FASHION - Why body shape matters?

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Summary - 

There’s no denying that everyone has their opinion on whether our bodies should be labelled as ‘body shapes’. In this episode, I’m going to give you my thoughts on this as a Personal Stylist and explain the reasoning behind why body shapes matter in a way that I guarantee you won’t have heard before. 

Things I Mention - 

  • Why I choose not to refer to a woman’s body as a fruit or geometric shape. 

  • Why the concept of body shapes exists and how it has changed over the years.

  • I debunk a negative misconception most people have about body shapes.

  • Discover why your body shape matters if you want to look your best. 

  • Learn about style aims and what this means in the fashion world. 

PLUS, I teach you how to determine your own body shape and give you advice on what to do once you know, to then go ahead and transform your personal style. 

Links & Helpful Resources - 

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss out on any of my practical tips & tricks and if you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a rating and a review? Thanks! 

Ok beauties, let’s get this party started by kicking off our fashion topic with why body shape matters because there’s no denying that everyone has their opinion on this but I want to give you my perspective now because I can guarantee you won’t have heard it like this before … 

I’m the first to agree that naming our bodies with titles such as fruits or shapes (think pear, apple, column etc.) has quite a negative connotation attached to it however as a Personal Stylist, I know and have seen as clear as day, that our body measurements, can be filed into common groups or themes if you wish, to make dressing beautifully a heck of a lot easier for other women. 

I personally, use letters of the alphabet to represent the 5x most common groups of body measurements that I’ve worked with in over 10 years of styling. They are the A shape, I shape, X shape, O shape and Y shape. I’ve worked with thousands of women all over the world and yes, there are 5 common themes when it comes to the measurements of a woman's body. Now, I’m not saying that every woman's measurements fit within these 5x common themes but for the most part, over 98% of women’s do. 

Despite what most people think though, these groups or letters of the alphabet (as I refer to them) have very little to do with a woman's weight. This is a huge misconception that stems from the way personal stylists worked way back when. Let’s use an A shape for example, for your body measurements to fit within what I refer to as an A shape (oh and just FYI, this does only apply to the way that I do personal styling, I can’t speak for any other personal stylists here) but my A shape beauties have a bust measurement that is 25cm or less than their waist measurement and a hip measurement that is 25cm or more than their waist measurement. This is not always a reflection of the person's weight. In fact, a lot of the time it isn’t! This could be caused be the woman’s bone structure or just maybe they weren’t blessed with a set of boobs that match the width of their hips. 

For me, grouping body measurements into specific letters of the alphabet, is no different to say grouping a food with specific nutrients into ‘proteins’ or grouping a bunch of movements that target specific areas of the body into ‘ab exercises’. By doing this, it becomes 1. relatable, 2. easier to understand both mentally and visually and 3. from a personal stylists perspective, it becomes much easier to teach other women with similar measurements, how they too can dress in a way that makes them feel really confident as well. 

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I want to move on to why body shape matters and the answer to that one is balance. As human beings, we tend to find a balanced body shape more aesthetically pleasing but let’s face it and take it from me, very few of us are born with naturally balanced proportions (unless of course, you are one of the few or you’ve paid a hefty price to achieve a more balanced body shape). 

So what can you do if like most of us, you weren’t born with the same upper to lower body ratio? You can use clothes & accessories to create the illusion of a more balanced body shape. This is why knowing your body shape matters because it is basically a one-way ticket to great style! 

For this exact reason, I have taken all of my experience working with women of all ages, all measurements, all walks of life and have created 5x mini eBooks for each individual body shape. Inside, these eBooks, you’ll find a list of the most flattering clothes (including the exact fit & style) that I recommend for each specific body shape. You’ll also discover some of the most common style aims for each body shape which to simplify things, is usually just the body part/s that I’ve found each body shape prefers to emphasise or highlight when getting dressed - this is an incredibly powerful thing to know if you want to look your best without needing to give it too much thought. 

As an exclusive for all of you listening to FEEL BE LOOK, I want to make things as easy as I can for you. If you download my free Body Shape Flowchart, it will tell you exactly what body shape you have and from here, you can shop the eBooks page on my website and download your own individual body shape which will give you the confidence to try new things and as a result, transform your personal style.

So, that is it from me, have an incredible day and see you back here next week!

Elisha CasagrandeBrisbane Personal Stylist, FEEL BE LOOK, Online Personal Stylist, Styling Tips, Outfit Styling, Womens Body Shapes, Body Shapes