Looking back to Primary School and High School, I was always in the middle of the back row for class photograph’s regardless of the fact that many of my female friends were sat amongst the front row.
I was Christened late (age 11), a consequence of being the 3rd child in the family and life simply taking over as it does, but I remember how acutely embarrassing it was to dwarf the Vicar whilst standing at the font.
Reaching 6ft 4″ by age 15 was simply awful for my introverted, shy, teenage self, but not only that, shopping became a bit of a nightmare too. I remember trying so hard to follow the fashion trends that were prominent when I was a teenage girl. Some were very easy, the Doc Martin boot which came in men’s sizes to fit my size 10 feet, but others not so forgiving like the Naff Naff jacket with sleeves that would finish just below my elbow or Sweater Shop jumpers that weren’t long enough in the body.
It felt as though every fashion trend was out to taunt me and this just isolated me even more.
I wish I could go back to that 15 year old girl and teach her the skills that I now have in abundance when attempting to dress a larger scale. I would tell her to concentrate on large accessories and handbags to balance out her bigger frame. I would advise on avoiding smaller delicate prints on fabric and instead go bold which flatters a larger skeleton.
I would also tell her to embrace all of those wonderful qualities that makes her unique and different from everyone else and celebrate them. Unfortunately I can’t go back and give my 15 year old self a good swift kick up the behind but what I can do is teach my “unique” children to celebrate every inch of themselves and not concentrate too much on the numbers, for instance: height, weight, shoe size, boob size, willy size, school grades, etc and instead, work towards becoming the best version of themselves. This I feel will give them what we’re all searching for, a glimmer of contentment in a world where it’s become very easy to be swallowed up with self doubt.
I’m going to enlist the help of my friend and colleague Alison White to demonstrate how much of an affect scale can have whilst dressing to flatter our skeleton. Alison won’t mind me sharing with you that she’s 4ft 10″ tall so if you hadn’t gleamed it in the pics above, we really are polar opposites on height and scale.
As you can see above, Alison is dwarfed by larger patterns and larger accessories, they simply don’t “marry” up and harmonise with her delicate skeleton. I, on the other hand look a little like I’m dressing for church in a re run of Little House On The Prairie. The small flower print dress, petite handbag and tiny necklace are just emphasizing my larger than average frame. It simply doesn’t compliment me.
When we dress to compliment our scale, the results, I’m sure you agree, are much more flattering and easy on the eye!
Should you want to learn more about the rules for dressing your body shape for success then why not consider paying me a visit for a style analysis session and help create the best version of you!
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