Swimwear Confidence: Hourglass Figure

(Image discovered through Domestic Bliss)

Find a flawless fit for each of your "va's" and definitely your "voom". 

Tommy Hilfiger One-Piece Swimsuit

Tie an alert flag around your tiny waist.

Kenneth Cole New York " South Beach Solids" Faux-Wrap Swimsuit

The faux-wrap creates a really, real slimming effect.

Gottex Reflection Swimsuit

A pattern drawn to paradisiacal proportions.

Spanx Colorblock One-Piece

Centering in on your narrowest feature.

Lime Ricki Sally One-Piece

The pattern camouflages any secondary curves so your primary curves can enjoy all the glory.

Want more ideas, use your mouse to poke the link below and visit the
Cardigan Empire Recommended Hourglass Swim Shop. 

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Super Suit fashion look book cheat sheet.

Want a personalized refresher for Summer? Get your own Fashion Package, complete with a look book & virtual shopping session to compile a portfolio of uniquely customized ensembles.

Dear Empress: What Looks Emphasize the Waist?

Dear Empress,

I'm a young hourglass, and I need a way to flatter my little waist with my limited budget and closet full of jeans and t's. I have fallen in love with waist high skirts but I need a quicker solution that doesn't mean buying all new bottoms!

Shan o' Seventeen
(So She Said)


-----------------------------------

My Hourglass Lass,

Following are five different ways to emphasize the same little feature:

one. A tie or banding at the waist. You can buy inexpensive options with this feature already applied, or you can add it on to some of your existing closet inhabitants.


two. High waisted bottoms: As you mentioned a skirt or trouser that hugs high on the torso will dramatically highlight your center. Tuck your t-shirt or blouse in for ultimate impact. Don't be afraid to take the waist of a hip skirt in so that it falls at the waist. Just be sure to test the resulting length before you initiate alterations.

three. Half sleeves. Hemming the arm band at the waist will draw the eye back to your favorite feature. Try adding an elbow-skimming sleeve under or over some of your favorite cap sleeves and tanks.

four. Cropped. Layer a cropped sweater, vest, or jacket to a basic tee and you'll see immediate waist-centric results.

Five. A belt silly. An hourglass without a belt is like a sugar cookie without frosting (yours look divine by the way). Layer this accessory over dresses, extended sweaters, or whatever else needs cinching.

In summary my mythically delineated dear, do whatever you can to visually mark and outline the circumference of your mini midriff.

My ladies who care not to highlight their abdomens (there's a dear empress in draft for you my soft delicious centers) do the exact opposite, at least for the time being.

Truly,
Empress

Denim: Curvy Figure

Strutting down the lower figure & hourglass runway:

Angled yokes, ensure that the denim contours to your shapely seat.

Clean, dark, and sharp, no need for messy whiskering, or distressing through the thighs, your curves can speak for themselves.

Proportioned pockets, too little and you'll be making an unfair comparison.

A classic dark wash will minimize your lower assets.

Flares, bootcuts, trousers, a wide leg opening will balance your hip line.

1 hundred 98 cents = your own denim fashion look book cheat sheet.

Procure your own empire constitution. Your personalized fashion look book can include your own rules of denim conduct and much more.

Fall Shoesies: Hourglass

Cinderella Hourglass, may I please request leave to sleeve your well-turned calves in sumptuous leather? For there are few pretties I like better on a curvy figure than: Knee High Boots.

Like your figure, knee high boots are magic. The boot hides the flesh of the leg, but it retains the shape and length of the shin. For full enchantment, ensure that the boot ne'er considers seceding until it reaches the break of the knee. This will ensure that you're not creating an unnecessary fissure in your figure length.

Frye's are slightly more sophisticated, but Miz Mooz makes a much more affordable option should you desire it.

1 hundred 98 cents = your own hourglass fashion look book cheat sheet.

Procure your own empire constitution. Your personalized fashion look book includes your own hourglass figure rules of conduct and much more.

One Style Fits All: Bootcut Jeans

(Marilyn Monroe in "Clash by Night", photo courtesy of Corbis)

Cowboys and coal miners strutted the "everyman's fashion" down the American West runway in the forth quarter of the nineteenth century. Jean, the fabric named after the Italian sailors in Genoa who wore them, was selected for its durability, and it soon became Mr. Manual's must-have item, circa 1870.

In the 1950s, jeans were just as likely to find company with white-collars as blue-collars. Jeans became the uniform of rebellion for America's middle-class youth, and the indigo flag was brandished by the likes of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Marlon Brando.

Whether you're looking to make a statement or just avoid ironing, the classic boot-cut, cutting in at the knee then kicking back out to the ankle to accommodate your favorite boots beneath, is an all figure flatterer,

Middle Figures benefit best from a mid-rise that corsets the broadest part of their supple center. The rise should neither fall above (creating an uninterrupted pelvis paunch)or below (squishing your love into handles) the target.

Denim for a Lower Figure requires sophisticated scrutiny to simultaneously suit the seat, hips, and thighs. In summary look for a lower mid-rise, a generously cut leg, and a flare sufficient to balance the hips.

Rather than a tightly tapered, ice-cream cone leg, Upper Figures should highlight delicate thighs with creases, whiskers, striation, and other wash embellishments. These details highlight dainty stems without throwing the figure off-kilter.

The Linear Figure is bettered by only a whisper of a widened ankle. Slimmer fits create contoured curves from straighter structures.

The bass flare of an Hourglass jean should harmonize with both the tenor timbre of the hips and the soprano strain of the bust. This chorus will allow the dramatic melody of a narrow alto waist to sing. A dark, simple wash with a cleanly flared leg will ensure that the best profile of your figure is punctuated.

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Denim fashion look book cheat sheet

Procure your own empire constitution. Your personalized fashion look book includes your own figure rules of conduct and much more.

In recognition of Fitting Room Friday, these mothers offer an example of exactly what to avoid in denim.

One Style Fits All: A-Line Skirt

There's not a figure that the "Corolle Line" progeny does not flatter. Introduced by Christian Dior in a post-war world, the "New Look's" goal was to amplify feminine features. Initially reinforced with abundant petticoats, the A-line skirt was streamlined by Coco Chanel in the sixties, sported sublimely by Jacqueline Kennedy, and never forgotten since.

Today, this staple holds the category of skirts (and dresses) which from a narrow waist swell to a flared hem. Its obvious name is based on its physical kinship with the letter "A."

Few figures benefit more from the veil of the A-line than the Lower Figure. For best results the interpretation should be dark in hue, simple in pattern, absent in pleating, and dramatic in line from hip to hem.

At the opposite end of the figure spectrum, the Upper Figure benefits from the balancing effect of the A-line silhouette. The flared hem creates symmetry with a broader shoulder and/or bust. The ideal drape sports a bold color, pattern, and/or embellishment. Each component brings attention and proportional volume to a slim second half.

The Linear Figure's A-line skirt should mimic volume. The fabric should be fluid and the embellishments should be curvaceous. A strong high waistband and generous amount of pleating magnify feminine contours.

For optimum Middle Figure flattery focus should be given to a flexible waistband. Rather than stiff and structured, opt for zipper-less pull-on styling that secures the waist without squishing your soft delicious center. Pair with a finished-hem top and avoid tucking at all costs.

The narrowed center of an Hourglass should be tenderly embraced whenever possible. A high, structured waist will appropriately hug the core, while a full, pleated skirt will emphasize indigenous curves, resulting in an intensified silhouette. For additional dramatics, tuck your blouse into your waistline.

Procure your own empire constitution. Your personalized fashion look book includes your own lower figure rules of conduct and much more.

Swimwear: Hourglass

We finalize the swimwear by body type series with the mythical mermaid of the swimming pool: our finely symmetrical hourglass figure. Like an over the top Busby Berkeley production, there's excitement on all levels. Below are suggestions on how to make the most of it.

1 hundred 98 cents = your own Super Suit fashion look book cheat sheet.

Points of note:

1. As your proportions are already flawless, continue painting your surroundings green by drawing attention to your comparatively tiny waist: colorblocking, ties, belts, etc.
2. The above mentioned embellishments will also break a long torso into dainty, delicious pieces. Add in a high cut leg line and you'll be utterly leglicious.
   
3. If you have a short torso, use a lower cut leg to stretch your core.
   

Want a personalized refresher for Summer? Get your own Fashion Package, complete with a look book & virtual shopping session to compile a portfolio of uniquely customized ensembles.

Easter Frockery: Hourglass Figure

Like a game of dot to dot, all the dress must accomplish is follow the lines of your equitably contoured hourglass figure.

















1. Easter outfitting would certainly be deficient without at least the suggestion of millinery. The cherry a top the creamy vanilla lines of the Paisley jacquard Dress, dramatized by the Victorian collared With-A-Flourish Shirt Dress complete with waist belt to cinch in on your little waist.

















2. There's no occasion for puffed sleeves, full skirts, or other illusions. Couple a fitted bodice with a pencil skirt and you're ready to go. In this case to a fairy tale tropical escape with your Maidens Braid Cardi and Inagua Dress.

The Upper Figured Princess will emerge from the shadows tomorrow.

If you already have your customized look book & want more outfitting ideas, book a 60 minute virtual shopping session to compile a portfolio of wardrobe options, at excessively competitive wages.

Essential Wardrobe: Trousers

Trousers: the white collar, upper level closet executives. Unlike their blithe, blue collar denim brothers, these wardrobe administrators have crisp efficiency running their entire length. Dress them up, dress them down, hem for heels, hem for flats, these proficient industrialists are a fashionably profitable investment.

Upper Figure Options
While your stems may look lovely in skinny cuts, the entire ensemble appears a bit rickety. Stabilize your ripe bounty with a boot cut or wide leg and fancy the hip and thigh area to your figure's betterment.















Middle Figure Options: A mid rise with generous stretch in the back and a stingy stretch in the front will minimize and secure your soft, delicious center.
















Lower Figure Options: While dark colors can aid minimization, fit is the trump. Check your trousers' resumé to ensure a mid to low rise, a boot or wide leg, a generously cut thigh and seat, and a waist that curves slightly in.















Hourglass Options: Wanted: Trousers trained to follow complex. Some of the most competent candidates offer a flat front or extended tab closure and a flared leg to balance the lines of your undulating line.

















Linear Options: You alone can conscionably hire capris and skinny pants for your closet. The taper and cut on both styles will make your hips look full and curvy, dramatizing the illusion of a angled waist.

Get the full package: A customized look book and a 60 minute virtual shopping session to compile a portfolio of closet managers, at excessively competitive wages.