLF it didn't occur to me that smaller/slimmer people would have just as many issues - that they couldn't find the right boots or that the good sale items would sell out before they could buy their size. In this respect, I think that slimmer people "get" what curvier and/or heavier people go through - and this is a bit of a surprise to me. I used to think that if you were slim, everything would just fit magically - and I've since learned that this is *not* the case. Thanks Angie - for touching on the "grass is always greener" angle - I think you're right. I'm sure if my shape somehow magically morphed into the shape that works well for the slimmer styles I like right now, I'd be complaining that certain other styles didn't work for me. Very good point - thank you! And Mochi - you might be surprised. Before losing weight (and I still have several pounds to go), I thought I was just one shape..."round". I somehow had this perception in my head that losing weight would mean I'd be this slim, sort of lanky person. Meanwhile, it turns out I have a kind of hour-glass-y figure. Don't laugh, but I've been pining away for slim cut pants, flat shoes, Parisian Chic and all of that, but I am somehow ending up with a shape that doesn't exactly "go" with those styles. I'm going to have to do some resesrch/looking around to see if I can make the styles I like work on my shape. annagybe on "Do you feel like your body shape conflicts with your style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-body-shape-conflicts-with-their-style#post-498818 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:13:50 +0000 annagybe 498818@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Well I'm primarily an hourglass, with some minor apple tendencies. My favorite silhouette is waist surrendering though. I feel sometimes a little too vavavoom in many styles that accentuate my hourglass. For example my recent "date" outfit was really pushing it for me, and one of my friends is constantly trying to get me to dress sexier on dates. Ideally I'd like to be a rectangle.