Updated on July 7th, 2023 at 08:15 pm
Dressing in a flattering way can be quite difficult in today’s world. There is so much advice out there, and a lot of it can be difficult to grasp. They say the best way of dressing an hourglass figure with a tummy is to divert attention away from the problematic area.
This will naturally enhance the best assets of your hourglass shape, placing emphasis on your neckline, bust, balanced proportions, and curvaceous hips.
However, this is easier said than done, as that is where the advice normally ends without aid or help. So, like when we were looking at how to dress professionally when you are plus size, today we decided to give some better advice on how to dress an hourglass figure with a big tummy.
How to dress for hourglass shape
There are several ways that you can go about dressing if you have an hourglass figure with excess weight. But generally, you want to keep to the five steps that we have dictated below:
Enhance Your Neckline
Wearing V-shaped tops or dresses is a great idea when dressing an hourglass figure with a big tummy. This is because necklines play a key role in how an outfit looks, and drawing attention to them enhances the face and upper body more.
However, this is often the most neglected area for the vast majority of women. For an hourglass body shape to thrive, you will need to flatter your body in specific ways, and subtly wearing clothing that has a v-neckline is a great means of transforming your outfit and distracting from problematic areas like your belly.
Embrace the peplum
Wearing anything peplum is a great way to enhance your natural hourglass body shape. Having an hourglass shape means that you will already have a naturally defined and narrow waist, and wearing peplum is one of the most flattering styles for anyone with this figure.
Since peplum tops flare at the waist, it will make your width around that area feel more like a fashion choice rather than a problem area. This is because this fashion style helps to enhance your natural hourglass shape and will slim the look of your stomach area as well. Both tops and dresses can form a beautiful peplum silhouette, making this a highly favored personal style.
Wear wrap tops
Wearing wrap tops is a fashion style that always provides you with a flattering shape and body frame, irrespective of your body type. You can use wrap styles to create more volume around your body. While that seems like a bad idea at first, due to their design it is hard to pinpoint where the waist and belly are and draws focus upwards instead.
As such, you no longer need to worry about your body ratio as the wrapping element of these tops provides a slimming element to your midsection. Many forms of clothing provide unnecessary volume, and wearing a wrap top is a great alternative to wearing heavy and bulky clothing.
Wrap dresses
Stylish dresses are hard to come by for those who have an hourglass figure, but a wrap dress is perfect for those with such a shape – just look at Marilyn Monroe! This is because most dresses are tailored for those who have spoon-shaped bodies.
Much like with a wrap top though, you can adjust a wrap dress to the shape of your body. While this is a little more difficult to achieve than a wrap top, it can be done by drawing the eye up to your face and shoulders or down to your bottom, thus hiding your belly.
Fit & Flare Dresses
Fit and flare dresses provide a naturally balanced silhouette that defines your natural waistline while shaping you in the right places. These dresses also naturally flare over your midsection, avoiding any problematic areas that are only enhanced by bodycon dresses.
It is also important to note that the fit and flare fashion style is not exclusive to dresses. This style is also applied by fashion houses to casual wear and especially pants. Thus, the highest quality clothing will focus on enhancing a shape that defines your natural waist while flaring towards the bottom half and avoid drawing the eye to places you don’t want people to look.
Wearing Statement Jewelry
An hourglass figure is bold, and wearing statement jewelry will naturally capture that attention and divert it away from your stomach area. This is because wearing a statement necklace, for example, will highlight the area around your neck and bosom, not your belly.
Wearing these necklaces alongside an open V-neck top or dress amps up this focal point and ensures that attention remains on your upper body as opposed to your lower half, which draws the eye away from your extra weight.
How Should An Hourglass Figure Dress?
Generally, if you have an hourglass figure, then you should be looking to wear form-fitting clothing. An hourglass body type is wide at the shoulders and hips and generally slimmest at the waist. As such, you should focus on showing off the feminine curves that you have by accentuating them.
Soft, clingy fabrics with low, plunging necklines and defined waistlines are perfect for an hourglass figure. Having straight pants and shirts that gently flare can also work, as your hourglass body creates the curves in them for you.
What hourglass bodies should not wear?
With that said, straight and hard-edged, boxy clothes and straight skirts are not your friend in the slightest. Anything that hides or covers your curves will make you look like a square because, generally, hourglass figures have well-defined curves.
Stay away from any clothing that creates a plume, has big puffy parts, or ruffles in the areas where your natural curves are unless it is around the chest area (and you are sure it works). Low-waisted skirts are also bad, as they create unnecessary volume and bulk around your lower half.
Can an hourglass figure be fat?
Anyone can experience weight gain, and unfortunately, that includes people who are hourglass women. The difference is that the weight you gain is not concentrated in one area, as it would be for those who are a pear shape or an apple shape, instead, it will spread around the body.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t get fat, it just means it’s harder to notice at first. However, if you get too big, it will eventually reach your belly and be noticeable. Yet, if you want to gain weight to accentuate some areas, then this is the perfect body type to do so.
Prior to spending money on clothes that you are unable to wear, if you are naturally blessed with an hourglass figure and curvy body, you should choose one of the fashion styles that I have outlined above to enhance your best assets away from any belly fat you may have. For information and other helpful articles, be sure to check out Extra Large Living.