When it comes to finding flattering fashion for the obese, you need to forget a lot of the concepts you’ve been living by and open your mind to new ideas. Women, throw out the muumuu’s, and men burn those sweatpants. Whether you’re a man or woman the truth is that you have more options than ever, and you can still look stylish even if you’re heavy.
The whole trick is to downplay your ‘bad’ areas and play up your better features. For example, if you carry all your weight in your midsection, but you have great legs, or a pretty face, or even great hair, wear styles that draw the eye away from your waistline and focus it more on your good features: your legs, your face or even your hair.
To put this technique into practice here are a few guidelines for you to follow:
1. Get over the idea that you are camouflaging anything by wearing big, baggy clothes. I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but you’re not fooling anyone. All you are doing is making your whole body look bigger and presenting a ‘sloppy’ image. That is the last thing you want to do.
2. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are smaller than you really are. Wear clothes that fit you well but stay away from anything that looks like you’ll need the jaws of life to get out of.
3. Don’t worry about the number on the label, that’s just dumb. Even a slim person can vary in the size they wear depending on the style, the manufacturer, and the type of clothing it is. Instead, focus on the styles that look best on you.
If you get caught up in having to fit into a 12 you run the risk of buying clothes that aren’t really a good fit for you and that will only accentuate what you’d rather hide. Find your size, whatever size that may be, and stick with it.
4. Wear darker colors on the bottom and lighter colors on top. This means that men and women both should wear black, dark blue, or dark gray pants and skirts and use brighter colors in shirts, ties, and blouses. Not only can adding the right color around your face ‘lighten’ your face, but it will also draw the eye away from your heavier midsection.
And don’t make one of the most common mistakes by heavy people, don’t think that you have to wear all black all the time. True, black is slimming but it can lead to a very boring wardrobe, instead mix things up a bit not only with colors but with some patterns as well.
It might take a little trial and error but you can find a fashion style that will compliment your body type, no matter what that body type is. Don’t think that you have to settle, there is a flattering fashion for the obese that will help you look your best all the time.