Color coordinating clothes is one of the three C's of smart choices for women's business

clothes. Selecting business attire for women that complements your complexion, properly
communicates your image and coordinates within an outfit and with other pieces in your
business wardrobe for women is an essential key to a versatile professional wardrobe.

Color coordinating clothes decreases your need to have an excessive number of pieces in your
workplace wardrobe which allows you to keep the funds you would have spent on clothing in
your bank account instead.

Color Coordinate your Clothes with your Complexion

It has been suggested that learning which clothing colors work best with your complexion
requires a color analysis. Perhaps, but it may not be that complicated. Are there colors that you
wear and when you do, you are often complimented on how great the color looks on you? When
you're putting together an outfit, do the colors of

any of the pieces make you looked washed out? Well, the latter color(s) are the ones you want
to avoid or at the least, keep away from your face. The former may be the color(s) you'll want to
be sure to work into your wardrobe.

It can also be a great idea to invite a friend, whose judgment can be trusted and who has a
good sense of style, to join you for a little "shopping" trip. Go into one of your favorite clothing
stores and select blouses and scarves in a variety of different colors. Don't hold back. We're
shopping for colors here, not clothes per se.

Once you have a blouse on, stepping out of the dressing room light might help give you and
your color consultant/friend a better view of how the color of the garments complement your
complexion. Take note of the colors to avoid and colors that look great and acceptable on you.

When you get home, see if your existing wardrobe has pieces that include any of the colors that
looked best on you. Try them on, go out into the daylight and evaluate the appearance of the
color again. If you get another two thumbs up, it's probably a good

color for you.

Color Coordinating Clothes to Communicate your Image

Beware of the power of colors, especially when it comes to women's business clothes. Wearing
orange in a professional setting can peg you as a clown, don't throw it out. Although black is a
"conservative/steady" color, it can also be harsh on a woman's complexion. If you're large in
stature and wearing a suit with menswear overtones, it can also contribute to you being seen as
overly authoritative.
Sometimes charcoal gray can be a softer option, while offering some of the same benefits as
black. Red is a power color, using just the right amount of it, in just the right shade can work
wonders for helping you to be heard and respected.

Color Coordinating your Clothes with your Clothes

Yes, clothes within an outfit should coordinate, but so should the clothes in your wardrobe. By
starting out with a neutral suit, like charcoal gray, you can then add pieces to your wardrobe that
can each be worn with the suit or parts of the suit.

Here's an idea: identify two to three neutrals for your wardrobe, they should look good together
and against your skin. Then identify two to five complementary colors in addition to your
neutrals. Ideally, all of these colors can be worn together, or with at least 75-80% of the other
colors and again, they should complement your complexion. If you add pieces to your wardrobe
in these colors only, you should create

a diverse wardrobe.

Basic Colors

Neutrals: white, black and charcoal gray

Colors: multi-color, crimson

All of these colors match and should make putting together an outfit a breeze.

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Dressing for Your Body Type

Proportion and Balance

When it comes to professional women's clothing, there are strategies that you can leverage to
balance your body type. Whether you want to maximize your hips and minimize your height or
to minimize your hips and maximize your height, the strategy you use for dressing for your body
type depends upon your perfect body, the one you're living in right at this moment, and which
parts of it you want to emphasize.or de-emphasize.

Emphasis & De-emphasis

Women do the same thing with makeup Want to feature your eyes? Smokey eye makeup will do
the trick, if your lip color is closer to neutral. Or if you want to feature your mouth, a bold lip color
will draw voyeurs' eyes right to them, if your eye makeup is subtle.
It's pretty straight-forward. Let's talk about some techniques and strategies that can be used to
visually enhance body proportion and balance to look your best in women's professional
apparel.

Since some folks like things to be more detailed than other people do and some people are
more visual than other people, rather than using lengthy text, following is a chart that highlights
which silhouettes and styles emphasize or de-emphasize specific areas of various women's
body types. It makes dressing for different body types actionable.

The Artistry & Strategy Body Shape Fashion Advice Matrix

The following Artistry & Strategy woman's body type fashion advice matrix is divided into
columns and rows. The columns indicate the silhouette or style being considered and the rows
outline the various elements of a woman's body being considered,

What It Means
D's indicate that a specific style will de-emphasize the specific elements of female body shapes
for that

specific row.

An E indicates that the style will emphasize the specific aspect of a woman's body type being
considered

Empty boxes? If there isn't a "D" or an "E" in a cell, in general, the style may have a neutral
impact presentation of that specific area of the body.

Ready to get a quick overview for dressing for your body type?

Let's start with dress silhouettes

D-De-emphasis, E- Emphasis. For example, a wrap dress silhouette may emphasize narrow
shoulders, potentially making them appear more narrow; yet an A-line dress silhouette can
place less emphasis/focus on a large bust area, which is usually a savvy objective in the
workplace.
D-De-emphasis; E- Emphasis. For example, capris can de emphasize the length of longer legs,
and may potentially making them look a bit less leggy, yet they may emphasize the length of a
longer torso to make it appear even longer.

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Body Shapes
All body shapes, each and one of them, are beautiful in their own unique way. But whether you
like your body or not, if you understand what your current shape and proportions are and know
a few style guidelines for your figure, you are well on your way to looking your best.

And although an hourglass body shape is considered the ideal body shape we have to

face the fact that not everyone is born with a symmetric figure. We just have to work

with what we've already got! Now, identifying your own cookie-cutter body shape

(like hourglass, inverted triangle pear, apple or rectangle) can help you steer in the right
direction, however you might want to look at your outfit and shape as a whole This is exactly
what we're going to learn here. We will take a closer look at the 4 vital

factors on how to flatter your frame no matter what body shape you've got:

Proportions

Vertical Body Line

- Fit

Confidence

It's All About Proportions

Looking good is all about proportions. Ever wonder why an outfit just looks great on someone,
even though you don't particularly like the clothes?

It's because of the proportions of that look. When an outfit is balanced, it looks symmetrical, and
we're attracted to symmetry That's why some face and body shapes are considered more
attractive than others. Let's take someone's face as an example.

If the eyes, mouth and nose have a size that are in harmony with the width and length of the
face shape, it will be considered as proportionate and appealing However like if you have a very
tall nose on a narrow/small face shape, it will look out of balance. Basically, your nose draws a
lot of attention to other parts of your face.

Studies and research have shown that we're automatically attracted to symmetry-it's visually
pleasing to the eye. So your main goal when it comes to dressing for your body shape is to
create balance on your frame.
The Hourglass Shape fulfills the symmetry criteria and is considered an ideal body shape.
That's because it's proportional-lower and upper body parts are balanced with each other.
There's no "heavy" point in your silhouette that can attract too much attention

Everyone has different perceptions of what's attractive or not. Some like it curvy, others prefer it
slim.

There really aren't an ultimate ideal shape. Sure, we're automatically attracted to a proportional
shape, but that doesn't mean you have to have that to look good

So no matter what shape your body is, a good rule of thumb in fashion is

Pair clothes that are in proportion to each other.

So you might want to enhance and minimize areas (your upper and lower part) that are needed
to create a balanced look creating an illusion of a symmetric hourglass shape.

Two Examples:

Let's say you have curvy hips (or butt for that matter) and want to wear a hip-hugging skirt. Now,
the skirt will definitely enhance your curves. So to create symmetry you'll need to add more
weight on your upper part So

to balance the overall shape, add a top with volume like ruffles or other details that draw the eye
backup)

If you have wide shoulders and want to highlight them, then you can wear a tube top but make
sure you balance out the look by wearing slightly flared pants or skirt

Example 1

Example 2

This styling strategy applies to anyone no matter what the body shape is. Like if you're wearing
a baggy balloon skirt, always balance it in conjunction with the rest of your body shape So if you
have curves, add a detail-rich or light-colored top with the skirt. If you have a full bust wear
something more solid and simple on top because the skirt will already balance out your heavy
upper body You can practically wear almost anything you like as long as you have the
proportions in mind!

Vertical Body Line: Proportions Between Upper and Bottom Half

Our eyes are attracted to the longest-looking body line. Looking stubby (as in wide and short
frumpish looking) isn't a good look and you know that So choose clothes that will help
streamline your silhouette from top to toe. Examples are picking the right pants and skirt length.

Also avoid clothes that give you bunches of little horizontal folds. These little folds are making
the eye go across, so you can look shorter than you really are. You need to make the eye go up
and down. Your vertical proportions also play a role here. This is the proportion of the bottom
half of your body compared to your top half.

The best and most accurate way to determine your vertical proportions is to measure the height
(shoulders, bust and waist) to your hip-line (your hip-line is the area around your hips where
your bottom is fullest) and determine where your hip-line comes in relation to your overall height
from shoulders to your

toes).

Short Legs, Long Torso

Your legs are short compared to your upper body You probably have a bottom that appears low
and heavy. long torso, low waist that will be lower than your bent elbow.

Fix that with

• Accessories and clothing that draw the eye up towards your face and shoulders

Tucked in tops to shorten your waist •Medium to wide belts

Pants and shoes of the same color

Straight or bootcut pants High waist pants and skirts

• Heels

Jackets and tops that end a little higher on your torso

Short skirts and shorts to elongate your leg Bags that end at mid-section length

Short to medium-long tops and sweaters Light colored top and dark bottom to elongate your
legs

Long Legs, Short Torso

Your legs are longer compared to your upper body. You probably have a high waist that will be
higher than your bent elbow.
Fix that with

• Accessories and details that draw the eye down like for cumple print skirt sash belt. If you're
short go for

vertical prints.

Medium long to long tops. If you are short avoid going below knuckle length Jackets and
sweater that end at hip level

Untucked tops Lowrise pants and skirts

Bags that end around hip level

• Dark colored top to elongate your torso and light colored bottom

•Flats or shoes with low heels

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Good Fit

Another important fashion tip is the fit. Ever worn something tight and noticed how you seem to
fiddle with the clothing to make it sit right on you? It can make you uncomfortable and people
automatically notice that.

Basically, no matter how fab a skirt is, if you're uncomfortable in it you won't look or feel good. If
your clothes are too tight, it can also highlight areas you don't like. The same thing applies if
they're too loose. A good fit skims the contours of your shape. Nothing clings or pulls. It won't
make you look like your hiding

shape or trying to look sexy. So if a clothing looks visibly tight, loose with obvious creasing or
gapping on

you, then you know that the fit isn't good. If a garment is a bit loose then you'll notice that it
makes you

look a little bigger. However this is easier to fix with a tailor.

Confidence

Confidence in the clothes you wear can make or break your look. Showing that you can work it
draws attention away from asymmetry and all the imperfections you're insecure about
But confidence doesn't necessarily equal GREAT STYLE

It is a combination of wearing 3 things that make people look

good

1 The right clothes in proportion vertical line and fit 2. The right colors for your skin tone 3. Self-
confidence meaning letting your personal style and self-worth glow!

Some women say that what matters most is wearing whatever you like and whatever

that strikes your mood as long as you feel comfortable in it. However, we've all seen many
women (as well as men) who strut their stuff and show confidence Sure, it's mesmerizing to
watch their confidence. But still, when that 'admiring stage wanes, you'll notice the other things
that don't look good

While a person with confidence always looks great, if she wears the wrong pants for her height-
let's say she has short legs and wear capri pants that fall down to her mid calves-confident or
not. she won't look her ultimate best. The hem will draw attention to the widest part of her legs
and make her look shorter

How do you wear clothes to feel confident?

The trick is to focus on what you like about yourself and avoid pigeonholing yourself into a
standard body shape. So instead of hiding yourself behind clothes, draw attention to your best
body parts. Your confidence will sky rocket

That means, if you're confident of and love some parts of your body, like your butt, shoulder,
legs, breasts, etc, then make it your personal trademark by simply wearing something that will
accentuate exactly that area

Don't Overdo It

You have probably noticed Beyonce's spectacular trademark pear shape she's got bootylicious
curves. Ever wondered why she looks so great even though she doesn't have the "ideal"
shape? Because she knows how to work it she accentuates her curves with self-confidence and
at the same time, wears the perfect fit and her personal colors. However

Don't overdo it. For example, if you wear a fitted pencil skirt to highlight your curves, balance it
with a more loose fitted top. Remember that over-defining your womanly parts can result into
unwanted attention.

Enhance & Minimize-tips for All Body Shapes

Dark colors minimize & light colors maximize. If you want to draw attention to a certain part of
your body

like your toned legs, wear white or another light color on that part. Generally, light colors create
a focal point, while dark colors take the attention away. Stick to light colors for areas that you
want to enhance and be seen. For another example, if you want to draw attention away from
your arms and to your toned chest wear a white V-neck top and layer it with a dark colored
cardigan

Patterns draw attention. Just like with light colors you can use patterns to accentuate your better
half (upper or lower half). So if you want to draw attention to your upper body, wear a patterned
top with a plain pair of pants or a skirt Or if you like your legs, you can wear glossy tights. The
options are endless Sparkles and embellishment draw attention. Strappy shoes and large
earrings are two great ways to

enhance your best body parts. Do you have great legs? Why not slip on a strappy or bright
colored pair of shoes? If you love your cleavage.try a ruffle blouse. Or what about your defined
waist? Accentuate it with a detailed wide belt over a simple dress.

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5 Main Types

Hourglass Body Shape

Pear Body Shape

verted Triangle Body

Rectangle Body Shape

Apple Body Shape

There are 5 main body shapes which are: Hourglass, Pear, Inverted triangle, Rectangle and
Apple. Here we will go through each type:

Hourglass Body Shape

An Hourglass Body Shape is considered to be the most ideal body shape because of its
proportions, both upper and lower half are in line with each other. There is no "dragging point in
your frame. But even though you have the classic body shape you still might want to take a look
at advice on how to bring out the best in your figure, from emphasizing your wonderful waist to
looking curvier or slimmer
This shape means that both your upper and lower half parts have approximately the same
width. Your waist is also defined You have the potential to dress like a luscious Marilyn Monroe
or an Italian movie star When you gain weight, the fat usually stores evenly throughout your
well-proportional curves.

Your figure is considered to be the most ideal body shape because it's proportional- your bust,
shoulders and hips are in balance with each other. In fact, along with Pear Shapes, your body is
considered womanty because of the curves from the waist up and waist down. Many fashion
stylists strive to create an hourglass silhouette on their clients.

Celebrities with an hourglass body shape: Megan Fox, Salma Hayek, Scarlet Johansson, Halle
Berry, Kate Winslet, and Jessica Biel.

How to Dress Your Hourglass Body Shape

Your best bet when it comes to dressing your shape is to flaunt your classic proportionate body
shape by

using your waist as a focal point

Your waist as focal point, Jessica Biel is wearing a full skirt with wide waist band and a fitted
tank top to show off her toned shoulders. Scarlet Johansson emphasizes her waist with a
cinched floral shift dress with full hemline Halle Berry does a double-take with a fitted corset
dress suited for her slim hourglass body shape, and a long black belted cardigan.

Enhance your best features. If you particularly like your curves, nice breasts, pretty face, etc,
take time to accentuate what you like with clothing and accessories. Instead of showing off her
extremely fit hourglass body, Megan Fox does it modestly with a red, slightly baggy belted
jumpsuit. She chose a short jumpsuit to show off her lean legs Scarlet Johansson makes the
best out of her body emphasizing both breasts and butt-by wearing a dress with deep neckline
and fitted cut to enhance her curves. While not recommended for everyday wear as it can
attract unwanted attention, it looks fabulous on special occasions.

Best Clothes for Your Hourglass Body Shape

Waist belts Wide and skinny belts worn around your waist will accentuate your beautiful
hourglass shape. The best way to wear a belt for your body shape, is wearing it around the
thinnest part of your waist.

Belted tops, dresses, sweaters, shirts, coats such as nipped jackets, for example a trench coat
which

elegantly flatters your body shape.

All types of jeans and pants Flare leg wide leg and boot cut will make your hips look slimmer
because of the slight flare at the hemline. However skinnys will enhance your curves. If you
must wear skinny pants or anything straight and tight (cigarette), balance the look with
something loose-fitted or something that pulls attention back up again (chest face) Skinny leg
pants and jeans tend to make your body shape look wide-hipped and bottom-heavy. Jessica
Simpson pulls it off with flared leg jeans paired with a black puffed shoulder shirt. Katherine
Heigl makes sure to balance her hourglass body shape by adding an oversized, light colored
sweater and tan brown boots.

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Pear Body Shape

Your hips and thighs are your body's center stage. That means they're wider than the rest of
your body Your shoulders are most likely narrow and you have a defined waist. You might
appear a bit heavy than you really are even though your top and waist are slim. But hey, you're
not fat.

The shape that you have is a natural woman's body shape. 5 star Celebrities known to have a
pear body shape are Beyoncé, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Coleen McLoughlin, Shakira and Jennifer
Lopez

How to Dress Your Pear Body Shape

Your most important goal when putting together outfits is to draw attention away from your
curves by focusing on your upper body part from your waist and up. Imagine an hourglass
shape. Now in your head try to merge your pear figure with that shape. See the lack of width
and flesh around your upper half compared to your hips and thighs? That's your main focus-
adding more volume on top to stay in proportion with your lower half, or of course, minimizing
your curves to keep them in line with your shoulders.

Subtly widen your upper body, it means wear anything that can slightly "expand" the width of
your shoulder with for example boat necks, cropped jacket, light colored and detailed tops and
sweaters, etc. This will balance your frame to make it look more like a proportionate Hourglass.

Be Proud of Your Curves Accentuate your lower part! You can experiment with skinny jeans and
fitted pencil skirts. These will surely enhance your lower body. You might want to avoid
accentuating your curves in formal settings like office work and interviews According to
research, accentuating your curves in professional settings can make you appear too sexy and
people will take you less seriously

Do balance your shape by adding volume and width to your upper body
Minimize your curves. This is a common wish among curvy women. They either feel
uncomfortable with their curves or just want to avoid drawing too much attention to them. You
might want to look at hip and thigh hugging shape wear

Best Clothes for Your Pear Body Shape

Close-fitted blouses and tops with eye catching design and/or volume such as bustier,
horizontal lines, patterns, pockets, beads, etc. Rap singer Eve is wearing a crisp white blouse
with puffed sleeves to balance her curves, Sex & The City star Kristin Davis does it well with
ruffled v-neck top and dark blue wide leg Jeans

Wide necklines such as boat neck, strapless bandeau, square. U and cowl necks. Think twice
about this if you have a wide and/or round face shape or short neck So make sure you add
something that flatter your face shape and neck as well, such as, a pair of hoop or long
earrings, or perhaps a long pendant necklace.

SA

All kinds of pants and jeans. Yes really! Straight bootleg, wide leg pants and jeans create a
flattering lean vertical line on your shape. A great option when you want to offset your killer
curves. However, you need to be careful when wearing skinny pants as they'll accentuate your
curves. The best way to wear skinnys is to add weight to your upper body Just take a look at
Beyonce's outfit on the left.

Jackets that fall just above the hips It's the best jacket and coat length that doesn't draw a lot of
attention

to your curves. Longer hemlines that hit right on your hips or longer will accentuate your curves.
If you're petite short you might want to avoid long jackets as they can make your shape look
stubby. Other items include jackets and coats with pads and pockets such blazers and safari
jackets, and A-line skirts as they skim over your hips.
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