Tips for fashion

There are a bunch of websites that talk about flattering types of clothes for different body types. However, these body types are pretty generalized. For example, they will give particular tips for straight body types, hourglass, triangle, pear, apple, etc.

However, I have yet to come across any complete websites for specialized body types like mine.

My body type is an amalgamation of shapes. I am sort-of like an hourglass in that my waist and chest measurements differ by about 8-9 inches, yet I am not the designated "hourglass shape" because I have yet to reach the ideal 10 inches. I am a petite 5' 2'', yet at the same time, I am definitely not flat-chested  like how most sites that talk about petite clothing discuss clothes that should fit for those body types.

I noticed over the years that I've had to discover for myself what types of clothes fit well, which types of clothes looked better on me, etc. Back in grade school, we had dress codes, and as a result I always looked pretty frumpy and could not dress the way I wished to. It was only during and after college when I was able to finally express myself fully.

Thus, without further ado, here are some outfits from my previous OOTDs and my critiques of them. I definitely do not claim to be a fashion guru and definitely have made a bunch of mistakes in clothing. However, here are some tips that one can learn from my mistakes!

Tip 1: Make sure clothes fit properly.

I wore this outfit to class sometime last semester. I got this shirt from a friend in college, who was moving away and gave me a lot of her clothes. Even though I really liked this shirt from Banana Republic, it did not fit well. This shirt is pretty large and was made for a person who is a lot taller than I am. My friend is 5' 10'' (at least) and so could pull this off, but I certainly could not. Also, this shirt was a size M - definitely a bit too loose for me. Even though this shirt provides a lot of coverage, it is too large and looks pretty frumpy on me.

Tip #2: Create a contrast.

The one thing I can comment that worked out ok was the contrast between my top and bottom: while my top was very loose, my bottom made up for it by being more fitted in the form of tights. The black tights and black shoes created a longer-appearing leg. The pop of color was provided by the necklace, accented by the red trimming of my cardigan. Color matching/accenting is important too!

Tip #3: Create a waistline. As you see in the outfit above, I definitely went for a biker chick-esque look. Without the belt, I would've looked very disproportioned, but the cinch definitely added a plus bonus. I was not going for anything particularly "fashionable" here - it was more of a rebelling mode.

Tip #4: Shake things up. As you see in the outfit above, there are several factors that pop out. The cinched waist, layering with the long shirt and hoodie. The animal-patterned tights definitely make a statement that gives somewhat of a "I'm interesting and dangerous" feel, in a way. The top half of the outfit looks pretty innocent, accented with a popping bracelet and a subtle necklace, but the bottom half  boldly states "I have another side" as well. Definitely a popper.

Tip #5: Make sure your skirts are of appropriate length. I definitely cannot wear long skirts - they make me look like I am a Puritan from the 1700s. However, this layered mini-skirt fits quite well. With the accent of the necklace it looks pretty well-proportioned. Hey, small things for small people (in a way), right? XD

Tip #6: Layering is really fun. As you can see in the picture above, I have a large jacket on top of a belted cardigan on top of an orange undershirt. The orange brings out a pop of color that contrasts with the rest of the colors. Without that pop, the outfit would look quite drab. On the other hand, the pop is in moderation due to the layering effect. With more layers, there are more interesting colors to play with, right?

Tip #7: Add pops of color! As you can see, the outfit above is pretty drab with just a few tones of color. The interesting thing though, is the collar of the purple cardigan - definitely very wide and open, suggesting a kind of "I'm put together" style.

Contrast that with this:

See what a difference a pop of color (this time in the form of a scarf) can bring? The contrast draws more attention to my face, in a way, and would emphasize my cheeks (well, you can't really see that because my camera's in the way). At the same time, the black booties are similar in color to my pants, creating a single long-length of color, elongating my legs in a way. Of course, the cinched in waist. The hat brings a knitted feel that is different in texture from the rest of m clothes and evokes that "I'm home" feeling.

Tip #8: Accessorize!

Here are some other OOTDs where I've accessorized (accessory close-ups):

There you go! Hope these helped~