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Dear Emma,
I'm 5ft 5ins and what you would call 'pear shaped', with a size 10 top and a size 12 bottom.
I love summer dresses and would love to be able to wear short summery styles that come to just above the knees in length. However, I worry that my legs don't quite live up to the look, since they are not quite as toned as I'd like.
Can you recommend any suitable dress styles for pear shapes for the spring and summer? I am prepared to spend up to £65 on a dress.
Nicci
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Dear Nicci,
So, what is a girl to do? For starters you must be careful not to be seduced by the latest fashions if they are not going to make the most of your personal attributes. I firmly believe that is the key to looking good – playing to your strengths.
This may mean that we reject some of what you ask for here as all of the features you describe are not necessarily going to be right for you.
You are not so tall, pear-shaped with a fuller bottom than top half and your legs are not your strongest point. So what we need to do is rebalance you. We need to visually bulk up your upper body/bust area, slim or disguise the hips and flatter the legs so that you look more in proportion.
You say they are not toned, but hey, we have fake tan at our disposal, so we use it! Use a good one of course, with lots of prep and exfoliation first. I have to say for my money I cannot fault the L’Oreal products – they rarely have the curried after smell and they go on well as a rich thick cream. You can of course go for more expensive products with excellent results such as Lancaster, but it all depends on your budget.
Back to legs – you need to examine the silhouette of your legs, toned or not. Do you have slim ankles but very shapely calves or thick ankles and a shapeless lower leg? Or a different combination? How are your knees? Do they look like dough balls that have been squidged in the middle or are they chiselled and a decent specimen? You have to be ruthlessly honest as these will dictate your preferred dress length. Even the elfin Kylie Minogue falls foul of her knees from time to time.
I have offered solutions to show the knee, to disguise the knee area, to cut a fuller calf at the right point and the optimum coverall solution – full length! But I am going to suggest here the shorter versions you hope to find.
Now, I have to say your budget of £65 is the magic number for dresses – almost without exception this is the most popular price on the tags this year. So we have lots of choice but you need to choose carefully for style.
Warehouse have an ideal pretty flippy number – a variation on a wrap dress with an overall busy pattern which hides lumps and bumps and evens out proportion. Also, you can spill your ice cream on it and it won’t show! It will bulk up your top half nicely and the fuller skirt will disguise the hips. You will undoubtedly have a waist with this body shape so adding a wide belt would go great too.
Warehouse dress, price £65.
Oasis has a black and white mini print classic number, a super-shaped dress for your body issues and this one is a classic. It will not date and can be dressed up or down – with flip flops or red patent heels for example. This one comes in under budget and will see you through lots of different occasions. Specifically, the hemline will detract from non-perfect legs, give you the pretty look you want, the fuller lower hem with tiers will visually reduce the size of your hips and the upper part is full on the sleeves with draping which will reproportion your upper and lower body.
Oasis dress, price £48.
In a similar vein there is also this colourful version from Oasis with an all-over larger print which will disguise, simply because the eye is so busy taking in the gorgeous pattern so viewers look at the dress and not your slight imperfections! Again the sleeve and inverted triangle shape of the upper dress works to your advantage and the deep V is very flattering. The waist is also enhanced and is draped from the slight empire-line of the waistband which creates a floaty, summery feel.
Oasis dress, price £45.
Last but not least we have another monochrome number with a darker lower part which slims the hips a the lighter upper part which bulks up the upper body. You can see the theme here – it is all about visual trickery. I really like this one, because it has that little extra special aspect to it and will not date. Another benefit to this one is that you could wear it over palazzo trousers or leggings and get another whole look out of it for the days when you have not had time to shave your legs! Add flambuoyant shoes and this little number comes up several notches.
Warehouse dress, price £65.
Emma Howey
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