Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Stripes are on trend - thoughts on the horizontal

There are lots of striped items in the shops at the moment. The majority of these seem to have horizontal stripes. I keep being asked if these are right for everyone. The answer is a qualified no. We all have different body shapes and proportions and what can look good on one person can look disastrous on another, adding inches in all the wrong places.
Imagine a very slim petite figure ('if only' I can hear the words already!). 'Well, lucky her she can wear horizontal stripes' I guess you are all saying. Well, I'd say 'it depends'. It depends on how many stripes there are and how close together they are. The wrong stripes going side to side will chop our slim figure up - and then she'll look even more petite.
Well, let's think about the average British lady, size 16 with a bust of 38.5inches (96cm). How about horizontal stripes for a top for her? Well, the answer is unlikely to be yes, but the final answer again will need to take account of her scale and other proportions as well as the construction & design features of the top. The right horizontal stripes can be slimming- as Helmholtz illusion can show.
So tips for wearing horizontal stripes:
a. be cautious and think twice about the advice of friends, partners and shop owned personal shoppers- they all have a vested interest in your choice!
b. try on the item in front of a full length mirror
c. look at the effect on your height and width when you try the item on (if unsure turn the item round, so the stripes are in the other direction and look again)
If you love stripes, get yourself a personal style consultation, then you will know how to use stripes to really enhance your figure.

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