Dress for success.... show off your favorite parts

For the ladies....

Each of us has a favorite body part – or we should. Do you have an area you think is worth accentuating? If you do, good for you. As you get closer to your fitness/health/weight loss goals, you will likely want to show off more of your body, highlighting your best features:

· Thin wrists? Wear some bracelets or bangles to show them off.
· Great legs? Wear skirts to highlight those gams.
· High collar bones? Get some scoop-neck tops.
· Tiny waist? Tuck in that shirt and belt your waist.
· Muscular arms and shoulders? Wear tanks or cap-sleeved tops to accentuate them.

You can use colors to your advantage, too. The single best use of color for a slimming effect is dressing from top to toe in one dark hue, such as navy, brown or black. Did you ever wonder why school buses are yellow? It’s because that color is so eye-catching. Dress up any body part you want to accentuate with brights like yellow, orange or hot pink while wearing dark colors on areas you want to draw the eye from; dark colors recede.

Do you have a nice, long neckline, but are your hips are wider than you’d like them to be? Pair a canary V-neck tee with dark blue jeans.

Proud of your shapely shoulders and lean legs but think you’re top heavy? Wear a high-necked black sleeveless shirt to show off your shoulders – while minimizing your chest – with a fuchsia skirt to accentuate your gorgeous legs.

Other tips for dressing slim:
* Opt for small patterns instead of larger ones and avoid wearing prints or patterns on top and bottom – that visually adds 10 pounds!
* Get rid of anything you own that’s pleated – or at least relegate these clothes to gardening/painting/fishing pants. We women – most of us – have the typical hourglass figure with hips larger than our waists. When wearing pleated pants to fit our waists, the pleats splay out over our hips, creating extra space and making our lower abdomens appear larger than they actually are.
* If you wear a jacket, make sure it’s fitted. A boxy jacket makes for a bulky you.
* An “oldie but goodie” slimming rule is dressing in vertical stripes. Thin, vertical lines on jackets, shirts, pants, dresses and skirts creates the illusion of a longer, leaner you.
* Beware the blue jeans. Wearing them high, accentuating your tiny waist, may be less than flattering from behind because the higher your wear them, the bigger your butt looks. Try to find a pair that sits relatively low on the waist – they don’t have to be indecently low – but the waistband should not be too far above the bellybutton. And skip the peg or tapered leg look. Instead go with a straight leg or boot cut, which will elongate the legs and keep your hips in proportion.

Take advantage of what you were given naturally and what you’ve worked so hard for. Dress to play it up. When you see your reflection, it’ll make you smile.

By Elizabeth Evans Fryer, Health & Fitness Writer for SparkPeople