Reader Request: Pants That Pull

by Sally on February 27, 2020 in the category: reader requests, style

Highly e-mailed me this question:

I’m at a loss when it comes to fitting pants … My main problem is the horizontal pulling/creasing you get across the top of the thighs/pelvis. I have trouble finding any pants, but especially jeans, which fit sleekly across the pelvis/thighs. Often I put that down to the fact that my thighs are somewhat larger than my hips. Anyway, I assumed that that was a sign of ill-fit, but now I’m noticing that pants seem to do that on everyone.

What’s going on here, Sal? How much stress/crease is too much? Is my quest for sleek-fitting pants hopeless, not because pants are mass-produced, but because they’re supposed to do that? I get the feeling that I might have internalised one of my mother’s bizarre clothes-buying rules which no one else cares about… read more

Originally posted 2012-11-28 06:17:55.

How to Create Balance Within an Outfit

by Sally on February 13, 2020 in the category: proportion, style, tutorial

Sometimes you want to wear something that’s intentionally off-kilter. Sometimes it can be tough to create visual balance in a figure that has extremes. Sometimes balance just isn’t a priority. But for many women, balance is a key concept in dressing, and there are many ways to approach it so I’d like to examine a few common practices!

Balancing clothing volume

When I first became truly interested in style and dressing theory, one of the first things I learned was to balance voluminous clothing with fitted clothing. Wanna wear a loose, drapey, voluminous top? You might consider balancing that volume with a close-fitting bottom garment. This also works in reverse: A voluminous bottom can be balanced by a fitted top. If you do volume all over, the observing eye fills in body fullness where there is none. By wearing a voluminous top with voluminous bottoms, you mask the curves and contours of your figure and may make yourself look big all over. By pairing loose with fitted, more of your true figure shape is revealed. read more

Originally posted 2012-10-04 06:04:10.

Reader Request: How to Eyeball Fit and Understand Your Figure

by Sally on February 6, 2020 in the category: proportion, reader requests, shopping, style

Hannah2 popped this request into the suggestion box:

I was hoping you could do a post on how to come to understand and appreciate what looks and makes us feel good—without having to buy the clothing and hang it all first. I feel like I’m starting to make progress in understanding myself but because of small weight gain (just enough to make lots of stuff fit wrong) and because of deeper appreciation for my body, even things I bought with concern and attention after purging my wardrobe fit funny, feel funny. read more

Originally posted 2012-07-26 06:09:45.