What Not To Wear

What makes certain styles of pants so popular? One reason is fashion and the other comfort. Two examples of pants bought for comfort are tapered leg jeans or pants and Capri pants. Younger women flock low-rise jeans because they are fashionable. Both Capri pants and low-rise jeans look best on tall, slim silhouettes - how many 'real' women are tall and slim? The truth is that the majority of the female population does not have 'Barbie' figures so those styles instead of looking great actually accentuate flaws.

To look your best take your body type into consideration before choosing to wear the latest fashion. You will appear slimmer and more fashionable if you wear clothing that suits your body type. Lets look at cropped pants, low-rise jeans and high-rise tapered jeans and decide what to wear and what not to wear.

Cropped pants (pedal pushers, Capri, clam diggers) end usually somewhere in-between the knee and the ankle, What they do:

* Make you look shorter

* Make you hips look larger

* Your legs look shorter

* Your ankles thicker

However, some of these problems can be avoided depending on the style of Capri pant. Capris that are the best choice:

* Dark in color

* Plain color (no prints)

* End just below the knee

* Have tapered legs (more fitted at the bottom)

* Worn with a tiny sandal

* Without cuffs

Most young women like to wear low-rise jeans despite how ill fitting they might be. Low- rise jeans sit below the hips about 3 inches below the belly button. Low-rise jeans can:

* Make a thick waist look thicker

* Narrow hips look more narrow

* A long waist look longer

* Short legs, shorter

* Can make you look 10 lbs larger

This style (low-rise) is flattering only to those who are absolutely slim. Don't be discouraged. You can still wear jeans that look great and wear them low, but not low enough that they create bulges. Wear them:

* Not too tight

* Approximately 1 inch below the belly button.

High-rise, tapered pants fit snuggly around the waist with a leg that tapers in close to the ankle. If you own and wear high-rise tapered pants or jeans get rid of them now unless you want your:

* Hips to look wider and larger

* Tummy to look bigger

A better choice is straight or wide leg pant with a flat front.

Sheila Dicks is an Image and Wardrobe consultant who teaches women how to dress to suit their body type and look fabulous. You can reach her at http://www.sheilasfashionsense.com to download her ebook, "Image Makeovers" and get "How to Build a Wardrobe" ebook free.