Tips for dressing for your body type

Everyone wants to look great, but choosing the right clothes can seem impossible. How do you deal with wide hips or a short waist or broad shoulders?

``It's about balance,'' said Terry Ahern, a special events planner for Bon-Macys, who produces the store's local fashion shows. ``Everyone has a body and it has probably what might be considered really good features and maybe features that need to be diminished or flattered.''

Women often try to categorize themselves as one body type or another, but it's possible to be a combination, said Kim Crumpler, owner of Uniquely Savvy, an Eastside wardrobe consulting and personal buying service for men and women.

``The secret is in the body profiling,'' Crumpler said. ``What I try and do with my clients is to look at each individual body. Are you truly, truly a pear (shape) or are you a modified pear? We're looking at the different aspects of your body,'' explained Crumpler, who has worked in the fashion industry for 15 years, including at Nordstrom and Nike.

``Take a look at your body and really determine your assets and your challenges and how to work around them,'' she advised. ``You learn to camouflage the challenges and accentuate the assets.''

Ahern said design principles -- such as anything that's light is going to appear larger and anything dark is doing to appear smaller -- are the guide in balancing a body's pluses and minuses.

Crumpler offers these overall tips:

* Fabrics: Women who are curvy or carrying a few extra pounds should choose soft, fluid fabrics with a looser weave. Those who need to add weight to their silhouettes should select firmer, heavier fabrics with tighter weaves, such as tweed or mohair.

* Color: Wear darker colors to minimize large areas and lighter colors to accent smaller areas of the body.

* Prints: Wear them in proportion to body size -- small prints for petites, larger prints for women who are more on the plus side. Curvy women can break up the curves with geometric or angular prints.

* Undergarments: ``You don't want to be seeing panty lines no matter what your shape is,'' Crumpler said. ``To get fit for a really good bra is important'' -- it will change your shape and make your clothes look and fit better.

* Trends: ``Invest in the pieces that work well for you while they're out there. Just don't buy the things that aren't working best for your body. You just say no to (certain) styles, even if it's very fashionable.''

Crumpler offers a sampling of tips for specific challenge areas and body types:

Pear shape

Women with this shape are narrow across the shoulders and bustline, and wider in the hips. Wear tops that add bulk and breadth, such as a cowl neck, to balance out the bottom half. Avoid V-necks. Choose jackets with lapels pointing outward to the shoulders, and in a longer length, ending below the hips.

Broad shoulders

Wear V-necks and scoop necks. Choose jackets with narrow lapels or shawl collars. Choose raglan, drop or kimono sleeves, which have more ease through the shoulder and bustline, providing a softening effect. Choose accessories and scarves that provide a lengthening effect. Avoid shoulder pads and boat necks.

Short-waisted

Women with short waists -- a shorter than usual distance between the waist and the point below the ribcage -- should focus on visually lengthening the torso. Choose long tunics and jackets. Dropped waists are flattering, as are styles with dominant vertical lines, such as buttons all the way down the front, or a jacket worn open. ``Try to avoid belts, because it will only shorten you,'' Crumpler said. If a belt is a must, wear a narrow one and match it to the color of the top.

Rectangular torso

A woman with a rectangular torso doesn't have a lot of waist definition. Wear shirts, tops and jackets that are slightly contoured through the waist, but not completely fitted.

Hourglass

This classic body shape, with a much more defined waist and curvy bust and hips, presents its own challenges. ``We generally have to buy things bigger to go over our hips and bums and we have to have an alteration to that waist to make it fit,'' said Crumpler, who counts herself in this category. ``One of the very key ingredients is to be open to minor alterations.'' Choose jackets that sweep over the hips, and make sure there is enough definition. Avoid boxy jackets and buttoned blouses ``because you're probably going to see gaps in the blouse.'' Broad shoulders are another challenge for women of this body type.