I have spent years working as a commercial fashion stylist and if there is one thing that drives me absolutely crazy every summer it is watching people buy gorgeous swimsuits that look completely wrong on their specific body frames. Social media is flooded with these perfect heavily filtered pictures of models wearing tiny string bikinis or trendy high cut one pieces and it tricks everyone into thinking those exact items will look identical on them. Then people order them online try them on in front of a harsh bedroom mirror and end up feeling completely depressed about their bodies. Look here is the actual truth because the issue has nothing to do with your weight or your shape and everything to do with bad geometry. Every single body type has a couple of specific design traps that will instantly throw off your proportions and make you look awkward on the sand. If you want to stop wasting your cash on pieces that just end up sitting in your closet you need to learn exactly what to avoid before you even look at a price tag.
The massive boy short trap that pear shaped girls always fall for
If you carry most of your weight around your hips and thighs you are probably a classic pear shape and your natural instinct is usually to cover that area up as much as possible. I cannot tell you how many clients come to me wearing those thick heavy boy short style bottoms thinking they are being modest and hiding their problem areas. Honestly those shorts are the absolute worst thing you can wear because that straight horizontal line cuts right across the widest part of your thighs. It literally highlights your saddlebags and makes your lower half look twice as wide as it actually is. Instead of trying to bury your hips under extra fabric you actually want to do the opposite and opt for a high cut leg opening. Bringing that fabric up higher on your hip bone creates the illusion of super long lean legs and completely balances out your natural curves.
Why flat bandeau tops are a total disaster for athletic straight frames
For my girls who have a more athletic or rectangular shape where your bust waist and hips are pretty much aligned you face a totally different challenge. You do not really have to worry about hiding extra weight but you do need to create some dimension so you do not look like a cardboard box in photos. The absolute number one mistake I see athletic girls make is wearing those plain bandeau style tube tops. A bandeau essentially acts like a giant sports bra that flattens whatever natural chest definition you have while emphasizing your broad shoulders. It completely drains the femininity out of your silhouette. If you want to create the illusion of soft curves you need to look for tops with clear triangular cups halter necks or pretty much anything with delicate ruffles and gathering that breaks up those straight lines.
The heavy fabric illusion that makes apple shapes look incredibly bulky
If you tend to carry your weight around your midsection and chest area while having gorgeous slim legs you are an apple shape and you need to be super careful with patterns and fabric thickness. A lot of apple shaped women think that the only way to look good is to buy a super tight one piece made of thick compressive fabric with big bold horizontal stripes to wrap everything in. Please stop doing this because stiff heavy fabric combined with busy horizontal patterns just creates this massive solid block effect that makes your torso look way shorter and thicker than it actually is. You want to look for lightweight breathable materials that feature deep plunging V necks or clever vertical rushing down the center. Showing off that skin up top opens up your frame and draws the attention away from your midsection while highlighting your killer legs.
How oversized skirted swimsuits completely swallow up petite frames
Finally we need to talk about my petite girls who are on the shorter side because your main goal is always about preserving your height and not getting overwhelmed by fabric. There is this huge trend right now for retro vintage style swimsuits that feature little attached skirts or heavy ruffled overlays around the bottom half. While those look adorable on a tall runway model they are an absolute nightmare if you are under five foot four. That heavy extra skirt fabric acts like a giant anchor that visually drags your entire body down and makes your legs look about two inches long. If you want to look elegant and tall at the beach you need to keep things minimal and streamlined. Stick to clean simple bikinis or high cut one pieces with vertical ribbing because any extra fabric hanging off your hips is just going to completely swallow you alive.
0 comments