"Pure Jeanius"
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| Illustration by me! |
Skinny jeans are on their way out as the 70's revival is bringing back wide legged, flared and palazzo pant styled bottoms, but these don't suit all body shapes. There are three things to consider when buying jeans: fit (how they sit on the body), shape (what shape the jeans are) and wash (colour and finish). Here are a few tips to help you find the perfect pair of jeans for your body shape:
Triangle/Pear
Hips are the widest part of your body and you tend to carry most weight on your butt and thighs. Look for a dark wash or black boot cut jean as this can appear slimming, the boot cut creates balance with the hips. Straight legged jeans elongate the legs, again, choose a darker wash. Avoid jeans with flap pockets on the hips as this can draw attention to your hips making them look larger, as can tapered and skinny jeans.
Hourglass
How lucky! You have proportional top and bottom halves with a tidy waist in the middle. Most styles suit this shape, skinny is a good fit for figures that are proportional, as are all of the above.
Rectangle (straight)
You have a straight figure that lacks curves. Shape creation is they key for this body type, you can do that by either going for boot cut or flares which will create shape at the ankle or by going for a skinny jean which will give shape at the hips.
Petite
If you are 5ft 3" or less you are usually better off looking for a petite size range in order to get a proportionally better fit. Those of us that are vertically challenged need to avoid turn ups and cuffs as this can make our legs look even shorter.
Things to consider when "jeans shopping"...
- Try and work out your body shape (I will do another post on body shapes) and dress accordingly. Hide your flaws and dress your assets!
- Make sure your butt crack doesn't pop out when you sit down, always bend down or sit down in the fitting room to check for comfort and fit. Avoid low slung jeans.
- Low slung jeans do nothing for those of us with "muffin tops" so always try to shop for a mid or high rise fit ( this should help the butt crack situation too!)
- Darker washes are more slimming and look smarter.
- Lighter, faded jeans give a more casual look.
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| Boot Cut - Petite, Rectangle, Triangle, Hourglass |
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| Flare - Triangle, Hourglass, Rectangle |
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| Skinny - Rectangle, Hourglass |
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| Straight - Triangle, Hourglass, Petite |
Reckon I'll be checking out a few pairs like these quite soon!
