We recently showed you how to dress a ‘pear shaped‘ body, now it’s time to give you tips on how to dress an ‘apple shaped’ body.

What is an apple shaped body?

If you have a wide torso for example a full bust, waist, hips and upper back and yet you have relatively slim thighs and upper legs, you are a classic example of an ‘apple shape’. Apple shaped women tend to look ‘top heavy’ as they tend to be bigger up top and slimmer on lower half. There is most definitely a trick to dressing your body and bringing the eye away from your problem areas, read on to find out how!

You have to accentuate your best bits and for you it’s going to be your

great cleavage and your slim legs. In saying that there are do’s and don’ts you should abide by:

Dressing you top half:

* Avoid anything that is too tight (it will draw too much attention to your bust), or anything too baggy (which will in fact make you look bigger than you are). Your best option is to go for fabrics that skim your body, preferably knits and wovens with stretch for a better fit. A slightly heavier fabric will always hide unsightly lumps and bumps too!

* You should always go for V-neck, boatneck, turtle and mock necks and shirt collars as they are the most flattering necklines for your shape.

* Use your ‘best bits’, show a little cleavage (now I’m not recommending that you turn into the next Jordon!), just maybe wear a pretty cami under a top or cardigan.

Dressing your bottom half:

* Top trick: you can balance out a top-heavy figure with an A-line skirt, this will give you the look of a waist and more of an hourglass look.

* Choose flat-front, never pleated, pants that have a lower rise than the natural waist.

* Always make sure to wear jeans that have pockets on the rear and front because if you are heavy

on top this will disguise any tummy problems, while back pockets can help define a flatter rear common to top-heavy women.

* Avoid wearing skintight jeans or tight pencil skirts etc as this will only make your top half seem bigger again.

* Again show off your assets, if you have nice legs wear shorter (an inch above the knee!) skirts. As this will draw people’s attention away from your top half.

Another tip is to avoid mixing and matching too many different colours, choose monochromatic outfits as they will give the illusion of longer legs.

No matter what you think, don’t cover up from head to toe, as by showing a little skin whether it’s bare arms or shoulders this will be much more flattering.

If apple-shaped Catherine Zeta Jones can look this good, I’m proud to be a part of the ‘Granny Smyths’ family!!

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