How to dress to look slimmer and taller instantly?
If you’re looking for some awesome, effective tips on how to dress to look thinner, you’ve come to the right place!
As much as we all strive to follow the latest fad diets and workout regimes to help us shed excess body weight, many of us still want to look slimmer and taller without any stress. And that’s completely okay!
We women are cyclical in a lot of things, including very often our weight, which over a lifetime (and often over much shorter time intervals) tends to fluctuate at least a little bit.
But what to do when we suddenly don’t recognize ourselves in the mirror anymore and, more importantly, much of our wardrobe seems to have suddenly become unusable?
Over the years, I don’t know how many readers have asked me the same question: how to dress if you’re fat – or feel like it? And what other effective aesthetic tricks can you take to dress if you have a few extra pounds?
I’ve also created many videos on this topic. You can watch them on my YouTube channel if you like – simply turn on English subtitles!
As a mother of two boys aged 18 and 20, of course, I too have experienced my fair share of fattening and subsequent slimming, but they were linked to a very specific reason and mainly concerned the waistline.
Then there was a time in my life when I had two small children and a lo of work.
I had a nanny (not always good at replacing me) and some help for my household chores, so I was quite lucky, but I still had little time to devote to myself.
Through it all, I got sick – a flu of the nasty, long, debilitating kind that left me with long after-effects of sinusitis.
I couldn’t breathe well, I was constantly overworked, debilitated, anemic (as I found out later when I did the tests) and most of all forgetful of myself – and at one point, within a short time, I found myself almost 20 pounds heavier.
As the endocrinologist explained to me, since I was debilitated and at the limit of my energy, my body tried to compensate for the lack of strength by inducing me to eat a lot.
All this happened about 16 years ago, and I still remember that at the time my fetish item was a camel corduroy midi skirt from Sisley, cut on the bias, which had the magical power to make me look very slim.
I practically wore only that one, seeing myself as ugly with almost everything else.
A short time later I had all the tests done and, slowly, with a balanced diet, in three months I lost everything.
Since then I try to keep my weight more or less stable with common sense and a fairly healthy lifestyle, avoiding diets of any kind. I’ve also learned how to stay reasonably fit the lazy way! If you want to know some awesome tips to lose weight even if you are lazy, read this article!
I mean, I don’t have extreme weight swings or really radical weight loss under my belt, but I know exactly how it feels when nothing in our wardrobe seems to fit!
That being said, there are some steps you can put into practice when dressing to look slimmer and taller:
1 REORGANIZE YOUR WARDROBE
It’s a rule that always applies, but particularly when it comes to weight gain.
It’s always appropriate to dress for the here and now! Reorganize your closet and get rid of the following
- clothes that are too tight/small
- clothes that are still in good conditions, but do not suit us
- other garments that are still in good conditions, that we don’t like maybe for their color and cut, and that have unfavorable cuts
- tight shoes (when you gain weight you often change your foot size; it happened to me during both pregnancies, for example)
- clothes that are too loose or shapeless, that do not enhance us and do not define the point
- garments that don’t enhance our waistline
Immediately donate or sell anything you didn’t like/donate even before, when you were slimmer (and be honest with yourself in doing so!), and temporarily store elsewhere your “skinny” clothes that you still like.
P.S. There is a fundamental help that comes to us right from fashion: shapewear!
Far away is the memory of granny panties, those worn by Renée Zellweger in her legendary film “Bridget Jones’s Diary”.
Today there are undergarments on the market – but also leggings, pants and dresses – that are shaping and suitable for any occasion.
Actresses, presenters and even young supermodels make extensive use of it: why should we deprive ourselves of such a valuable aid?
On ASOS you can find an ultra complete line by Spanx, the best in the business. Take a look. I think they are brilliant!
2 SIZE DOESN’T MATTER (REALLY!)
If you want to learn how to dress to look slimmer and taller, make an effort to not give a damn about size.
Not only because it varies so much from one brand to another, but because it really doesn’t matter.
What matters – not only in case of weight gain but always – is how the clothes fit. If the little number on the label makes you feel uncomfortable, cut it off and forget about it.
The important thing is that you feel beautiful, sexy and comfortable! At the same time, avoid buying “plus” sizes just because you’ve gained a few kilos. Often you risk making the opposite mistake and stuffing yourself doesn’t help at all to look thinner, on the contrary.
If necessary, have the clothes you use the most adapted by a good seamstress.
And when you’re shopping online and you’re undecided, buy the two sizes directly and then keep the one that fits you best.
It’s how a garment looks on you – not the size – that makes you feel beautiful.
3 LESS IS MORE
Often, when we want to dress to look slimmer, the instinct is to buy and wear clothing rich in fabric and draping. Dresses suitable for hiding the forms, in short.
A big mistake! It practically never works.
It’s better to choose clothes with simple and clean lines (which, by the way, are those that best enhance ANY physique) avoiding an excess of “frills”.
Also ideal are garments that fall slightly soft, but fit perfectly on the shoulders and define, without squeezing it, our waistline.
4 WATCH YOUR NECK
Prefer necklines and necklaces that tend to lengthen the bust, thus creating a slimming effect.
What you want to achieve is a sense of verticality: so green light to V-necklines, wraps and long necklaces, creating precisely a vertical line.
With two advantages: they lengthen the line of the neck, making you appear taller, and they draw the eye to the waist, the narrowest part of the body, making you appear more proportionate.
5 PAY ATTENTION TO LENGTHS
Each of us gains weight in a different way. For example, if I put on weight I tend to stay slim legs and hips and accumulate instead in areas not very pleasant, such as the belly (the classic love handles), the back and my arms.
For those who tend to gain weight in this way, a trick that works is to use tops that are longer and wrap around the hips well, which tend to lengthen and slender the torso, reproportioning it to the slender legs.
If, however, the problem areas are thighs and hips…. Midi and maxi dresses are all the rage this year!
In any case, the general rule with skirts and dresses is to choose lengths that end at the slimmest point of the leg. Just do a few tests, you can also try applying the formula given above.
Not sure what the proper hem length for you may be? Discover more in this article!
6 NOT ONLY BLACK TO LOOK SLIMMER
Personally, I’m a big fan of black, I love wearing it, it looks pretty good on me and yes, it’s true that it slims.
These, for example, are great pieces of clothing for looking slimmer and more svelte:
BUT it’s not the only color to have this superpower:
dark blue, medium gray, dark military green, burgundy and other dark shades, especially if worn in total look, produce the same effect.
Even light colors, if worn “column style” (i.e. choosing garments of the same color above and below) , have the power to slim the figure.
Another strategic trick can be to combine black with other colors. For example, using it in a targeted manner to slender the areas that we consider more problematic and resorting instead to lighter colors for those slimmer.
Colorful accessories also help: they can divert attention and above all brighten up the face, taking away years and acting as a sort of natural facelift.
Here are some great choices for this season:
7 CHOOSE YOUR SHOES WELL
A few inches of heel looks good on everyone, and if the shoes are chosen in a nude shade (the one that best suits our complexion) they will lengthen and slim anyone.
Even pointed pumps and ankle boots have a slender effect, as well as matching the shoe to the color of the pants.
Some of my current favorites:
8 STUDY THE FORMULAS
Not the mathematical ones but the ones in your outfits.
Once you’ve done a few experiments, define 2-3 “style uniforms” and silhouettes that you feel good in. It will be easier to find endless ways to replicate them, while appearing dressed differently each time.
In addition, having donor “uniforms” also helps with targeted shopping, avoiding bad purchases.
If, in particular, you are like me women with an hourglass physique, here you will find a great post, written by the plus size fashion blogger of Color Me Fall, full of useful tips to enhance (and slim) your physique to the maximum.
9 DO SOME SHOPPING
Of course, having gained weight doesn’t mean flogging yourself on this front. Instead, the number 1 rule absolutely applies, that of the “here and now”.
Therefore, avoid purchases for when you’ll be 2 sizes less or those self-punishing , baggy clothes to whear when you want to hide from the world.
Dress for how you are now, favoring purchases that can fit a slimmer physique over time if you plan to lose the accumulated weight.
Excellent in this case are fabrics with a good percentage of stretch and Ponte fabrics. Or the lines that can be easily adapted by a good seamstress, if it is worth it.
10 STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF!
It happens to get fat, it’s part of almost every woman’s life, sooner or later.
But how to dress if you’re fat – or if you see yourself as such, even if the pounds are few? Being out of shape is never a valid reason to abandon our style, our tastes and everything we’ve always loved!
Have you always liked to wear white, do you love horizontal stripes or short skirts above the knee?
There is no reason to give up! There are garments with a “smart” cut and suitable for you in all sizes.
Without forgetting that a beautiful face, a great make-up and beautiful hair are strong points that attract attention and give charm.
Much more than a few rolls less or the total absence of cellulite and that no weight gain can take away. Ergo, make the most of them and you will be beautiful!
I love decalogues, so I’m not going to add any more points to this list but… two more things: exercising is essential always, even more so if you have gained weight .
Not only to gradually regain physical fitness and lose weight better and faster, but because it has an almost instantaneous effect on our mood and our perception of our body, giving us from the very first moments an injection of self-confidence.
Which, along with loving ourselves, is the real secret of beauty and happiness.
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