The key to making flattering clothes

When making clothes to fit and flatter your body you need to take body line (silhouette), proportions, scale, details, texture and colour into account. If you understand the impact of each of these factors on illusion then you can choose how you use this information. Not everyone wants to appear as tall and slim as possible – for example a tall slim person may not wish to emphasise their features. However we are generally trying, when creating our outfits, an illusion of balance and symmetry. We also want to create a harmonious look – this means that the elements of your outfit work together, but also that your fabric choices need to support the design choice you have made. Many women, when thinking or talking about their bodies, often emphasise their worst feature – my legs are fat/short, my neck is too long, my stomach sticks out, my thighs wobble etc. But actually it is a good idea to think – what do I like best about my body? Where do I want other people to focus?

Silhouette (the outside line)

The silhouette is the outside line of the garment and it is crudely either a square/rectangle shape, or more curved. It is a good idea to work with the curves or angles of your figure for the most pleasing look.

The degree of closeness to the body is known as the fit, and commercial patterns usually specify is something is closely-fitted, loosely etc so that you can decide what suits you and what you prefer. The more fitted the shape the more it emphasises the body inside – the less fitted the viewer will see the outline of the garment shape and perceive this first. For example a closely fitted sheath dress, especially if it is made in a clingy or stretch fabric will reveal or mimic your shape, whereas say a duffle coat will emphasise its own shape.

Stella McCartney has chosen a suit which emphasises the curves of her figure – wide, padded shoulders, a flared jacket with pockets that emphasise the hips and a very tapered waist, possibly achieved by corseting. The very narrow hem finishes just a few inches above her narrow ankles and the streamlined shape is supported by pointed shoes with very high heels.

Structure of the garment (interior lines)

While the overall silhouette is very important the lines within the garment are equally important. Look at the seaming on Stella’s jacket and skirt. Although one fabric is used throughout we can see how she has used seam lines to help create an even more tapered waist and hem line, and the pockets definitely serve to create width at shoulder and hip, narrowing the waist and thighs even more.

• vertical lines create height – the longer/wider a line the more it will influence the look of the garment
• pleats create vertical lines but they also add bulk (width)
• horizontal lines reduce height especially when they cut the body in two. Use a horizontal at chest or hip level to make the shorter half of your body appear longer (eg hip length top if you have longer legs)
• a diagonal line can lengthen, unless it is short – in which case it will widen
• curved lines have a more subtle effect and work well with more shaped figures.

Details

This includes the collar, pockets, the neckline, buttons etc. The small collar on the left gives some length to the face, but mainly emphasises the narrowness of the shoulders. The collar on the right both lengthens the neck and provides width at the shoulders  and upper body, compared to the dark coloured skin-tight trousers.

Proportion

This means we play down any element which is out of proportion – for example women with wide shoulders could emphasise this by wearing halter necks to reveal their shoulders, or shoulder padding to build them up more. But it is more likely they might wish to balance the shoulders by putting greater emphasis on the hips of their garment. If your legs are relatively long and your body from the waist up is comparatively short then you could choose a longer line top, ending at the hips.

Scale, Colour and Texture

I have covered this previously. In the collar pictures above you can see immediately how the yellow and beige proceed, and the black recedes.