Style A Guide
Table of Contents Why... Body Shapes Face Shapes Color Characteristics Fashion Personalities Resources 2
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Why...
When you first meet someone, what is the first thing you notice? Their intellect? Their humourous outlook on life? Their talant for singing Karaoke? It’s fairly unlikely that their genius abilitites or budding personality are at the top of that list. Usually by sheer default, and the fact that our eyes can’t hear, we see a person before we talk to them and really know what they are about. When you unexpectedly run into that preppy girl from school, who seems to be the perpetual face of style and perfection, you’re probably rethinking those acid wash tapered leg jeans and your dad’s old college sweatshirt you threw on just because you couldn’t be bothered, and thinking to yourself, “what is she thinking about my outfit, I’m better off than I look?”. Chances are you want to show how great you are and how much you’ve taken care of yourself via your clothes and outward appearance before anyone has the chance to judge your miniskirt and flock of seagulls hair cut. Now this isn’t saying everyone should be superficial and materialistic, go out and buy the most expensive clothes so we all look a like. It simply means, for every body shape there are clothes that can accentuate the good, or point a flashing red hazard light on the bad. Knowing the difference and being honest with yourself about your shape and features while embracing them will make it easier for you to be confident and look even more beautiful than that one night when you wore your grandma’s crocheted afghan as a poncho, and maybe break a few hearts in the process.
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Body Shapes 4
A Shape Features: Smaller on top and wid-
er on the bottom, shoulders are narrow, breast are small to average, waist is slender and hips, thighs and bottom are full
Flaunt it: Small waist, shoulders, smaller torso, curves
Camouflage it: Larger bottom, larger thighs, large contrast between upper and lower body
What to Wear: Pencil skirts, jackets that hit below the bottom, side fastening trousers, boat neck top, halter neck, fitted long sleeve
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X Shape Features: Curvy figure with full
bust , small waist, and full bottom
Flaunt it: Curvy body, small waist Camouflage it: This is the most
saught after body type, so instead of hiding problem areas, you may want to avoid skimpy clothes, cropped tops or boxy and blousy clothing at the risk of looking cheap or shapeless
What to Wear: Jacket with tight
waist and full bottom, wrap dress or shirt, sweetheart neck line, fitted deep vee top that hits at waist line, open neckline, high waisted skirt or pants
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O Shape Features: Round with fuller
bust and midsection with heavier arms and shapely legs
Flaunt it: Bust line and shapely legs
Camouflage it: Rounder midsection and larger arms
What to Wear: Empire waist-
line, asymetrical hemlines, flowing fabrics, wide leg pants, loose fitted capri pants, larger prints broken up with solid color items, vertical lines, wrap dress or shirt
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V Shape Features: Wide shoulders,
larger bust, narrow hips, most of the weight sits on the upper half of the body
Flaunt it: Legs, smaller hips Camouflage it: Upper torso, larger shoulders
What to Wear: Pleated skirts
or pants, wide leg pants, knee length or slightly above the knee skirts, vee and scoop neck tops, drop waist dresses
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H Shape Features: Shoulders, waist and hips are about the same width
Flaunt it: Arms and legs Camouflage it: Wider waist in comparison to hips and bust
What to Wear: Belts cinching waist, wrap dresses and tops, drawstring tops, ruffled tops, princess seams, short waisted zip front jackets
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Face Shapes
Round Shape Features: Round short forehead with a round chin and hairline, widest at cheeks and ears
What works: To elongate the face, keep
the sides of the hair cut close to the face and heighten hair at the crown, keep the hair up on one side leaving one ear exposed, sweeping bangs to the side
Oval Shape Features: Forehead and jaws are at the same length
What works: Considered the ideal face
shape, most any haircut looks flattering on this face shape, bobbed, layered, long, short, bangs can bring focus to the eyes, or sweeping bangs can balance the nose
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Heart Shape Features: Wide short forehead widest at the temples narrowing at the chin
What works: Soft curly styles that hit at
the chin, bouncy styles with wide slanted bangs, center part with side swept bangs
Square Shape Features: Wide short forehead, strong
jawline, with temples and jawline at the same width
What works: Soft wavy bangs swept
over the forehead, longer hair falling at or past the shoulders, asymmetrical styles
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Color Characteristics
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Deep Features
Hair: Black, dark to medium brown Eyes: Dark brown, deep hazel, olive green Skin Tone: Medium to dark
Accent it with...
Purple, forest green, burgundy, royal blue
Black, dark gray, dark brown
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Muted Features
Hair: Blonde, light brown Eyes: Brown, hazel, olive green, green/gray Skin Tone: Medium to deep, may tan or burn
Accent it with...
Dusty rose, sage, green, blue
Gray, camel
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Light Features
Hair: Golden blonde, ash blonde, very light brown Eyes:Blue, green, grey, blue-grey, green-blue Skin Tone: Medium to light, often does not tan easily
Accent it with...
Pale pink, denim blue, mint green, lavendar
Light brown, taupe, beige, light navy
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Bright Features
Hair: Black, medium to dark brown, chesnut brown Eyes:Bright blue, turquoise, bright hazel, violet Skin Tone: Light to medium, may tan or burn
Accent it with...
Bright pink, emerald green, red, peacock blue
Black, dark gray, light brown
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Warm Features
Hair: Red, auburn, cooper, sandy strawberry Eyes: Brown, hazel, bright blue/ turquoise, green Skin Tone: Golden or very pale, often burns easily and may have freckles
Accent it with...
Deep red, apple green, peach, deep blue
Brown, camel, tan, rust, terracotta
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Fashion Personalities 19
Sporty
Features: Casual and comfortable style, outdoorsy look, natural and primary colors with a few accent colors incorporated
Fabrics: Cotton, lycra, mixes fabrics easily Clothes: Shirtdress, Solid color tops, safari style clothing, pullover sweaters, trouser pants
Accessories: Natural colored leather jacket, small earrings, wooden beads or bracelet, flat or low heeled shoes
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Classic
Features: Traditional, conservative, chic, sophisticated, mix and match style, neutral colors, navy, black, brown
Fabrics: Cotton, wool, silk, blends Clothes: Sheath dresses, knit suits, slim fitted blazers, straight leg pants, no patterns or very small motif patterns
Accessories: Pearls, gold jewelery, slingback heels or pumps 21
Romantic
Features: Soft, fresh, dainty, refined, delicate colors, shapes and textures, ribbons, ruffles, bows
Fabrics: Cashmere, angora, silk, lace Clothes: Flowing skirts, peasant tops, puffed sleeves, ruffled tops, feminine prints
Accessories: Pearls, charms, dainty earrings, high heel pumps 22
Eclectic
Features: Creative, theatrical, high fashion, bold style, bright and striking colors
Fabrics: Extreme mixing of all fabrics Clothes: Free flowing, asymmetrical silhouettes, handcrafted pieces, mixing of prints and patterns, abstract bold animal prints, stripes
Accessories: Large bright colored bracelets and earrings, mixmatched heels, flats, or boots
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Resources Woodall, Trinny, Susannah Constantine. What Not to Wear. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 2003: (15-75). Woodall and Constantine cover all body types and shapes in this book. They offer many different ideas not only on style, but on recognizing what is right for the body and how to dress it to hide imperfections. Klensch, Elsa. Style. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1995: (199). Elsa Klensch uses great simple illustrations in her book to describe her point of view on style. The book seems much less intimidating when looking at it as a learning too and resource book. What Design is All About.... Kid Kountry. 25 Aug 2008 <http://www. kidkountry.com/feature/feature.php?pgid=2FAS&stid=WE03101133> The website is geared towards children, detailing in laymens terms the design process. The site a a few nice pictures, illustrations on fashion and drawing. Flickr. 20 Aug. 2008 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/20606337@ N00/archives/date-posted/2007/01/detail/> The website had several nice illustrations of faces and parts of faces. Gave step by step instructions on how to draw a face. The idea for the faces fit in nicely with the theme of the book.
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“Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.” ~Jean Cocteau
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