Guest Blogger – Annebelle Van Tongeren’s Body Shape Advice

Well my little chickens it’s time for the follow up post from the Email Your Silhouette to a Celebrity Stylist post that I wrote a few weeks ago. I was absolutely delighted with the response from my readers and Annebelle took the time from her busy schedule (as a stylist and designer for the Logies! For my international readers Logies are like in-house Australian Grammies – T.V Awards) to reply to every email that we received. Here are a few of her responses… (To protect the identity of my readers and also because it’s fun I will be replacing their real names with characters from Beverly Hills 90210…)

Donna –

Killer Feature: Shoulders and bust

Worst Enemy: Belly, then higher arms

Widest horizontal: Full hip 

Key point: Similar to Niki in some ways, you want to keep the eye around the bust so any upper torso detail to help you. But as your upper arms are not your best feature, try to aim for sleeves that grace the elbow, or have detailing around the lower edges, not the top edge. Lace cuffs, gathered or pleated detail around the wrist is good. Be kind to yourself. It took me years to get my belly back to something I was in the vicinity of happy with after my baby. You get a new life and a new shape, but don’t you just love the I Am Woman Hear Me Roar factor? 
 

Frocks:

You’re lucky because you can have either deep V shapes in necklines or wider sweeping necklines due to having great shoulders and a lovely bust. Collar detail, necklaces and all manner of embellishment, even buttoning features around the shoulder area will work well. Skirt length should be halfway between ankle and knee as this is the most flattering spot. Swishier skirts in your dresses and lighter weight fabrics will offer a feminine air and also create a nice line through the legs. I’m not convinced you have enough waist definition to make classic defined curves, so maybe look for seams in frocks that are above the waist rather than on the waist, as with Ivy. And little treatments like ribbon ties, bows and contrast under bust detail will work a treat to kick the feminine up a notch and make you feel gorgeous. Another idea is to wear those dresses that have wrap fabric ties around the waist, which will also be wearable as the post baby kilos start to fall away. David Lawrence and Jigsaw always do great ones. 

Items: I think tunic shapes would work well as pieces, as long as you remember to treat the upper area with more attention rather than the wrists in this scenario as there will already be a break in the hip area if you wear separates. I know you wanted to know about what jean shapes would work, but really, I would encourage you more towards dresses than items to avoid breaking the body with horizontals. If you do denim, make it dark and look for slouchier boyfriend shapes rather than anything that would taper to the leg too much. And to blur the line where the hip gets that unwanted horizontal, maybe go for darker toned tops rather than really contrasting ones. Again, embellishment at the bust and central shoulder area will make a denim scenario work better.

Avoid: Puffed sleeves and gathered sleeve heads are not your friends.

 

Brenda –

Killer Feature: Legs, then arms

Worst Enemy: Belly, then double chin

Widest horizontal: True hip 

Key point: Therefore manipulate everything through the torso as cover up, and use the arms and legs as strong verticals. 

You are blessed with great arms and legs. With fashion the way it is right now, the gods of frock are smiling on you. Plus you have permission to buy excellent shoes! Yay!! 

Frocks:

Look for babydoll shapes, shifts and tunics that glide right over the waist.  Make sure all frocks are exactly the right length for you. There’s loads of info about this in my book, but basically you look for the point where the leg starts to get wider, past your best muscles and chop it right there.

Use upper torso embellishment especially through the shoulder area to enhance the extremities at each shoulder. This will send the eye up, but avoid the focus on the chin area. There are great details this winter like pleats, knots and heavy crochet type laces in the shoulder area of lots of shifts, so lucky you! ( Country Road, Duck and Citi are my best tips actually! I share the same body shape.)

Keep everything south of the bust matte and plain so that the only focus down there is those great legs. Therefore, no prints below the bust, no strong colour as well and certainly no sheen.

Items: The same scenario for tops as the frocks, but make sure any pants / jeans you choose are fairly lean in cut because you can afford to do this. Ditto skirts. Keep them close to the body rather than A line or tiered.

Avoid: Statement belts at the waist.

Kelly –

Killer Feature: Bust, then waist

Worst Enemy: Bulging belly, then hips & thighs

Widest horizontal: Thigh 

Key point: Your love of 1950s fashion is spot on. And if your “bulging belly” is really worrying you, then just use shapewear to flatten it across the front, because the silhouette looks just fine to me! Skirts and dresses are going to flatter you more than pants, and you have great calves and fine ankles which should be exposed. 

Frocks:

Fuller A line skirts that hit mid calf are good for you. Choose more stable fabrics rather then light weight or jersey fabrics to give you more support for tummy control. As your bust is quite projected, a 34E, you need to highlight it, without making the grand Pammy Anderson statement. So rely on design lines rather than embellishment or contrast as a good way to go. By this I mean necklines like the sweetheart, the Galaxy style dress neckline, rounded off square necklines and rounded Vs. Having extra “Hello!” factor with patterns or shiny textures at the bust might take it too far. Belts and waist seams will work on you as you have a nicely defined waist. So get rid of the sloppy T-shirt look! As you love the retro look and you need a little lift in spirits, why not play with girly florals and brighter tones until you are feeling better physically? Channel a bit more Doris Day and bit less Lois Lane using sweet feminine styles, buttoning, ribbon and bow details that highlight the waist and rib cage area of the torso. 

Items:I’m guessing shirts are tricky for you with that bust. So wrap knits and tops that feature the necklines listed above are a better option. Puffy sleeves and high arm detail will only congest the area so don’t go there. As I said, it would be a pity to cover your calves, but if you are looking for pants, go for a narrower palazzo pant that glides right over the hips, a bit like a long A-line shape in silhouette.

Avoid: Strong design lines around the hip and thigh, especially belts worn low.

And Miss Selina from Flying Saucer even sent in her silhouette! Here’s Annebelle’s advice to her…

Killer Feature: Waist, then hips

Worst Enemy: Bust small

Widest horizontal: True hip 

Key point:  

If you get concerned about widening your shoulders with any garment you wear, look for vertical treatments around the shoulder line that will mitigate your strong horizontal. This means deeper necklines, square necklines and even strong Vs. Vertically focused collar details, long bows and ties, all of these will create a force to help make your shoulders not look so wide.

Love your tiny waist. Personally I would kill for it!

Colours on red heads could include anything warmer in hue, from ivory through the entire autumnal palette, chocolates, black of course and my favourite, emerald green. Ditch lightweight neutrals as they might drain you, and bright red can be problematic of course, greys might also suck the pigment from your face. When in doubt, warm your make up tones to compensate. 

Frocks:

A-line skirt shapes will also help keep the shoulders seeming smaller. As your hips as slim, you can afford pocket tabs, and other hip detail like embroidery, fastenings, topstitching etc, which will also make your small waist the focus. The best length for you is about ten centimetres below the knee to balance your silhouette. Play up a small bust with textural highlight, pleats, gathers, colour contrast, lace etc. Anything that builds the area will be helpful. And best of all the highlight here will also take advantage of your slim waist. You can’t lose. 

Items:  

Unlike lots of us mere mortals, separates will work well on you as a break at the waist is something you can afford. The current must-have higher waisted pants and skirts will also suit you. Feature belts and strong waist detail will be great and for heavens sake go get yourself some cute 50s style pieces as this era is the one that will work best for you. 

Avoid:

Boat necks, wide off the shoulder garments and puff sleeves.

Isn’t Annebelle a gem? What fabulous advice, I’m so excited for my readers! Do visit her site Your Wardrobe Mistress and check out her book Dress Like A Star. It’s totally worth it I promise! Oh and when you do read her book jump onto Goodreads and Amazon and review it. Let’s share the Annebelle love through out the fashion blogosphere!

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx