There are some unique challenges to dressing your best if you’re extremely thin. Fit is always king in styling and fashion. I, your Personal Stylist, have heard the saying, “it’s not fashioned if it doesn’t fit.”
I couldn’t agree more with this. Thinking about the garment industry, the ready-made clothes out in the stores target a certain size. If you’re not that size, shopping is challenging.
Advice from Your Personal Stylist
It’s not realistic to buy clothes that fit you perfectly 100 percent of the time. As a Personal Stylist, I always encourage clients to buy fewer items but make sure the items they buy fit perfectly. More often than not, this involves a trip to the tailor.
For men, try slim cuts and stores such as JCrew, Banana Republic, and others that cater to slim men. Suiting comes in slim and also look for narrow cut jackets and pants.
First of all, every shape is different. That does not mean bad! Part of what I do as a Personal Stylist is to first define shape, then embrace it in the way you want to do so.
Thin people who can eat anything they want — my husband is one — are often criticized by others. They may be jealous; they may not understand. Sometimes such thin people are accused of having an eating disorder. Whatever the case, I learned early on in my training to not really discuss the shape beyond dressing it in the best way for that person.
There are several advantages of a thin frame — especially a tall, thin shape or build. Ever watch runway fashion shows? What do you see? Often tall, slim people – men and women who can wear the designer clothing to a T!
- Thin people can wear many prints and shapes that others cannot.
- Thin people can wear stripes anywhere!! Large, small, and medium-size stripes work
- Thin people don’t have to constantly wear dark colors to slim them. They can wear all colors, anywhere, etc., along with as they are their “best” colors.
- Thin people look amazing in body con and very shaped clothes. Don’t ignore the shaper, however. (More on that one later.)
- Thin people look great in shapes and ruffles (large and small). These are the times when you can embrace “big” on your outfits.
What should thin people keep in mind?
Clothing should fit flawlessly. Don’t be afraid to use a tailor. (As your Personal Stylist, I say this to all of my clients, and I visit a tailor often for small to large jobs.)- Keep in mind your scale. If you’re large-boned and tall, you can wear the bigger prints, larger jewelry, etc.
- If you’re petite, keep proportions small. That goes for men and women. For instance, beware particularly of coats that are too big, too long, or too big a print.
- Accessories such as watches, jewelry bags, etc., should fit your scale, too.
- Don’t be afraid to layer when you are slimmer.
Even thin people need shapers. Believe me, I can tell the difference when I wear mine, ladies. Just because one is slim does not mean one is firm. I like Spanx and Kim Kardashian’s Skims. The key is to find shapewear that firms and slightly reshape us but is not so full of compression we can’t wear them. I actually have some of each.
If you are slim and have always struggled with dressing your beautiful and enviable shape, reach out! I love to work with you.
Keep it sassy,
Beth Divine,
MA, AICI-CIC, Personal Stylist
