“What do you love about your figure?”

This is one of the first questions I ask a new client when we start working together (they will usually have already told me about the bits they don’t like without me even asking).

If I were to ask you that question, what would you say? Would an answer immediately spring to mind that you can confidently tell me? Or would you struggle to find a positive, having been so focused on the negatives and perceived flaws over the years?

So many women I meet in my work as a Personal Stylist lack body confidence and what’s worse is that they believe they need to change themselves physically (taller, shorter, curvier, thinner) in order to gain it.

You don’t need to change your body to feel confident about it, you need to change your mindset and your approach.

I believe knowledge is power when it comes to body confidence - when we know what works for us (shapes, fabrics, colours and accessories) and the overall aesthetic we want to create with our style, it really gives us the confidence to embrace wearing clothes that we love (and which ultimately make us feel good).

In order to foster that confidence though we have to start with ourselves, by looking at the positives and focusing on them - it’s a simple but powerful approach to take when putting together outfits and another way in which our personal style can act as a form of self care.

When you identity the areas you feel confident about whether that’s your waist, legs, bust, bum or even your ear lobes and start dressing to draw attention to them, the areas you’re not so keen on fade into the background.

Here are few tips to get you started on the road to using your personal style to boost body confidence…

Show your shape!

Trying to hide underneath loose clothing or lots of layers will often create bulk and make you look bigger than you are; every body shape looks better when you can see the silhouette so your first task is to start wearing clothes that show (or at the very least skim) your shape and are in the correct size.

Colour, colour, colour

You’ll know from my last blog that I am a huge advocate of colour, not only to boost how you look, but also how you feel. Injecting colour into your wardrobe and wearing it in the areas you feel more confident about can have a huge impact. For example, if you aren’t keen on your full hips and bum then put your colour on the top half and dress the bottom half in a darker neutral that isn’t anywhere near as interesting to look at. Doing this ensures all the attention will be drawn to the colour you’re wearing and nobody will be looking at the area you don’t feel so great about.

The power of patterns

Patterns are great for camouflaging any lumps and bumps as they create movement and interest. If you have a curvy figure look for soft, flowing patterns like florals or paisley, straighter body shapes tend to look good in more angular, geometric patterns. If you love stripes then just be careful of wearing them on your top half if you’re broad/have a full bust as they will create additional width. Personally, I love a bit of leopard print - the perfect pattern to work with absolutely everything and every body shape!

Accessories are your best friend

In keeping with the colour advice, if you put accessories where you want to draw attention, that’s exactly what will happen, the same goes for embellishments. So if you love your legs make sure you have some great footwear, textured tights or different coloured denim/trousers. Accessories are a wonderful way of completing an outfit and drawing the eye so it’s worth the extra effort to complete every look with at least one little finishing touch.

Decide on your ‘no fly zones’

My final piece of advice is to ensure that any areas you’re not so keen on have NOTHING to attract the eye to them. So if you feel conscious of a big bust, avoid detailed necklines and instead add interesting earrings or a great belt. If your thighs are your least favourite part then don’t opt for skirts that finish at that point on the leg, go a little lower instead or, if you’re wearing jeans choose simple styles in a darker neutral that don’t have any texture/pockets/zips in that area. Doing this, rather than hiding in looser clothing is so much more flattering.

The overall effect of following the above advice will be an outfit that shows your beautiful shape, has details, colour and interest in the areas you feel most confident about and focuses on the positives. As a result, everyone (including yourself) will be focusing on those positives too!

Give it a try and let me know how you get on - I would love to see your body confident outfits!

Until next time
AM xo

Follow Anna over on Instagram @annamewes and view her Personal Styling services at www.annamewes.com

FASHION