An essential facet of loving your body is learning how to dress for your body type. Curves are in, and body positivity is a rising trend in the media. The latest fashion trends, however, won’t always be right for you when it comes to dressing for your body type.

Depending on your waist-to-hip ratio and other body measurements, your body type might be hourglass, pear, apple, inverted triangle, or rectangular (athletic). Most women know which parts of their body they feel comfortable accentuating, and which body parts they’d rather keep covered up. For example, it’s quite common to feel comfortable accentuating the waist and bust, while preferring to cover up the arms and belly. Every body is beautiful, but that doesn’t mean you should feel any shame about wanting to cover certain body parts while accentuating others.

Dressing for your body isn’t about other people, it’s about yourself and your comfort level. Whatever you think your best attributes are, those are the attributes you should show off.

Dress For Your Body Type: The Benefits

Certain well-made and thoughtfully-designed clothing items can enhance your body shape so much that you feel a significant boost of confidence when you wear that outfit. That’s how I feel whenever I wear my Melody skirt from Shelley Klassen Designs. It’s so incredibly flattering. It emphasizes the smallest part of my waist while flowing naturally in a way that covers my belly. 

Body confidence is life-changing because it helps you authentically build up your self-confidence. Any articles of clothing that fit great or outfits that work for your body are worth the investment if they help improve your body confidence.

As fashion designer Shelley Klassen and founder of Shelley Klassen Designs explains, “Our aim is to empower women with our clothing. Regardless of their age or body type. Our goal is to make someone feel as beautiful and amazing as they are when they wear our clothing, and boost their confidence.” 

Shelley Klassen also adds, “The Melody skirt is fully lined which aids in shaping the body in a flattering way, and the elastic waist band makes this skirt very versatile in the sense that it can fit multiple body types. Every body is unique and beautiful, which is why the garment’s finer details such as its lining and elasticity are important to us. These details ensure the perfect fit for our clients.”

The perfect fit is an accurate statement. I’ve already confirmed that this designer’s clothing hugs my curves in all the right places and fits like a dream. It’s perfect for you if you’re looking to dress for your body type. I also love the way this skirt moves when I walk, and don’t even get me started on the twirl. I had so much fun taking ‘live’ photos twirling, and capturing stills from videos where I was twirling in the Melody skirt. As Shelley Klassen herself explains, “It’s hard not to have fun when you’re wearing a skirt like the Melody with so much movement and flair.”

Love Your Body More Than Fashion Trends

Why follow fashion trends that don’t do your body justice? Why not simply buy clothing that accentuates your curves, flatters your body type, and emphasizes the parts of your body you feel are your best attributes? 

If you don’t work in the fashion industry, you’re not a fashion blogger, and you’re simply a woman who wants to look and feel great – there’s no need to obsessively follow fashion trends. It’s one thing if your career has you hard-wired into the fashion industry, to the point where you’re expected to keep up with the latest trends. Most people, however, can wear whatever they want, and look amazing doing it.

Most people who follow fashion trends basically accept that they’ll look the same as everyone else. In other words, you’re sacrificing your personal style and failing to let your unique personality shine through when you follow fashion trends.

The latest fad likely won’t do your body justice, either. Most of the current fashion trends in 2021, for example, don’t accentuate curves or celebrate women’s bodies nearly enough. In fact, the current style that’s “in fashion” right now is to wear very oversized clothing such as oversized boyfriend jackets and wide, oversized trousers. Similarly, loose, oversized t-shirt dresses are in, which is another example of baggy and shapeless clothing that is supposedly “in” style. Again, why on earth should you fall prey to fashion trends that don’t flatter your body?

How I Learned How To Accentuate My Curves

I have curves, and I love them. I have thick thighs, a round butt, and a big bust. I have a small waist but I also have a bit of a belly. (Lower belly fat is the most stubborn kind, so women with my body type get used to searching for flowy outfits.) When I was learning how to dress for my body and enhance my curves, it wasn’t long before I discovered the magic of the high-waisted twirl skirt. 

These skirts typically have an elasticized waist that naturally sinches at the smallest part of your waist. The material flows nicely over your butt, making it pop, and loosely flows outwards to avoid hugging the belly. 

Shelley Klassen’s Melody skirt is a great example of this type of curve-enhancing skirt. It’s a jersey print handkerchief style skirt that is fully lined with lots of movement and flow. It’s high-waisted with an elasticized waist band that slims and accentuates the waist, and drapes over the derriere beautifully, enhancing its round shape. Pair it with a pair of nude or white wedges, and try Shelley Klassen’s Lilly top to go with it.

When I was learning how to dress for my body type and I realized I don’t mind accentuating my breasts, but I’d usually rather cover my arms when possible. I looked on Shelley Klassen’s online store and found the perfect top, the “Lilly”. It’s wide sleeves cover my arms like kimono sleeves, but it’s not wide and loose everywhere. Just the arms are wide, while the torso is form-fitted and the v-neck cut accentuates my bust beautifully.

It’s definitely not easy to find a top that is wider or looser where you want it to be, but fitted everywhere else. Most tops these days tend to be loose and baggy everywhere. I was lucky to find the “Lilly” Shelley Klassen top in white, which goes with everything. As Shelley explains, “This high-quality jersey top has the faux wrap bust design of your dreams. It’s feminine and flattering for any body shape. The double layered bodice hugs your body in all the right places.” The more form-fitting bodice of this top does flatten the tummy a little, but if you wear something like the Melody skirt over top of this Lilly top, you will be all set for covering the belly. The wide half-sleeves are also very flattering on the arms.

How Fashion Designers Create Clothing That Works for Various Body Types

Many fashion designers focus on helping you dress for your body type instead of ensuring you’re following the latest trend. For example, although the team at Shelley Klassen designs conducts plenty of trend research when coming out with their designs, that’s not their sole focus. They also want women to feel like their best and most confident selves, and Shelley therefore makes sure she finds the best fits through her design process. 

Shelley Klassen is a fashion designer who listens to her clients needs and designs clothing that reflects needs she’s heard directly from her customers. Often, these needs include things like, “I wish you had a version of this dress with sleeves, because I don’t feel comfortable showing my arms.” Because Shelley is the kind of fashion designer who wants her clients to feel their most confident, she’ll design a version with sleeves just to try to meet the client’s needs being communicated. More fashion designers should be more cognizant of this, and I felt blessed to have found one.

Comfort is a Significant Part of Confidence

When it comes to dressing for your body type, it’s always helpful to look at what your friends and family who have similar body types as you are wearing. Notice what looks flattering on them. Or, get advice from fashion designers and retail store associates about how to dress for your body. 

Shelley Klassen helped me accentuate my waist and bust, while covering my arms and belly. Sometimes I pair the Melody skirt with a plain, solid white or blue tank, if it’s a more casual summer outing. The Lilly top makes the outfit more worthy of being worn to a social event. 

I’ve already explained how these items enhance the shape of my body. I have not yet mentioned how comfortable this clothing is. The jersey fabric feels smooth on the skin and soft to the touch, while the 5% spandex component of the fabric allows for the maximum amount of flattery, stretch and overall comfort. Since feeling comfortable facilitates your ability to relax and feel confident, the comfort of the clothing is crucial. I hope each and every one of you try dressing for your body type instead of worrying about fashion trends. You’ll not only look better, you’ll feel better, too.

This post was brought to you by Shelley Klassen Design Studio