Do Shirt Dresses Make Me Look Fat?

From the book “100 Ways to Look Fat” -Baloney Concept #10 – Shirtdresses make you look fat. No they don’t.

Shirtdresses are an easy-to-wear style that can be very figure-flattering.  It’s gentle shape is more forgiving than a fitted sheath.  As always, the degree of flattery relates to the fabric, shape and design details.

Fabric:

• Best shirtdress fabrics are soft enough to drape toward your body – not stand stiffly away.  Washed silk, soft cotton, challis and matte jersey are all effective choices.

Shape:

• Your best shirtdress styles follow the natural outline of your body – straighter if your body is straight, curved in toward the waist if your body is curvy.
• Slim skirt shapes are generally more sleek than gathered, flared or wide A-line styles.

Style Details:

• Center front button detail, zippers and plackets all draw the eye up and down, elongating the figure.
• The V-shape neckline elongates the neck and upper torso.
• A shaped, shirt-tail hemline is often more pleasing  than a straight horizontal hem.
• The skirt length should create a longer-than-wide proportion.  I PhotoShopped the pictures above to lengthen the dresses. See an original and its touched-up version compared below.
• A drawstring waist that causes the bodice to blouse gently over the waistline can work well to balance lower boy fullness, provided that the lower portion of the garment isn’t too full below the drawstring.
• Be careful about adding a waistline tie or belt to your shirtdress.  If you add one, keep it loose enough to avoid creating a cinched-in, sausage effect and to fall just a bit below the waist, subtly elongating your torso.

If you don’t already own one … try a shirtdress and I’m betting you’ll love it.