Knowing what to wear for an O (apple) Body Shape or any Body Shape can change how you feel about yourself and your body. You can go from Plain Jane feeling unsure to Proud Mary tapping into your confidence and personal power. It’s a matter of learning the skill of understanding what design lines enhance your Body Shape.
I believe all women are born beautiful. One needs to understand what clothes have the right design lines and colors to enhance this natural beauty. For any Body Shape it’s about understanding the silhouette of the clothes and placement of horizontal and vertical lines. To learn more about Body Shape and the clues it gives you, read my blog post, What Are Your Body Shape Clues.
Anatomy Of An O Or Apple Body Shape
What is an O (apple) Body Shape? It’s when the waist appears wider than both the shoulders and hips.
This can be a hard Body Shape to identify. When writing this post I looked at pictures on Google that were identified as O (apple) Body Shapes. Many of these pictures are wrong because the pictures were of A (pear, triangle) Body Shapes. In the pictures the women’s Body Proportions created the illusion of O (apple) Body Shape. These women were short between their bust and waist, and long between their waist and crotch. This Body Proportion is typical for the A (pear, triangle) Body Shape.
How To Find Your Waist
The key is to find your true waist. You find your true waist by bending to the side.
To find your true waist bend sideways. Wherever that’s, that’s your waist. Is it the widest part of your body? If yes, then you have an O (apple) Body Shape.
In most cases bone structure creates this Body Shape. The rib cage sticks out at the waist causing the waist to be wider than the shoulders and hips. In these cases dieting will not change this Body Shape. I frequently see women, evaluating their Body Elements who are in good health and fitness, whose ribs are wider at the waist.
Yes there are women who have an H (rectangle) Body Shape who gain weight in this area and as a result have this Body Shape created by excess fat. If you’re one of these women don’t judge yourself. Remember you’re beautiful just the way you are. You just need to understand what design lines enhance your body.
Now that you understand the anatomy of an O (apple) Body Shape, it’s time to determine what to wear by understanding which design lines will enhance this Body Shape. As I said above there are three design lines that need to be evaluate:
- Silhouette of clothes
- Horizontal line placement
- Vertical line placement
The information below will be divided up into these three sections.
What To Wear -- Silhouette Of Clothes
Clothes’ silhouettes are divided up into two different categories:
- Angular
- Curved
Clothes with an angular silhouette have no indentation at the waist. In most of these clothes, the shoulders, waist and hips appear to be all the same width. Angular Body Shapes should wear clothes with angular silhouettes. These Body Shapes are:
- H or rectangle
- V or inverted triangle
- O or apple
In a curved silhouette, the waist appears to be smaller than both the shoulders and hips. Curved Body Shapes should wear clothes with curved silhouettes. These Body Shapes are:
- A or pear or triangle
- S or figure eight (transition at the waist is curved)
- X (transition at the waist is angular)
Since the O (apple) Body Shape is angular, look for angular silhouette clothes where the shoulders, waist and hips appear to be the same. You’re in luck because this is the most designed silhouette in the ready-to-wear market.
As you already know sometimes the waist is too small when an item fits in the shoulders and hips. Look for silhouettes with more room at the waist. These are a few examples:
What To Wear -- Placement of Horizontal Lines
I wrote about horizontal lines in, Horizontal Lines: Friend Or Foe. Horizontal lines:
- Stop your eye and bring focus an area
- Widen the area
- Shorten the area
Look at these rectangles and notice where your eye stops, how the rectangles with a horizontal line appear wider and shorter than the one without a horizontal line:
The first question you need to ask yourself is: “Where do I want the focus to go?” And then ask yourself: “Is there an area I want to add width?”
Now let’s examine how horizontal lines look on an H or rectangle Body Shape.
Notice how the horizontal lines look great anywhere they’re placed. Now let’s look at the O (apple) Body Shape:
When the horizontal line is placed at the waist focus goes right there and the waist appears even wider than it is. On the other hand, notice when the horizontal line is placed at the shoulders: the focus goes to the shoulders, and they appear wider and magically the body appears more balanced.
The horizontal line at the hips is also a good placement. In fact it’s a great placement of a hem line.
What does this tell us? If you have an O (apple) Body Shape, place horizontal lines at the shoulders because they create overall balance.
Now you may wonder where you can find horizontal lines at the shoulders. Here are some examples of horizontal lines at the shoulders:
Hidden Horizontals To Watch Out For
When evaluating horizontal design lines look for hidden ones like pockets and sleeve hems which lay at the waist. Many designers place pockets around the waist, especially in jackets. These pockets will stop your eye at the waist. The same goes for shorter sleeve lengths, for example rolled shirt sleeves. These are examples of horizontal lines to stay away from:
What To Wear -- Placement of Vertical Lines
I wrote about vertical lines in, Vertical Lines Can Be A Foe. Vertical lines:
- Draw your eye up and down
- Elongate your appearance and make you look taller
- Cut your body vertically, creating a slimmer profile
Look at these rectangles and notice how your eye is drawn up and down. Also notice how the rectangles with a vertical line appear taller and slimmer than the one without a vertical line.
The first question you need to ask yourself with respect to vertical lines is: “What area(s) do I want to draw my eye over?” The second one is: “Which area(s) do I want to make slimmer?”
Now let’s first examine how vertical lines look on an H or rectangle Body Shape.
Notice how all the vertical lines look great on this Body Shape.
Now let’s look at the O or apple body shape:
Notice how your eye flows over the waist when the vertical line goes through this area. When the princess lines start at the arms (fifth picture), the shoulders appear more in balance with the waist. Finally when the vertical lines go from the neck/shoulder and transition to the armpits, the shoulders appear even smaller than the waist. This vertical line represents a raglan sleeve, so it’s best to avoid this type of sleeve. You’re in good company with the A (pear, triangle) Body Shape.
These are examples of vertical lines that are perfect for the O (apple) Body Shape:
Summary
For the O (apple) Body Shape the placement of design lines is critical because they create horizontal and vertical lines. Horizontal lines stop your eye, create width and make the area look shorter. Vertical lines move your eye up and down, making the area look thinner and taller.
You want horizontal lines to be placed at the shoulders to make them appear wider creating balance with your waist. You can also place them under your bust, at your hips and below them. Horizontal lines are created by:
- Necklines
- Collars
- Pockets
- Plackets
- Horizontal ruffles
- Hemlines
To determine where they are on an outfit, ask yourself: “Where does my eye stop?”
For vertical lines, place them through the waist area to move your eye over the waist and make it appear thinner. Avoid vertical lines created by raglan sleeves because your shoulders will appear smaller and waist wider. Vertical lines are created by:
- Openings
- Princess lines
- Pockets
- Vertical ruffles
- Belt ties
To determine where they are on an outfit, ask yourself: “Where does my eye easily move up and down?”
In the next blog post you’ll learn which design lines enhance a V Body Shape: What To Wear For A V (Inverted Triangle) Body Shape.
Wear Your Greatness!!
