It's an age-old question that women everywhere ask themselves every day, usually while staring into a packed closet: Why can't I find anything to wear? But there is another way. Instead of hating your clothes, and possibly parts of your body, you can find the clothes that work for you by unlocking the secrets for your figure. 

 

 

This is Strictly For the Bottom Heavy

So, you have the infamous pear-shaped figure. Welcome to the club. A bottom-heavy figure is one of the most common types worldwide, and the good news is women have been dressing to disguise it for ages!

 

Skirts

You can rock slim skirts just like anybody else, but remember this: no clingy fabrics. Fool the eye into seeing a long, lean line by using one color, and buy some slim pieces. If your legs are shapely, stop around the knee or even mid-calf. If you prefer to keep your legs hidden, go long but keep the fit slim. Use some heels to add height.

 

An A-line skirt in any length is smashing on you because it starts at your slimmest point, the waist, and skims past the hips and thighs, which you'd rather forget. Plus, the gentle A-line flare minimizes legs. The two skirts you should never don are the bias cut, which hangs directly from your widest point, and the pencil skirt, which hugs curves lovingly, but that's a little too much love in your case.

 

 If you are buying a jacket as well, follow this guideline: no jackets that end at your widest point. In other words, nothing that ends at your hips or upper thighs. A well-fitted jacket that nips in at the waist is perfect for you, but look for one with some detail, like a small puffed sleeve, along the top. You want to elongate your shoulder width to balance your hips.

 

 

 Dress

Let's recap what we've learned so far: no clingy materials, nothing that ends or emphasizes your widest point, and balancing out either the shoulders or the bottoms of your legs to counteract a bit of your width across the hips. Since it's harder to add width across the ankles with a dress, your focus should be on the neckline and what it does for your shoulders.

 

Spaghetti straps are out; they won't help you create the strong shoulder line that you want. The V-neck won't hurt you, assuming you've got the right cleavage for it, but it won't solve this problem. What you need is a slash neck, if possible -- a line that goes horizontally across the chest or collarbone. It automatically makes shoulders pop out.

 

If that's not the neckline for you, then focus on minimizing your bottom half by finding a dress that skims your body from the waist down. It should be fitted at your narrowest point -- either the waist or just under the bust -- and then gently flare down from there.

 

The same rules can apply to T-shirts and sweaters: necklines that enhance your shoulder width, and nothing that ends at your widest point.

 

 

Bathing Suit

The nemesis of most women, a bathing suit is particularly challenging for the pear-shaped. The usual way to add length and improve the leg line -- a high-cut suit -- might not work for you. It depends on your comfort level and what kind of fitness level you have. Most women prefer to opt for the opposite solution: a thigh-covering swimsuit that sports either a cute skirt or swim shorts. Both options are out there, and either will look great on you.

 

If you are fit but simply wide in the beam, consider a two-piece or a tankini. Both styles offer great coverage. You can choose a skirted bottom, shorts or whatever you are most comfortable with. The most important thing is to get dark bottoms and a light top that has bright designs and/or color. The eye needs to come up, and the focus should be on your chest, arms and shoulders -- not on your thighs and hips.

 

It you like the classic one-piece, make sure the leg opening allows for full coverage of your behind. Don't let anything creep out. And then find the boldest upper-body design in the store. Stripes, diamonds or diagonals across the top are fabulous for tricking the eye away from the hip area. You can also get a sexy, sheer pareo and sling it around your hips. Just make sure it's not too bulky --

 

Best Butt Minimizer

The right print and material will do wonders for you, no matter what you are wearing. If you are really wide in the behind, don't invest in patterns or floral prints that are simply going to drape the area like a tent. Bad idea. Ditto anything with flashy pockets or excessive details.

 

Minimize first through color. It doesn't have to be dark, but it has to be monochrome (more or less) with the rest of your outfit. If you want to wear contrasting colors, then make sure the dark is on bottom.

 

You can wear a variety of skirts and pants. Most of the ones mentioned in this section will look great on you. But to really minimize a generous behind, consider your jacket.

 

It's never good, as we have explained, to have a jacket end at your widest point. If that's your hips, you can wear a short jacket that stops at the waist. But what if your hips and your bum are more-than-usually generous? Then you want the three-quarter-length jacket with a flared hem that stops above the knee. This butt-skimming cut is fantastic for you, and if you get one with bold lapels on top that stretch toward the shoulder, you'll own the room. Pair it with some palazzo or flared pants and killer footwear, and you'll be good to go.

 

 

What to Avoid

Pretty simple: leggings. If pants that are tapered at the bottom are a bad choice for you, then how bad are pants that are clingy all the way down? Save them for the yoga mat.

 

Best Accessories

Anything with an A-line cut, be it a skirt, a jacket or a dress. That extra width on bottom will make your hips and thighs shrink two inches without a single leg lift.

 

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