The styling trick that works for everyone

There are certain styling principles that work for everyone, irrespective of size, shape or height and the art of distraction is one of them! It’s a super simple trick that each and every one of you can employ although how and where you employ it will depend on what you are trying to achieve.

Fundamentally, if there is a particular part of your body that you’d like to divert attention away from then create a focal point elsewhere. When you do this, the eye has no choice but to follow and will be drawn away from the rest of the body.

Here is what this looks like in practice:

Use your accessories to your advantage

• Jewellery – wearing a statement earring or a necklace (and it actually doesn’t even need to be a large piece although it does need to be enough so as to be visible) will take your eye upwards to wherever they are placed, so this is ideal if you want to take the eye away from your mid section/hips/thighs. Brooches are having a bit of resurgence so pinning one to a lapel will be hard for the eye to ignore.
• Other accessories – a hairband is another great example or an accessory you can use as a decoy and so too is a scarf.
• Footwear – actually a statement shoe or boot can have a similar effect, drawing the eye line firmly downwards.

It’s all in the details

In the same way, think about strategic placement of the details of your clothes.

• So a puff sleeve or similar sleeve detail will take your eye to the shoulder – ideal if you are a pear shape as this will also balance out the hipline.
• Lace inserts/pintucks/buttons – things you might not have considered as being helpful on this front, all count so make sure they are placed helpfully in an area you are keen to show off.
• Pockets – particularly if they are stitched on the outside or there are pocket flaps etc. they will take the eye to the hip or wherever they happen to be placed. That is why a curvier shape such as an hourglass or pear might be less keen on having these around the hip area but for an inverted triangle they will be ideal! This is often the reason we would suggest avoiding pockets on the bust if you have a large chest that you wish to minimise – they naturally provide a focal point.
• Collars – you might not even think of this as a detail but trust me, it is! If you have a collar on a jacket it will draw the eye to that point.
• Epaulettes – another great one if the shoulder is something you are looking to highlight. Less good if it’s an area you want to soften/minimise.

Colour & print

The colours you choose, where you place these and any prints that you wear can also be used to your advantage.

• If you are an inverted triangle looking to de-emphasise the shoulders and/or bust then popping a print or a brighter colour on your bottom half will take the eye to your lower body and is a helpful way of adding volume to this area. This in turn creates balance with a more prominent upper body.
• And the converse is true, so pop all the colour/print up top if you are pear shaped and want to highlight your neater upper body and draw the eye away from your hips/thighs.

It all boils down to using your clothes/accessories strategically to highlight the bits you want to and distract from the areas you don’t. If you would like a visual to accompany the theory then this old video should help.

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