Here is the tale of the perfect dress for the Apple shape. If you have a figure like my gorgeous daughter, pictured here ready for her Senior Formal, this is not for you...lol! Isn't she fabulous?
It has been years since I wore a dress that was anything but what might be kindly called 'floaty'.
I actually prefer the lean look bestowed upon my small, curvy, squishy frame, that wearing slender pants and a shirt gives.
Thanks to my French Chic Academy course however, I am learning to reassess my obsession with pants, and re-evaluating my aversion to dresses and skirts. After all, those French ladies know how to rock a flirty skirt and heels!
I've been digesting information on how to use stripes and diagonals, to guide the eye away from your least favourite features, and towards those that make the most of your shape, much as an arrow would.
The dress in these photographs, purchased to wear to my daughters Senior Formal Parent Meet & Greet, is just about perfect for me, and will be for you too.
Here is why:
1. The black section in the centre, disguises a round tummy
2. The three quarter sleeves cover less-than-toned upper arms. I have a real 'thing' about my upper arms. Silliness really. I had a real 'thing' about my upper arms when they were stick thin too!
3. The stripes on the sleeve cuffs, attract the eye to slender wrists, and away from the aforementioned upper arms.
4. The asymmetrical neckline, draws attention to the face, hair, neck and chest, without being unnecessarily revealing.
5. The bands of thin black and white diagonal stripes, form a solid V shape or arrow, pointing first to the neckline, then to the waist, then away from the mid-section to the hemline, where another asymmetrical feature, takes the eye to the knees and ankles. Neckline-Waistline-Hemline is a great visual trick for we Apple shapes.
6. The paler coloured sections advance, drawing the eye, and the darker colour recedes, making the eye ignore those areas.
7. The point of the asymmetrical hemline is black underneath the diagonal band, so attracts the eye, and literally points to the feet to show off ankles and pretty shoes. I don't know about you, but I have another obsession....pretty shoes! So this is a great strategy for me!
8. This dress has no excess voluminous fabric, the usual trick for clothing manufactured for we more curvy types. More fabric, just makes us look more curvy. And not in a good way. That's a lesson that's taken me years to learn! This fabric is a thick stretch with a bit of substance, so that it skims the curves, making you look taller and leaner. It doesn't buckle or crinkle, or go out of shape when worn either.
9. The length of this dress is perfect for a Petite Apple Shape. The shorter part of the hemline is just on the knee, with the asymmetrical point, taking it to just below.
10. The addition of low cut silver pumps with a peeptoe, adds further length to the leg. The nude sandals shown in the top photograph achieve the same effect, but not quite as prettily. On the website from which I purchased the dress, it was styled with similar pumps (court shoes) but in black. I prefer the sleek look that metallic or nude shoes give to the foot. Either way, adding a 'low cut' shoe in a metallic or nude shade, gives the illusion of longer legs and height. If choosing a nude, tan or skin toned shoe, straps across the foot are okay. If choosing a colour, stick with a low cut pump so as not to cut your leg length off, making you look shorter.
11. A matching bag, means that accessories merge and compliment one another, rather than being an additional feature in themselves, allowing the dress to take centre stage. I chose both shoes and bag in a silver faux snakeskin.
12. The overall effect of this dress, with it's arrow type asymmetrical details, is to make the wearer look taller and more slender (at least till I stand next to my statuesque daughter!), and it achieves this goal admirably.
I bought my dress at Birdsnest here. Note that the model pictured, is certainly taller and more slender than I am by far, but I just knew, thanks to Marie-Anne Lecouer and her Academy, that this dress would work for me. These days I am far more adept, at unseeing the model, and looking more closely at the dress to make those decisions.
For my lucky U.S. friends, you could try Dia & Co who offer the most incredible styling service based upon your personal questionnaire. I cannot wait for them to start shipping to Australia!
My shoes were purchased at Styletread here.
My bag was a lucky find on eBay, with a co-operative local seller who speedily posted it in time for it's arrival for the event, but you can find a similar one here. That one would not have arrived in time for me, but you might be looking further ahead than I was!
I have to say that this is not a style of dress I ever would have chosen left to my own devices. I would have gravitated towards the floaty look dished up to we Apple shaped folk since time immemorial. I would have shopped at the last minute, got frustrated and tearful, and ended up feeling that I had presented myself in a less than favourable light, through sheer lack of choices.
But given a bit of education thanks to the French Chic Academy, a bit more choice thanks to the world wide web, and the luxury of time on my side (except for the little clutch bag!), I was able to research an appropriate style for my shape, source it and get it posted, in plenty of time for my event.
What about you my fellow Petite Plus Apple friend. Would this dress work for you too?
....Mimi....
