What are the Best Clothes for Pear Shaped Women

If you are the classic pear shape and want to know the best way to dress to pleasingly enhance your figure, here are some great tips that will help!

After all, this is the most common figure shape for women and the clothing industry is right on top of this need.

pear shaped bodyDressing in clothes that enhance your figure is absolutely the way to go if you want to look great and display your best side to the world.

In this article, I look at clothes and clothing types that are just made to make the most of your figure as well as looking at some that you should avoid at all costs!

What is Pear Shaped?

Don't worry if you have never heard of this description of the female figure before. It's perfectly simple in that it describes your silhouette in comparison to the popular fruit of the same name.

It is the most common figure shape, so the chances are that's what you see when you look in a mirror. Basically it means that if your hips and bum look wider than your shoulders when you look at yourself straight on in a full length mirror, you're a "pear," honey!

Pears are good!

"...make the most of your shape
and dress to impress!"

Chances are you have a smaller bust line as this is typical, although those of you with larger bust lines will almost certainly have what is commonly called the classic "hourglass figure". Famous "pears" are Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Lopez and Eva Longoria, so if this is you, you're in very good company!

The next most common shape is the "apple" which is basically having a larger midsection than your hips or shoulders. But we're not here to discus the apple shape, because we're talking pears here!

Top Ten Tips on How to Dress When You're Pear Shaped

Is this the ultimate guide to taking the guessing out of dressing when you have a pear shape? Maybe, but getting straight to the nitty gritty, let's have a look at some of the main points that you can follow to make the most of your shape and dress to impress!

  1. Focus the attention on your upper half by wearing slim tops that enhance this area of your body. Fitted tops, blouses, shirts and even stylish cardigans (but NOT the kind your granny wears) can really set off your upper half and keep the eye of the beholder on your natural beauty!
  2. Layering clothes to add interest visually to your top half can also promote your best features and help to balance your overall figure. Jackets are great for adding style to your look while accentuating the slimness of your figure and bringing balance to your upper half.
  3. Embellieshed necklines also draw the eye upwards, so go for shirts, blouses or dresses that have interesting necklines, or go for a bare neckline and add your own with an eye-catching necklace.
  4. A-line tops and dresses also enhance the upper body. They can also do a pretty good job of giving the impression of having slimmer hips than you really have.
  5. Lengthen your legs by wearing shoes with high heels and pointed toes together with long, wide hemmed pants or a long, floor sweeping dress to make you look taller and slimmer.
  6. Darker clothes in general tend to make you look slimmer overall and black in particular is a good choice for this. You can enhance this look by combining a black dress or long pants with a brighter top or big, bold necklace to again draw the eye upwards.
  7. Go for wider hems in skirts or dresses with hip and thigh skimming structure to create a slimmer look below.
  8. Tops with horizontal stripes matched with plain pants or skirt give a visual impression of a slimmer lower body in comparison to your upper body.
  9. Show off one or both of your shoulders by wearing off-the-shoulder tops or dresses with a plunging neckline and attract the eye upwards to exactly where you want it to be!
  10. A slim belt that sits higher on your waistline well above your hips will cinch in your waist and enhance your bust and shoulders.

What to Avoid Wearing When You're Pear Shaped

There are some clothes that you should avoid wearing at all costs if you really don't want to accentuate your wider hips. Here are some "don'ts" that will save you from some unwanted looks.

  1. Flashily embellished garments that direct the eye right at your hips, such as cargo pants, very short, tight skirts or shorts.
  2. Tight knits on your lower half will cling and draw attention to the width of your hips.
  3. Bright colours down below with dark ones on top are a definite no-no as they accentuate the slimness of your upper body and the width of your hips and thighs.
  4. Vertical striped tops may be great for making you look slimmer, but unless that design is continued further down, it can make you look out of balance and direct the eye downwards.
  5. Flat shoes will shorten your height and accentuate the width of your hips.
  6. Pants with loose fitting, pleated hips and tapered legs (like chinos) that will create an unwanted V shape lower body profile.
  7. Skirts with pleats or side pockets should be avoided too as these draw the eye downwards and add width to the hips.

All in all, you really want to avoid wearing anything that makes you appear shorter and squatter while accentuating the width of your hips and drawing the eye to that part of your body.

The Bottom Line

Of course women are all different and what will work for one may not work so well for another. Being more general, it's best to work with clothes that bring out the beauty of your upper half because that's really where you want people to look.

The aim is to make yourself look taller and slimmer overall, using heels and the slimmest clothes you can wear without them looking tight on you (which can produce the opposite effect of what you are trying to achieve).

Whatever you choose to wear to accentuate your best points and diminish the parts you want diminished, the fact remains that the pear shape is one owned by some of the most beautiful women in the world and you have it too. So make the most of it and dress to kill!