Its a hard road ahead for women who are both petite AND curvy. To start with most manufacturers do not cater to petites, let alone curvy and plus size versions of it, making this one of the tougher body types to find clothing for. The challenge lies as much on finding sizes as it does finding the right cut to compliment the body type.
Here are some basic ground rules the things we suggest for this frame:
keep puffy details to a bare minimum
Look for clean straight lines
Find clothes with a lot of seaming details
Do not be afraid to alter clothing, a great tailor or seamstress will be your best friend.
So now lets move on to the specifics of finding a great looking pant suit or skirt suit for your work wear wardrobe if you are a petite and curvy woman.
Look for a subtle and closely set pinstripe fabric: pin stripes have an elongating effect, and the subtle ones wont remind any body of a gangster suit.
Darker and stiffer fabric works better for this body type. This has a very flattering effect.
Find a great tailor or seamstress and speak your mind. The goal with alterations is to have the end result look as close to a custom women’s suit as possible, so finding a tailor first and asking questions as to their ability and what they can and can not alter, before you go shopping can make a big difference.
Proportion is key: Look for a padded jacket in the shoulders, this will give you a balanced silhouette. Do not go over board as the goal of padding for you is to even out the width of you shoulders with your hips.
Look for seaming to give you a slimming effect: clean seaming gives the jacket a structured look and de- emphasizes your natural curves which creates the slimming effect.
Look for a jacket that goes about half way down your hips. This will make your legs look longer with out making your hips look big.
Pencil skirts work best: A-line skirts would add bulk while a straight cut skirt would give a stream lined silhouette.
Pants should be a straight cut leg matched with a pointy toe heel. Again the goal is to have a straight and stream lined look. This cut for petite and curvy women will create an illusion of longer legs.
Chris Vance is the senior trends and fashion spotter for Requisite clothing, a custom clothing design house specializing in custom suits, custom shirts, custom tuxedos and sports wear for both men and women.
http://www.requisiteclothing.com
