Proportions: Making Styles Work For Us

Posted on | April 20, 2009 | 15 Comments

This week in our Fashion 101 on Proportions we will push ourselves to experiment with shapes and proportions that we would instinctively steer away from. We will also evaluate how we can make trends work for our bodies.

Frequently it’s difficult to imagine the trends we see on runway models working on our bodies in our daily lives. In fact, there are certainly trends that we have completely opted out of. (Can you imagine your college instructor teaching you in a satin romper?) On the other hand, there are trends that we’ve initially been skeptical of but have figured out how to adapt them for our body types.

For example, all three of us were highly skeptical of skinny jeans when those became popular a few years ago. It took a while and a lot of convincing in dressing rooms, but we each finally found ways to integrate this trend into our wardrobe. For S., realizing that tucking skinnies into boots mitigated the tapering effect and instead created a long, straighter line made this a go-to look all fall and winter. For A., in addition to wearing boots, donning longer cardigans that covered or cut across her hips made her less self-conscious about the skinnies’ tendency to emphasize an area she prefers to downplay. For E., a big breakthrough was just finding a pair of jeans that fit really, really well and being willing to invest a little more than usual in them.

This week is about finding a balance between what you already know looks good on your body and having a sense of adventure for introducing new things into your wardrobe. Rather than feeling limited by our body types, we will once again try to make styles work for us instead of believing that our bodies are somehow at fault.

Homework:

Throughout the upcoming week, we will explain how we’ve made some other trends work for our bodies and we will also experiment with trends and proportions inspired by current spring styles and our style muses over at wardrobe_remix. What about you? What trends or cuts seem to be made for you and which ones will you have to tweak? How can you adapt a “look” to fit the proportions that work best on your body?

A: On the Safari Look

E: On the Cropped Jacket + Dress + Belt Trifecta

A: On the ‘Girlfriend’ Jean

S: On the Cropped Jacket + Short Torso

A: On Cuffed Chinos

S: On Shorts + Heels

E: On Asymmetrical, Grecian-inspired Looks

A: On the Cropped Blazer and Body Types

E: On the ‘Preggers’ Pencil Skirt

S: On the Statement Necklace

Category: Fashion 101, Proportionally

Comments

15 Responses to “Proportions: Making Styles Work For Us”

Cheryl
April 21st, 2009 @ 1:48 am

Hello! I’ve been following this blog and I find it very informative,insightful and straight to the point in helping me decide what type of outfit to wear and shop sans regretting about it later.Thank you for the painstaking ideas that you’ve poured into your blog.:) BTW, can I link your blog into mine?

http://cereza72.wordpress.com
S.
April 21st, 2009 @ 4:28 am

Thanks, Cheryl! And we’d be honored to make it to your blogroll!
Sal
April 21st, 2009 @ 4:48 am

So excited to see which boundaries you ladies choose to push.
hanna
April 21st, 2009 @ 5:47 am

hi ladies! i love the positive spin you guys are putting on these proportion challenges :) too right, it’s so easy to blame our bodies instead of loving them for what they are!

as an aside, there’s a theme week up at my blog that i thought i’d extend an invite for you to participate in? might be something fun, at least! it’s over at http://ohhoneyno.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/theme-week-get-a-clue/.

happy tuesday!
21 April 2009 : academichic
April 21st, 2009 @ 6:32 am

[...] since this week’s Proportions module is all about trying to make a trend or style fit the bodies we currently have, I decided to try for a pencil skirt alternative for the preggers [...]
Danielle
April 21st, 2009 @ 7:29 am

I can’t wait to see your take on skinny jeans! I have been looking for a perfect pair for myself!
21 April 2009 : academichic
April 21st, 2009 @ 8:05 am

[...] week we are pushing ourselves to try out trends we might normally shy away from. My look today is drawn form the pages of J Crew. I often love [...]
Clare
April 22nd, 2009 @ 4:47 am

I’m giving it a shot! I love how you gals are making so many of us think about our bodies in more productive ways…I’m already noticing the positive results!

http://betweenlaundrydays.blogspot.com/2009/04/one-last-rainy-day.html
22 April 2009 : academichic
April 22nd, 2009 @ 4:05 pm

[...] we are play with making spring trends work for us this week, I have been using my breaks from grading to flip through my catalogs and various fashion [...]
23 April 2009 - Cropped : academichic
April 23rd, 2009 @ 8:24 am

[...] One trend I’ve desperately wanted to embrace, but just don’t quite know how to make work for my shape, is the cropped jacket: [...]
Daily Outfit: Comfort chic « Simple Elegance
April 23rd, 2009 @ 11:38 am

[...] wanted to try, but just never got around to. In honor of Academichic’s current focus on making styles work for you, I decided to go for it. I love the European flair it gives the outfit. [...]
23 April 2009 : academichic
April 23rd, 2009 @ 12:23 pm

[...] a baby bump that would radically change the shape of these flowing looks. But, this week is about making new looks work for the bodies (and lifestyles!) we have now. So I was determined to be Greek — or at least Greek inspired — for a day and to [...]
24 April 2009 - Copycat : academichic
April 24th, 2009 @ 8:05 am

[...] we’ve been talking this week about how we adapt looks we see on other people — including each other! — to suit our own proportions, I decided to complete the cropped jacket, dress, and belt trifecta today. This is such a simple [...]
24 April 2009 - Evening : academichic
April 25th, 2009 @ 7:31 am

[...] looked “right.” And that’s when I knew I had made Lucky’s super trendy look fit me, bump and all. Category: [...]
23 April 2009 : academichic
May 10th, 2009 @ 5:58 am

[...] spring trends (although this blazer is perhaps a bit safari). This wee we are also thinking about how we adapt shapes and styles we a see on each other and on our w_r muses. It’s funny, S. E. and I all own variations [...]