Best Dressed Secrets: Tips and Tricks For Looking Your Holiday Best

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By Mia Bolaris-Forget

Tis the season to deck the halls, your home and adorn yourself as well. But we all know that dressing your holiday best likely means you’ll have to find something special and “spectacular” to wear.

And, since it’s holiday season, that means dressing up even the most “casual” of outfits with something more festive, even if it’s only a holiday pin on a sweater, jacket or coat lapel. Plus, with lots of holiday happenings, you’re likely to need plenty to choose from. And, what to wear will depend on location, location, location, and body type.

Her are a few festive suggestions for every figure:

1. Creating Girly Curves:

With dresses being all the rage this season, your dress for success is a halter dress with a gentle soft bias-cut skirt. The halter draws attention toward your cleavage and can even help create a little more if necessary, just invest in a plush push-up strapless or convertible bra. And, a bias-cut skirt slides and flows over your bottom half, softly rounding out your hips and offering t he illusion of greater curves.

2. Minimize Your Thighs and Bottom:

A-lines are your best line of festive fashions. In fact, experts assert that when it comes to reducing the appearance of your bottom, nothing beats an A-line skirt, cut in the shape of an A, meaning it blares out form the waist, over the hips and buttocks slightly, widening at the hem. However, they suggest keeping you’re a-line on the smaller, more demure and subtle side since a significant difference between waist and hem can create a rounding out, pound-adding bell effect. As for a top, almost anything goes, however A-line skirts look best with feminine strapless tops or plunging V-necks.

3. A Quick And Easy Weight Loss Plan:

For an overall slimming effect select a shift-style dress that hugs your body just under your breasts, focusing on your naturally slimmer parts, generally the area around the ribcage. Also, look for a shift with a seam or shirring across this area; the horizontal line that the seam or shirring creates helps draw the eye to this slimmer part of the body. Plus, a shirt with and A-line “skirt” helps to minimize hips and bum. On top, try a deep V-neck which also adds the illusion of width at your shoulders.

4. Narrowing Out Wide Shoulders:

Look for dresses with a feminine chiffon short sleeves and a skirt that flows or one with ruffles. Remember, wide shoulders warrant some soft fabric to gently grace and cover them, otherwise, revealing them may leave you looking like a linebacker. Balance out the look with a skirt that moves and doesn’t cling. Think full skirt cut on a bias or one known as a handkerchief skirt.

5. Cleaverly Conceal Plump Arms

Give up your right to bare arms and think of long-sleeved options instead. Experts suggest a long-sleeved dress but steer clear of anything boring and bland, it won’t contribute to helping you look festive. Instead, opt for a dress with sleeves (either close-fitting for a dramatic flair or loose and flowing for a softer appeal) and show some skin somewhere else, which may translate into a shorter skirt to show-off great gams or a plunging back V-neck to show-off a terrifically toned back, or perhaps a scoop to show-off a little cleavage.

6. Give Yourself Some Added Height:

You can look like a tall drink of water by selecting a dress with an empire waist and a fluttery skirt. The empire waist, ending just under your bust, along with the fabric from a skirt that flows, will attract the eye upward giving your body the illusion of being taller. On the other hand, Empire waists can be tricky to wear making the fluttery skirt “necessary” so that the ensemble isn’t too full making you look pregnant. Also, make sure the skirt fall just to the knee and now higher, and that the skirt softly shows-of your hips and bottoms. Add a pair of heels and you’ll also add a few more inches to the illusion.