Whether you’re big or small, I’ve got the 411 on what to wear to make your twins look great!

If you want to vamp up a small chest, look for ruffles and other textures at the neckline to visually created more curves at your bust. Also, exposing the top of your cleavage can make your chest appear larger.

Check out these examples:

If you want to deemphasize a big bust, look for open necklines like V-necks or U-necks to help “seperate” your boobs and make them visually smaller. Like these:

Not just for keeping your pants from falling off your waist, belts are multi-function, coveted fashion accessories. However, when done wrong a belt can make even those with good intentions look like a squeezed tube of Pillsbury biscuits (yikes!). So how do you wear a belt without looking like the Michelin Tire Man? I’ve compiled some style tips on how to wear a belt the right way. Read on!

1. Scale. First things first, scale is SUPER important to understand when it comes to wearing a belt. Generally, the larger your frame, the larger the belt. A super big and too-wide belt will drown a petite frame while a very thin skinny belt can add unnecessary visual poundage to a plus-size frame.

2. Positioning. Where you place your belt is also very important or you can risk looking a lot larger than you intended. Avoid placing a belt on the widest part of your body. The horizontal line belts form make anything placed on it appear bigger and wider.

To balance out a body with a short torso, place your belt lower on the body to give some visual balance. For a long torso, place the belt higher on the body to give the appearance of a balanced frame. The “ideal” shape to go for is the hourglass shape (shoulders and hips in proportion to a defined waist).

Also ladies, please, if you have ample sized breasts, avoid putting a wide belt directly underneath them.

3. Styling. There are times when adding a belt to an outfit is overkill. The idea is to keep your look balanced so the eye grazes over it easy as opposed to having too many things for the eye to focus on. For instance, if you’re wearing long, detailed earrings, it’s safe to say to nix the belt or vice versa. Also avoid being too matchy-matchy: red earrings with a red belt and red bracelets is overkill! Your belt also need not match your shoes, they just need to agree (i.e. complementary colors)

Big boobs: If you want to deemphasize a big bust, look for open necklines like V-necks or U-necks to help “seperate” your boobs and make them visually smaller.

Small boobs: If you want to vamp up a small chest, look for ruffles and other textures at the neckline to visually created more curves at your bust.

Big Tummy: Dressing to cover up a tummy isn’t as simple as finding the biggest shirt you can find to cover it up—what you want to do is find clothing that brings the eye to other fab areas like your arms or chest and that don’t cling to the belly.

Boyish Frame: To dress a slender frame, look for clothing that mimics curves like well-tailored jackets, cinching at the waist, and details like ruffles and pleating to visually create curves.

Long Torso: A cute belt is the long-torso gal’s best friend because it allows you to create a waistline at a higher point than your own naturally lies. A non-belt option is to choose a top or dress with cinching or banding high enough on the torso area. High-waisted pants, jeans, and skirts also have similar balancing effects on longer torsos since they allow the legs to appear longer than they are. Steer clear of drop-waist dresses as they will further elongate your torso.

Petite: High Heels and a Tailor are always your best friends. If you want to wear a flat, go for something minimal and strappy that shows off your skin. Be mindful of how you use color: dressing in one color from head-to-toe has a very elongating effect on your body. Nude panythose and nude shoes also have a similar elongating effect (i.e. Say you want to wear a cute pair of capri pants. In order to avoid making yourself look shorter, pair them with a shoe that shows off the most amount of skin as opposed to say a sneaker). Vertical lines are slimming as well as elongating. Try to create a vertical line in your dressing wherever possible. Horizontal lines are widening and shortening. Try to avoid them below the waist line.

Plus-Size: If you’re plus-sized, look for clothing that is close to the body; trying to hide your fabulous figure underneath baggy clothing will only make you appear larger. Keep clothing simple and add stylish accessories like bags and shoes to make an outfit pop. Keep proportion in mind when dressing your body–plus-sized bodies come in different categories, too (small/large breasts, short/long torsos, petite/tall, etc.) and dress for them accordingly. Check the categories (listed at the top) on this blog such as big breasts, big tummy, long torso, and what to wear if to get additional style tips that can also be used for plus-sizes.

Shopping online for full-figured fashions has become easy thanks to So What If: The Ultimate Guide to Plus-Size Fashion!

Thick Thighs: Sleek, tapered styles work best on the bottom. Steer clear of pleats, ruching, horizontal patterns, etc. as they can over-emphasize the thighs. Make sure hemlines on skirts do not end at the widest part of your thighs—this will only make your thighs appear wider. Instead go for knee-length pencil skirts. Wear lighter colors on the top and keep the bottom darker–you’ll visually balance your frame out this way. The leg opening on your jeans and pants will need to be slightly wide in order to balance out the curve of your thighs (i.e. boot cuts, wide legs, and trouser cuts are great for thick thighs).

Lindy sent me pictures to better illustrate and it turns out she’s more of an hourglass. Body shape has more to do with shoulder width to waist to hip width proportions. However you can be an hourglass with a big chest or a small chest, with a big rear or a small rear. And sometimes you’ll have to follow body dressing tips from several categories to look your best (i.e. big chest, small chest, big tummy, thick thighs, etc.).

So Lindy, in order to make your chest appear bigger, look for ruffles and other textures at the neckline to visually created more curves at your bust. Pockets placed on the bust area also help to create the illusion of curves. Double-breasted jackets also do the trick. Also, exposing the top of your cleavage can make your chest appear larger. Check out these examples:

Sleeveless Ruffle Top; Elite Stretch Military Shirt; Silence & Noise Fleece Motorcycle Jacket; Free People Petal Top.

A great push-up bra will also help to boost your bust:

Try Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy® Push-up bra with Gel-Curve®.

To make a thick thigh appear more slender, check out these tips:

1. Sleek, tapered styles work best on the bottom. Steer clear of pleats, ruching, horizontal patterns, etc. as they can over-emphasize the thighs. Make sure hemlines on skirts do not end at the widest part of your thighs—this will only make your thighs appear wider. Instead go for knee-length pencil skirts.

2. The leg opening on your jeans and pants will need to be slightly wide in order to balance out the curve of
your thighs (i.e. boot cuts, wide legs, and trouser cuts are great for thick thighs).

Check out these examples that all come in 37″ inseams (Rock & Republic and Alloy carry a variety of them):

Truck Jeans Essential Stretch Bootcut Jean; Spoon Jeans Extend-tab Stretch Trouser Jean; Rock & Republic Kassandra Bootcut Jeans; Charleston Trouser.

When looking for dresses, look for those with ruffles and other textures to add curve to the chest at the bodice but are plain and fitted through the bottom to slender the thighs. Check out these examples:

Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent Ruffled Silk Dress; Nicole Miller Stretch Silk Twill Red Dress; Black Halo “Jackie O” Dress; Ruffle-front Contrast Dress.

If you have a style or beauty question, contact me. Your inquiry could appear on this site!

After asking Heidi a couple of questions and seeing a few pics to determine her body type, we figured out Heidi is more of an hourglass shape (shoulder and hip width are about the same with a defined waist). With an hourglass shape, you want to keep the emphasis on the waist (it’s trim and fabulous, after all!). The best way to do this is either with a belt, a jacket fitted to the waist, or a horizontal band or design on a skirt or pants. Heidi, since you have a hard time finding dresses because of the size of your bust, look for dresses made with fabrics that have some stretch where the emphasis is on the waist that also have either ruffles, curvy designs, or pocket details at the bust to give the illusion of a bigger chest. Wrap dresses also work well on your body type. The dresses shown below (available at Express) all fit your body type and will help give the illusion of a bigger chest:

1. CAP-SLEEVE BELTED SHIRT DRESS; 2. BELTED SHIRT DRESS; 3. SLEEVELESS RUFFLE-FRONT SHIRT DRESS – DOT; 4. SEXY STRETCH WRAP DRESS.

Follow the same idea when looking for blouses, and other articles of clothing to fit your frame: emphasis on the waist, create the illusion of a bigger chest. For the times when you need some extra oomph, check out Victoria’s Secret Intimissimi Gel Inserts.

You can definitely pull of the Street Chic look! The best way to transition from one style to the other is to add pieces of the new style that will mesh well with your existing wardrobe. First start out with accessories and makeup like studded bracelets and belts and smudged black eyeliner. Then add in blazers and jeans. Look for unconventional basics–sounds like an oxymoron–but an unconventional basic is really just a basic item like a v-neck tee that has a little something extra (i.e. an asymmetrical hemline or neckline, bright color, extra detailing). Check out some of these street chic suggestions available at Urban Outfitters:

Silence & Noise Open Shoulder Blazer; UO Shredded Jersey Necklace; Silence & Noise Faux Leather Max Jacket; Silence & Noise Faux Leather Maxine Vest (I’m suggesting just the vest, not the entire outfit…lol); BDG Denim Moto Vest; Urban Renewal Chain Necklace; Silence & Noise Ripped Twig Jean; Skull and Crossbones Studs.

Any of the items above can be worn with items already in your closet to give you a more street chic look. Check out Jessica Alba rocking a ruffled leather jacket over a dress:

Adding in the edgier pieces with your existing classy wardrobe also helps you avoid the dreaded Costume Effect.

Don’t forget the shoes:

Steve Madden Genious; Jessica Simpson “Karlie” Sandal; Steve Madden “Charger” Sandal; MICHAEL Michael Kors “Jamesport” Ankle Boot; Leather Snake Skimmer.

If you have a style or beauty question, contact me. Your question could be featured on the site!