My beautiful friend contacted me a few days ago with a dilemma: she’s going to her boyfriend’s sister’s wedding in the spring and she doesn’t know what to wear. She wants to stay classy because this is the first time she is meeting a lot of his relatives, but she also wants to look good, of course! So, I decided to turn this into a blog post on dresses for certain body types. I know Seventeen Magazine does a lot of spreads like this but I feel like they neglect a multitude of body types, so I’ll try to include a lot more here.
My friend’s body type is what I like to call infinity, with a fantastic chest and butt (sorry Ms. Malchodi!). So for her body category I’ll be very spring-wedding specific. Stick with me! And I hope this is helpful
Infinity: large chest and backside
- Empire waist, empire waist, empire waist! You need a higher waistline to give extra fabric on the bottom but highlight the chest area. Aim for a dress whose waistline is just under the bottom of your bra.
- With such nice assets, it's a give and take type of situation. If you're going for a low neckline to show off the top, aim for a longer skirt to cover the legs. Alternatively, if you want a shorter dress to show off your bottom half, cover up more on the top
Here are some examples:
White or pink just screams spring. Stay pastel and you’ll look like a goddess. The low back and higher skirt are the “giving” aspects, while the higher neckline is the “covered” section.
The colors on this one aren’t ideal for a spring wedding, but the dress is classically beautiful. The skirt is higher and the back is extremely low, making the dress sexy, but the high neckline keeps it classy.
This one’s my favorite. Like all the others, the low back and higher skirt makes the dress just revealing enough, but the high neckline keeps you looking like a goddess.
If you don’t want to spend too much money, here’s a gorgeous lace backless dress on sale for $49. It comes in a ton of gorgeous colors, but for a spring wedding I would recommend the lighter colors, like pink, light blue/green, white, grey.
Athlete’s build: broader shoulders, bigger arms, stomach, and legs (filled with muscles, of course!), and typically a smaller chest
- Body-con (that's body-conscious, or tighter) dress to show of your amazing body!
- A more breathable/stretchable fabric to accomodate your sick biceps
- Tights to emphasize great calves
- A sweetheart/low-V neckline to emphasize chest
Here are some examples:
This dress might be my favorite. The low-V is accentuating and the fabric is breathable to accommodate muscles.
The cutouts on the side are tres sexy, and the body-con aspect of the dress shows off your fantastic body. I only with the neckline was sweetheart!
The neckline of this is gorgeous, and the tighter area around the torso makes the dress!
Model's Body: very tall and very thin
- Shorter dresses accentuate the lovely long legs
- You are also lucky enough to be able to pull off maxi dresses and long skirts
- And you're able to wear baggier dresses if you want because you won't get lost in them!
Here are some examples:
You can pull of the high-low because it doesn't drag on the floor (you lucky duck)! And the front is perfect for someone with a flatter chest like models have.
It's short (but not sleazy) enough to show of your spectacularly long legs! And the back is just gorgeous.
This dress covers all the bases! The mesh top accentuates your chest while the short dress allows you to strut your stuff in style. The cutouts are perfect for someone with a slim body as well.
Classic Petite: small all over!
- You can wear short dresses because they're either long enough to be classy or they make you look much taller!
- Heels are always a plus
- Low or sweetheart neckline to accentuate the chest
- Tighter dresses are the way to go -- too much fabric swallows you up!
Here are some examples:
If you're thin enough to wear leather, take advantage of it!
The most flattering color if you're not stick thin is black. If you are petite and thin, you don't need to wear black (although you can if you want!) Go crazy with colors!
You don't need to wear super tight dresses all the time: ones with flowier skirts work too as long as the skirt isn't too long.
Tall but not stick-thin: tall but with all bones nicely covered with flesh; more busty and bootylicious
- Knee-length or mid-thigh dresses are perfect
- Low Vs accentuate your chest
- Try for solid colors so as not to be too busy
Here are some examples:
The amount of fabric won't swallow you because of your height, and the baggier type of dress is in-style and flattering.
Who doesn't like a high-low dress? And the waistline is at a perfect spot to accentuate your curves.
Shows off your long legs, comes in tons of great colors, is flowy and breathable...seems perfect!
Average: for reference, this is what I consider myself: average height and average weight
- Mid-thigh so it doesn't shorten you but is just revealing enough
- Peplum is a girl's best friend, especially a girl whose stomach isn't totally flat (and it lets you wear tighter dresses!)
Here are some examples:
This dress is perfect. It cinches the waist to give extra shape but also flows out at the bottom. It's totally flattering and gorgeous and comes in 4 beautiful colors.
Peplum covers up any extra stomach while still letting you showcase your chest and backside! And this dress is delicate and lovely to boot.
Sometimes it just calls for a flowy dress. This is giving without making you look like a sac of potatoes. And adding a belt would make it even greater.
The top is bigger, which is perfect if you're more busty, and the bottom is just flowy enough to be feminine and sexy at the same time while letting you feel beautiful and confident.
Fiercely Real: as Tyra likes to call it. Curvy all over
- Looser dresses but not so loose they swallow you
- Belts to accentuate the waist!
- Vertical stripes are always awesome
Here are some examples:
The belt highlights your waist while the pleats flatter your figure.
Perfectly flattering, feminine, and gorgeous, like you!
The pattern's not too busy and the fabric is breathable enough to flatter you but not so baggy as to bury you in the dress. And the opening in the back is sexy but not slutty.
Triangle: small chest and larger butt
- Aim for a tighter top (possibly low-V or sweetheart neckline)
- And try for a more flowy skirt
- Or, if you want to super accentuate your bottom half, try a tight skirt!
Here are some examples:
This dress is great because you won't be busting out of the top, but the ruffled pattern and figure eight top will help accentuate your chest. The flowy bottom is perfect as well.
The mesh top is one of the most forgotten tools for enlarging (visually) the chest. It really works! And the tightness of the dress will make your butt seem bigger too. Win-win!
Inverted Triangle: large chest but smaller butt
- Looser top or scoopneck is the way to go
- A flowy bottom is good to call less attention to your butt
Here are some examples:
The top is roomy enough to accommodate your chest, but the scoop neckline keeps you from being totally covered up! And the flowy skirt will fall perfectly over a smaller butt.
The top should stretch to fit, and if it doesn't you can adjust the back! Also the pattern is super feminine and pretty so that's a bonus.
Filling out the top will probably bring up the waist-line, which will shorten the dress, causing the patterned bottom to fall in a way that accentuates your butt.
Hope you liked this everyone! And I hope you find it helpful in the future (or now)...
Tell me if I missed a certain body type and I can add it in, no problem :)
Also keep in mind that most of these are fashion-educated guesses.
According to your post, I have an "Infinity" body-type, and I think your suggestions do not take into account our necessity to wear a bra. Girls such as me, with a great chest, simply cannot go braless. So the dresses you recommend are wrong for the mere fact of the completely bare back. I know for sure that silicone-straps bras, strapless bras or silicone cups are not good enough. I usually wear fit-and-flare dresses (inspired by the 50s/60s fashion), they emphasize my hourglass figure. Bare-back dresses are better suited to flat-chested girls: since they haven't more in front, they can show off their back.
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