Dressing for side shape... pix added for now. - YouLookFab Forum

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Dressing for side shape... pix added for now.

catgirl

Veteran

I ordered one of the Kamalikulture dresses to try and although it is surprisingly flattering from the front, I look pregnant from the side view! I think I'm a side-IT, as my shape gets narrower starting from shoulders and bust, then preggo-looking belly, then flat rear. SO unattractive, and really not much to be done about it. When I weighed 25 pounds less at near-disorder weight, I still had a belly.

How to address the side silhouette issues? Do you worry about it or ignore it?

Body Type

57 replies

Latest reply was from goldenpig

Deborah

Veteran

Una, my figure generally looks better front on. My side view reveals my tummy and my large bust HOWEVER, I like to remind myself that people IRL normally see us in 'movement' so they are not seeing things quite like in a photo. Does that make sense? In any case I wouldn't say I ignore it completely, I do consider it and I do make adjustments as I can but I also make allowances... Im not a supermodel

deb

Veteran

All I can say is, SPANX.
I cannot live without them.

rae

(website)

Veteran

I always have a belly, too. I try to ignore it as much as possible, and also stretch out my hip flexers, which sometimes helps to decrease it. Spanx never really help flatten my belly that much, for whatever reason. They do help smooth my thighs, but that's it.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I have the belly & an extra large bust plus I'm short-waisted - I can laugh about it so that at least is good. Oh I have the flat-ish rear too.

Over the years I think I've tried every control brief that came on the market - they never hid enough belly to make them worthwhile imo. For me the best thing ever to reduce & lengthen my top half is the skimming jacket

Nicola

So unfair I feel! Naturally I try to avoid looking pregnant and I find that empire line dresses that gather under the bust are particularly good at making me look just about to pop.

I think it's easy to forget that normal women have stomachs that curve a little (or a lot). I can think of so many of those women's trashly mags where if some celebrity has the slightest curve out front they must be at least 4 months pregnant! Ha. They hardly ever are. That's just a normal shape!

If an outfit makes me look actually pregnant, then I'll avoid it. Otherwise I like the idea of drawing the eye elsewhere so people see the good bits you want to show off and don't even notice the rest. And I try hard to remember to suck my tummy in - that's Helen Mirren's trick, apparently. Just hard to remember.

Lyn D.

Veteran

I would not worry about an 8/10 side view when the front view is 9 or 10/10- no-one else notices!
It reminds me of the mirrors that magnify our face 5-10 times- you can get caught-up staring at hairs, wrinkles and uneven skin tone, but no-one else sees us so close (thank-fully )

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

This is why I have been loving the oversized top trend!

Nicola

And what Lyn D said too.

Anonymous

I agree with all responses. I put on several pounds lately and have a few side view issues. Deb is right, we are often in motion and rarely seen from that angle by others. Skimming clothes and clever seeming strategically placed, all help with the smoke and mirrors effect we want. Also as Helen Mirren sucks everything in it does improve muscle tone!

Vildy

Veteran

I have similar issues, more with a lower belly than a very high one (for me, it depends a lot, too, on what I have just eaten: dairy, for example). I check the side view as the possible dealbreaker. I like jackets with a little shaping/firmness that flare out just a bit, usually from a waist seam of some placement, and break up this area and shade/mask it.

kkards

Veteran

spanx tank top.....it smooths out the lumps and bumps.

Mona

Veteran

I would say if you really like the front view, then keep. I have no experience with spanx but reading form above comments, it sounds like an option. THose dresees are so fab. did you get the sleeveless one?

Anonymous

I don't worry about side view much either. I think when you move it isn't as noticeable, and we all have a curve there. A topper that skims there is good to break things up.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

A subject near to my heart. I have learned to just not focus too much on my side view after a quick glance to make sure something unusually awful isn't happening there.

Kim

Veteran

Side view?? Oh man, this just gets harder and harder...LOL

If I look reasonably decent from the front and back I call it good and carry on with my real life. Nobody's going to be looking at my side view long enough to even think about it (when did you ever notice anybody else's?) and if they did I doubt they'd comment on it. And if they did I'd laugh it off and say "I'm a person, not a store mannequin, I have all the lumps and bumps to prove it, and I'm proud of them! They make me REAL, just like Horse in "The Velveteen Rabbit "..."

Here's my favorite part of the book -

“Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that
happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just
to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.'

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'

'It
doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes
a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break
easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.
Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved
off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very
shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real
you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”

―
Margery Williams,

The Velveteen Rabbit

Anonymous

Una, I think you're being too hard on yourself. Almost every woman has a bit of curve to her stomach. I really wouldn't worry about the side view much. I think Deborah's right that when you're in motion, it's not something most people would notice at all.

And, I say burn the Spanx unless it's a really special occasion. Life is too short to feel suffocated by shapewear! (I fully realize I could be projecting here, as Spanx feel like pure torture to me.)

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I am the rare individual who looks better from the side than from the front or back. Flat tummy, but I pay for it with my thighs and hips of doom. Too bad I hate the profile view of my face, or I would take all my photos from the side.

I don't think anyone notices the side view too much, really, as long as the garment doesn't grab or cling to the tummy. But this might be coming from my "grass is always greener" perspective.

Lantana

Veteran

You may be able to enhance your side view by attending to posture. Here's a tip: rather than trying to straighten your shoulders, focus on your shoulder blades(angels wings) and gently but firmly slide them down your spine.
Another tip -for tummy flattening-is to engage your core.
A final tip, and by far the best, is to love what you've got, whichever way you look at it.

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

I'm with Deborah on this one - does anybody really stare at people's side views anyway? We are always in movement and most people see us from the front or back and if they do get a side glance, it's only for a second anyway. I try to go for as most flattering from all vantage points as possible, but I don't stress myself out if one view isn't as flattering as another. If I do feel a dress (like my Bailey 44 dress) is a little too unflattering from the side than I would like, that's when a jacket gets popped on top - problem invisible!

Eliza

Veteran

Una- side views are not my best either. Front and rear views often work. I think you are good to go! We all have things to accommodate, and some of them cannot be changed. Tiny variables must fall by the wayside...

You are on a roll with your wardrobe.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

Good question Una - I sometimes do consider my side view, and you know, it's mostly when I try on a dress or skirt because I so rarely wear them I guess. Oh and with swim suits of course. lol. And when I wear pants/shorts I guess a certain amount of that lower stomach is held in place so as long as the pants aren't too tight and there's no muffin top, it all seems fine. Recently when I bought a black dress that was a very soft knit I found that a wide black leather and stretch belt put a just the right spot made all the difference in the world for my side view.

I think sometimes we are just harsh on ourselves when we look in the mirror. I like to take a pic when in doubt and then try to look at it objectively.

bj1111

Veteran

Oh, man, just go out there and be fabulous. Life is TOO short.

Diana

Veteran

Ha, I worry about this too, and I'm like Janet with not much of a tummy. Yet somehow I worry about it anyway, in a way that I do not worry about my much larger butt. Go figure. Maybe because the bubble butt has always been there, so I'm used to it? Certain dresses and skirts create a tummy pooch on me (like if the rise or torso is too long, it tends to bunch up right above the hips) and I'm very sensitive about that.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Una, IKWYM. I think I have what they call a "swayback" (gosh, what an unflattering term -- makes me think of old cart horses) and as a result, my belly sticks out a bit. It does this no matter how thin I am. I don't worry about it, but I don't ignore it either -- I just choose clothes that minimize it. Perhaps that's why I feel more comfortable in separates than in dresses that just drape over the area. I like my middle to feel "contained" by a waistband. Having said that, some dresses are in fact flattering -- but others definitely make me look a bit pregnant.

catgirl

Veteran

Lots to contemplate here!

I got the dress Angie has. I will post pics here so you all can see what I mean about front and side.

Kim, no book makes me cry more than the Velveteen Rabbit! It's the precursor to Toy Story and all the guilt of giving away toys and growing up...

I'm not overly obsessed with the side view, and pay zero attention to the rear view. But some recent pix from our camping trip really brought to my attention why I am not a smaller size although I look it from the front. I'm thick from the side, and it's not a pretty sight. Without any booty to balance the belly (say that 5 times fast!), I look like a miniature version of a guy with a beer gut.

Climbing and running help some, but I think I need to focus on some specific core exercises. I do use shapewear on certain occasions, but could never handle it all day sitting at work - it's torture.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Side view? OY.

I try to ignore it.

I used to be more "pearish" and my theory is that pears have excellent side views. (Thank you, Janet, for confirming my hunch).

So most of the time, I pretend that I am still pearish, even though I am not, and almost never look at the side view at all. Things are just easier that way. Cause, you know...the side view can be unflattering even if you are at your slimmest.

Recent case in point. The outfit looked okay from the front. BLEAH!

Know what, though? I wore it happily anyway. I figure that what everyone else has said is true. People see us in motion from a whole bunch of angles.

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Suz

(website)

Veteran

Una, also --- I agree with you that shorter women can end up looking thicker through the middle quite easily.

catgirl

Veteran

Okay, Exhibits A and B:

A; Front view, Kamalikulture dress
B. Side view: When's the due date?

I'm not saying all angles need to be the most flattering, but is there a point at which it's just wrong?

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rachylou

Veteran

Well, I do check out the side view. I don't worry about a tummy. That is part of the female form. What I don't like is looking like a big fat block from the side view - i.e., no curves at all - no butt, no boobs, no nothing. Which normally has to do with fabric drape and garment size (too large).

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