Fit And Fabulous: The Art Of Packaging Yourself Well (Part 2)

Last month, I started writing about how to package yourself well and make a great first impression.

We all come in different shapes and sizes. Although we’d like to highlight our best features – long legs, broad shoulders, slim waist, we need to be perceived first as an attractive wholesome package, not as a separate body part. This will encourage people to look a little deeper and get to know you as a person.

Carrying on from where I left off, here are a few more tips to dress well and make a great first impression in any setting.

Ever since Cinderella won her prince in shining armour with her glass slippers, girls have been obsessed with shoes! Any time sales hit our retail shops, girls will go into a buying frenzy, buying the same designs in five different colours!

Your choice of shoes can break or make you. It is not easy to find shoes that are comfortable, yet chic at the same time. But certain brands have bridged the gap not only between comfort and style, but affordability as well. So, there is no reason you should still be in your Grandma’s shoes!

1.YOUR SHOES

The Good

A Heels don’t lie. We can practically tell if a shoe is of a current style or not by just looking at the heel of the shoes. Unless you are in a teaching profession, which requires you to stand eight to nine hours a day, then pick a slim heel to make you look graceful.

B Shoes that are tapered or pointy, will always make you look longer or narrower.

C And the lower the vamp of the shoes, the taller the wearer will appear to be.

The Bad

A Spice Girls’ platform shoes were never fashion’s favourite. They make your legs heavy and shorten your whole body.

B Straps around the ankles and T-Straps will interrupt the vertical line of your legs, making you look shorter, and ankles wider.

The Ugly

A Unless you are involved with creative arts, mismatched shoes and outfit will cause indigestion. So, forget these combinations:

i.       Shorts with heavy boots

ii.       Long skirts with ankle straps

iii.       Jeans with flats

B If you have heavy cuffs and ankles, ultra pointy toed stilettos will make you look as if you will tumble anytime!

C If the shoes can’t fit, don’t wear them! Camel toes are an ugly sight. So, don’t squeeze your toes into a small vamp!

2. VERTICALS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND

Design lines have the power to visually increase height, decrease weight, enhance your good points or camouflage your flaws. And among the various types of lines – horizontals, diagonals, verticals, vertical lines are still the best!

The faster our eye scans a line, the longer and narrower the area will appear to be. Which means, when you wear vertical design lines, your body will appear longer and leaner!

Let’s look at a few vertical options:

Lines

a The thinner your stripes are, the slimmer you will appear to be, as it divides your body into smaller areas.

b The smaller the distance between the lines are, the thinner you will appear to be.

Designs

a Vertical design influence can be created from internal design lines or embellishments. For example: placement of buttons in the middle, ruffles, lace, zippers, V-neck line, etc.

b The best vertical influence is one that runs down the centre of your garment or body, as it cuts your body into two equal halves. For example: if you leave your jacket open, or if you wear pants rather than skirts.

3. ACCESSORIES

a A long necklace not only adds interest to a plain outfit, but also elongates your torso significantly.

b One of the most versatile accessories that one can have is a scarf. You can just hang your scarf inside your jacket, underneath your lapel, or make it ala tie straight down in the middle, etc. These tricks will cause your eyes to unconsciously focus on the lines, and slim you immediately.