If you have an apple body type, you carry your weight in the mid-section. You’ll have broader shoulders, a larger bust, and a less defined waist. The best way to dress for this body type is to elongate the torso by drawing attention to your legs and create the illusion of a more defined waist. Pieces to invest in include wide necklines, empire cut tops and dresses, knee-length A-line skirts, and boot cut or straight leg jeans. Stylists suggest staying away from shapeless clothing, bodycon, tiered and gathered ruffle skirts, and heavy detailing around the waist.
Queen Latifah is a stunning apple shape, and she has a great style. When she wears something tight fitting, she wears something flowy that detracts from her midsection and focuses the eyes elsewhere. However, we can see that when she wears high-waisted pants, her body doesn't have the same flattering appearance.
Melissa McCarthy is an apple shape AND a fashion designer. The clothing she wears tends to accentuate her waist while flaring out. When she wears a dress, the fabric is pulled in just under the bust, creating the illusion of body shape without much effort. That being said, we can see how skinny jeans and a frumpy jacket make her look shorter and really accentuate the weight carried in her midsection.
Octavia Spencer is the epitome of fashion. Like other apple-shaped fashionistas, she wears dresses and garments that gather right below her bust. That being said, she has been known to wear clothing that doesn't flatter her. This red dress is a fine example. It doesn't have any shape to it and she looks very top-heavy.
Pear body shapes generally have narrow shoulders and a very well-defined waist thanks to larger hips and thighs. Most pear shapes have a rounded bottom, which is larger than their upper body. Women who are pear-shaped should aim to enhance the waistline and arms. Pear shapes should invest in high-waisted pants and skirts, A-line dresses and skirts, shrugs for layering, pillowing or ruched sleeves, and boat or V-necklines. Stay away from baggy tops and tunics, low-waisted skinny jeans, bias-cut dresses, pencil skirts, and tight tube skirts.
Mindy Kaling is a great pear shape, but you can only see it when she wears the right clothing—like everyone! She often wears clothing that accentuates and draws the eye upward, as we see in the first outfit. The second, we see that she wears something that doesn't have much shape. The busy print also makes the outfit unflattering. Should it have more solids shades to break up the pattern, it would look much better. That would also help give the dress shape.
Julia Roberts has a larger bust, but her hips are pretty big. She perfectly dresses for a pear shape by wearing clothing that minimizes the size of her hips. While the dress she's wearing in the left picture has a large waist, the shoulders are also pretty wide and the long sleeves help balance everything out. When she was younger, she didn't wear clothing that flattered her, as we can see in the right photo.
Love her or hate her, Kim K has a great shape. Her hips and waist are huge compared to the top portion of her body. That’s why she tends to wear high-waisted jeans and clothing that accentuates her hips. When she does wear something tight fitting around her hips, she also wears a flowy top or draws attention to her shoulders in other ways. Whenever she wears something frumpy, her shape is gone, and it looks like she just rolled out of bed.
This is an up-and-coming body type that fits a group of people that were a little stuck in the middle between two shapes – hourglass and rectangle. This shape usually has hips and shoulders that match in width. They have a small waist, but it isn’t as extreme as an hourglass. Women with a balanced body type should invest in wrap tops and dresses, anything waist-defining, body cons, skinny jeans, and scoop necklines. They should avoid high necklines, straight or body tunics, and blouses that enhance volume on the shoulders.
Taraji P. Henson’s hips and shoulders are perfectly aligned despite having a larger bust. She tends to wear clothing that flares out at the waist, which creates a pear-like silhouette. Like many other balanced body types, she also wears a scoop or V-neck clothing. That being said, she has worn a bad outfit or two. We can see this bodycon dress would look stunning if she didn't have the cape. With the cape, the dress blends in and she looks shapeless. Her body disappears.
Few people are as fashionable as Helen Mirren. This woman would know how to dress in the apocalypse. She almost always defines her waist, but there are a few times she made a mistake. We see that the dress on the left has a bit of ruching, which helps define her waist perfectly. This wasn't done for the dress on the right. Mirren succeeded by defining her waist through the design, but the dress didn't hug her body. Instead, it made her look like she was wearing something frumpy, even though she was dressed up.
