Leaderonomics.com | Saturday 6 February 2016
Prints, Patterns For
Your Lunar Palette
By WENDY LEE
[email protected]
H
ERE’S the thing. Prints have
always been in style. In fact,
we’ve moved on to fashionistas telling us to mix
and match floral prints with
polka dots, stripes with checks, and the
list goes on.
However, open up any girl’s closet and
you’d generally find 80% of their wardrobe comprises solid colours and only
20% are prints and patterns. This may
partly be due to work attire making up
most of their wardrobe, but I also think it
is because of the association that prints
have with potential frumpiness (largely
due to not wearing them appropriately).
Fret not! Prints and patterns add a
certain je ne sais quoi to your outfit and
will help you stand out wherever you
go! Contrary to popular belief, prints add
a youthful touch to your wardrobe and
help in making you appear more amiable.
So, with Chinese New Year fast
approaching, this is a perfect excuse to
spice up your lunar wardrobe with some
interesting printed dresses. With some
knowledge of your body shape and how
visual illusions work, you will be itching
to expand your style in no time!
Your Body Shape
Here are some common female body
shapes and how to style them accordingly:
How Do You
Utilise Prints And
Patterns?
A general goal in dressing well is
to select clothing with design lines
that accentuate and balance your
shape. Prints and patterns can be
used to highlight and emphasise the
parts of your body that you consider
to be flattering.
Below are some ideas for you to
ponder upon when selecting a garment.
1 Hide And Conceal
Create balance by adding
prints to areas you wish to accentuate. If you have narrower shoulders,
you could wear more printed tops.
You can thereby draw attention away
from a particular area you intend to
hide by wearing prints in the opposing direction.
If you have a larger bust line,
conceal by adding diagonal patterns
towards the waist – as shown on
Tiffany’s red and beige dress. The
optical illusion of the diagonal flowers will create a more slender shape.
If hips are your problem area, then
darker colours will do the trick of hiding and minimising the lower half of
your body. With an added intricate
embroidery on your upper torso,
your dress simply shouts “look up!”
and you will immediately look 25cm
taller!
Body Shape Characteristics
Style Tips
Hourglass
l
l
l
l
Pear
Ruler
Broader shoulders and hips
Body appears balanced
l Smaller waist
Narrower shoulders,
wider hips
l Smaller bust, smaller waist
l Appears bottom-heavy
l
Straight body lines
Similar width in
shoulders, waist and hips
l No defined waist
l
l
Apple
Round
Short Torso
Long Torso
Broad shoulders,
narrow hips
l Large bust
l Appears top-heavy
l Undefined waist
l Thin limbs colours
l
Shorter upper body,
longer legs
Longer upper body,
shorter legs
V-neckline
Ensure clothes fit to body
Exposed necklines
Longer blouses
l Medium-rise and dark
fitted skirts and pants
l
l
Tops with texture or
structure above bustline
l Define the waist with belts
and cinched dresses
l Avoid very tight bottoms
like skinny jeans
l
Reduce focus on upper
body with darker colours
l A-line skirts and flared pants
l
Lengthen figure with dark
colours and vertical prints
l Dresses and tops should be
fitted from the shoulder to
just below the bust line
l Let blouse or dress flow
below the bust line
l
Low-rise skirts and pants
Dresses with a drop waist
l Elongated tops with exposed
necklines
l
l
Medium to high-rise
skirts and pants
l Tuck in tops
l Collared tops and tops with details
around the neck and shoulder.
l
2 Distract And Divert
Let’s say you have larger upper
arms that you prefer covered up. You can
utilise prints and colours to divert people’s gaze elsewhere.
The black and green dress that Connie
has on, not only serves to cover her arms,
but the emerald embroidery adds interest
to her outfit, and visually pulls the eye to
the middle.
If you have areas of concern below the
waist, then some lovely prints on your
upper torso or a see-through mesh material will do the trick to divert attention to
the shoulders.
And
Emphasise
3 Enhance
We all know that placing a dominant
pattern on the bust, waist, stomach, hip
or rear end, draws attention and enhances that body region.
In the case of Tiffany, where her body
is quite straight, the prints on her yellow dress adds volume, thus making
her upper body appear more curvy. The
added flare on the bottom of her A-line
dress does a perfect job in giving her an
hourglass silhouette.
Prints and patterns that have repetitive
positive features, shapes or attributes, is
one of the best kept secrets of stylists to
enhance a person’s appearance tremendously. If you have wavy hair, then flowery patterns and circular designs which
mimic the shape of the curls of your hair
would look great on you.
4 Size-Up And Scale
As our eyes travel between prints,
do take note that in order to appear harmonious, the size of a pattern needs to
be in proportion . Do note that size is
relative what appears medium on
one person may appear smaller
or larger on someone else. In
general, small and medium-sized
patterns work well on a small or
medium-sized body.
Larger scale patterns may overwhelm a petite-sized person, whereas small, widely-spaced patterns
may cause a large figure to appear
even larger.
Concluding
Thoughts
So, for the year 2016, shy
away from prints no more!
Once we begin to embrace
the way we are created, we
can dress in harmony with our
appearance!
And remember, when
selecting your design lines,
one must also take into consideration one’s age, lifestyle
and personal style. Bolder,
stronger patterns on a dress
– as seen on Tiffany’s yellow
dress or Connie’s black outfit,
depict stronger, resilient personalities.
Something that is more
flowery will say that you are
feminine, demure and ladylike.
Matured women can choose
large patterns, whereas young
girls may opt for floral or other
smaller prints. But whoever you
are, there will always be a perfect
dress for you. So, let us all celebrate
CNY in style!
n Wendy Lee is president of
MABIC (Malaysian Association
of Brand & Image Consultants)
and a director of BII (Brand
Image International Institute).
She is a firm believer that with
style… there must be substance!
To engage Wendy for personal
branding and grooming in your
organisation, email training@
leaderonomics.com.
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