TheCleaners.net

We're not always the best judges of what looks good on us.  And when we aren't sure, we turn to a friend or loved one with the six most-feared words in the English language... "Does this make me look fat?"

No amount of rehearsal or preparation can get us through this situation gracefully.  If you say "No, you look great!" the other person doubts your sincerity.  And if you say, "Well... a little bit," you'd best duck because the slug is coming your way.

This week, learn more about how to dress YOUR body type so that you don't put anyone else on the spot this way.  Instead, all you'll hear are rave reviews of, "Wow!  Don't you look good.  Have you lost weight?"  It doesn't get any better than that!

Whatever your shape, we look forward to seeing you soon.

Jim Nixon

Quote of the Week

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose
weight, because by then your body
and your fat are really good friends.

No Sweat Coupon!

They're warm and snuggly and fuzzy... and they get dirty over time.  They're your favorite winter sweaters.  At this time of year, most sweaters are of darker shades, and so they hide the dirt well.  But you don't want to be wearing that, right?  We'll clean a sweater at no charge when we do $10 in regular cleaning for you.  No sweat.  (Include the first page of this e-mail with your order.  Offer expires February 7, 2004.  Cannot be combined with other offers.)

Clothing that Suits Your Shape

Stores are filled with clothes -- and your closet probably is, as well.  So why can't you find something to wear?  You're not alone.  One of the hardest things for most people to do is to discipline themselves to study their own bodies to see what shape they really are, and dressing accordingly.  Somehow, we all seem to have an image in our minds that doesn't quite mesh with the reality.  If you shop to the image instead of the reality, you'll feel you don't look good in anything.

Basic Shapes 101

Remember in kindergarten when you learned about circles and squares?  Then life got really interesting when they brought in triangles and rectangles and all kinds of other tangles.  Let's go back to those early years and learn a few new shapes -- body shapes.

• Hour Glass -- This probably needs no explanation.  For most of us, it's a matter of what we don't have!  If you are proportioned so that the upper and lower parts of your body are wider than your waist, you've got the classic hour glass shape.
•  Apple -- Are you bigger on top, with small hips and (probably) nice legs?  You're an apple.  This is also known as the inverted triangle.  You tend to put on weight from the waist up, and are always trying to camouflage the fact.
•  Pear -- Those with more weight from the waist down are more pear-shaped.  They tend to have narrow shoulders, narrow chest measurements, and wider hip/buttock areas.  These folks have a hard time buying clothes because the size that fits on top doesn't do the job on the bottom, and vice versa.
•  Egg -- If you've got narrow shoulders and narrow hips, but your waistline is wider than your hips, you're an egg.  This shape can be a challenge if you don't adhere to the rules that will make you look good.

Follow the Rules

•  Hour Glass -- You want jackets that fall below the hip, that are well-tailored to accentuate your waist.  (If they're too short, you run the risk of looking too big in the hips.)  Straight legged pants work well, and a side zipper will flatten your tummy.  Use jewelry, V-necks and open collars to attract attention to your face.
• Apple -- You're trying to avoid looking top-heavy, so wider legged pants will make you look more balanced.  If you wear a jacket, avoid shoulder pads -- they'll just add to the problem.  Vertical stripes will stretch you out and help with the visual balance between your top half and bottom half.
• Pear -- Vertical stripes are good for you, too.  You can wear shoulder pads (don't overdo it, though, or you look like a linebacker) and longer tops that skim over your hips will help hide the areas you are concerned about.  Straight classic cuts are good for you in jackets and dresses.  Wear lighter colors on top to draw the eye up.
• Egg -- You want garments that skim over the areas you wish to draw less notice to, so longer jackets, slight shoulder pads and straight-legged slacks are good for you.  Vertical patterns will elongate you.  Square tailoring of jackets and blouses are best.  Avoid clingy materials or bulky ones.

Pointers for Any Type

As you can see from the guidelines above, each body type is struggling -- just with different areas.  What one wants to accentuate, another needs to hide.  Here are a few further tips to make dressing your body type more successful.

1. Wear clothes that fit.  Sounds simple, but some people think that wearing tight clothes make them look thinner (they don't; sometimes it makes them look heavier and uncomfortable) and others think that a big shirt or sweater is good camouflage (however, it just makes you look bigger.)
2. Vertical stripes elongate you, as do other details that break the natural horizontal planes of your body -- your bust/chest, waist and hips.  So a belt that dangles down one hip will make you look taller, as will a slit in a skirt, or slacks with slits or zippers up the side.
3. Light colors enlarge, dark colors diminish.  If you doubt it, park your car next to another of the same type of a much different color -- white next to black or red, for instance.  You'll see that somehow, that white car looks bigger, even though you know it's not.  It's the same with your clothes.  If you want your shoulders to look wider, your chest bigger, wear white.  If your hips are too big, stick to darker colors there.
4. Use patterns to draw the eye.  If you've got a problem area, only use smaller prints there.  Bigger prints attract attention, so use them to set off your assets.
5. A high collar will make your neck appear shorter, as can a short, tight necklace.
6. If you want to lose 10 pounds overnight, dress monochromatically.  Wearing an outfit where everything is the same color does a fantastic job of slimming you without dieting.  If it's a darker color, all the better.  You can dress it up with other-colored accessories, but the outfit itself should be monochromatic.
7. Thinner fabrics are more slimming.
8. Buy classic styles and colors, then accessorize with trendy things.  This is a much more cost-effective way to be "in style" since trends come and go quickly... and so can your accessories.
9. When you find a style or shape that suits you, buy other colors of similar garments so you have plenty to mix and match.
10. Don't buy impulsively, but with planning.  Read all care labels so that you know whether something is washable or whether you'll need our help with it.  That doesn't mean you should steer clear of drycleanable garments -- often they are the best value in the long-run since they are usually of quality construction and fabrics.

Want to Read More?

Here are a few links for further reading on buying clothes for your shape.  Or put "clothes" and "body type" into your favorite search engine.

• The Right Clothes for Your Body Type
• Style Gurus speak about shopping
• Fashion Tips to Buy Clothes that Suit Your Shape.
• Insider tips and tricks that fashion magazines never reveal.