the foodietrails: Body positivity ; how to dress according to your body shape

Body positivity , is not about coming to terms with what’s ‘not OK ‘ with your body, but actually celebrating what is fantastic about it. And with that in mind I teamed up with praan.t a collection by Monika Chordia and my fellow fabulous bloggers , Flexcia Dsouza and Shruti Haldankar to bring forth a body beautiful post.

To dress according to your body type has always been a bit of a missed opportunity , atleast for me. But after years of watching style shows and makeover shows on Television, I have managed to glean some information.

First, don’t fight your body shape, find it.

Where do you carry the most weight, or which is the part of you that you do not like, but more importantly, what is your best parts, or what is it that you should be highlighting.

I am a classic apple shape, I have slim arms and legs and an ill defined waist. And so I went for this A line shift dress, which had pleats at the shoulder and at the helm. I would love to accesorise it with a neckpiece which is a long V, a slim chain with a statement piece which ends at the narrowest part of my waist or a a little higher. V necks, or neckpieces are perfect for apple shapes. Since this dress in Kala cotton has self vertical stripes, it is slimming, and the pleats at the shoulders add detailing on the shoulders, and the pleats at the hem give it a girly touch, both detailings take the eyes away from the ‘problem area’ the waist, and draw attention to arms. I love that it is sleeveless, since my arms are slim , and I wish the helm was shorter to show off legs.

Kala cotton , which grows in the dry and arid Bhuj region, has a very low carbon foot print, it requires little water to grow, and since the colours used are natural dyes, they require less water to dye. All in all an environment friendly piece.

My second outfit was a indigo blue pant suit in Khadi Matka, with a high low seam to the top, and culottes ending mid calf with cute pompom detailing. The high low hem is very fun, and again draws attention away from the waist. Since it is sleeveless, it allows the shoulders and arms to show, while still not hugging at the waist. The pants end above the ankle, and since classic apple shapes have narrow ankles and wrists, it is a flattering cut.

Flexcia on the other hand is a pear shape, with a wonderful structured torso, while legs and calves are generally thicker.

She wore a beautiful black long gown, with an interesting bottle green bolero jacket. The jacket helps balance her top half and her bottom half, and the streamlined floor length dress accentuates her hips, without drawing attention to the legs.

For her second look she tried the very edgy and an absolute show stopper, the pleated top and bottoms. Notice how the pants, though fitted at the hips, flair at the knee, thus helping balance her top half and bottom half. Since she has no problem showing off her narrow waist and small torso, the pleated top is a strong accompaniment.

Shruti is a small hourglass, she has beautifully balanced top and bottom halves, and the only danger is to make her look too skinny. Clothes which help fill her out, yet narrow at the waist are perfect for her. Designer Monika’s clothes with their pleats and flairs are perfect on her.

For her first look she wears a dress in indigo blue, which with a fitted top silhouette, flairs with stiff pleats at the bottom, helping add volume to Shruti. Her second look was a two piece dip dye from Bhuj, the flaired cullotes, and the relaxed fit top were cinched at the waist , so while they maintained their focus on her waist, they filled out her top and bottom halves.

What was my absolute favourite?

My favourite was what Monika herself was wearing a shift dress, so perfect for the apple shape, I would steal it! It showed off her legs, it had girly details on the wrists and neck, and the vertical self design; love love love.

Sheetal Pai Kane, who was hosting the exhibition at Panjim, Goa , looked stunning in a kala cotton long dress with asymmetric pleats. Sheetal a perfect medium hourglass, could have carried off absolutely anything on the racks, because the hourglass is an absolute designers dream!

Take home tips :

1. Apple shape : Accentuate arms and legs. Accentuate with accessories to cinch waist. Be bold and body positive !

2. Pear shape: Accentuate narrow waist, balance your shoulders to match your bottom half. Take focus away from hips. Be bold and body beautiful !

3. Rectangle or small hourglass: accentuate narrow hips, build layers or volume on top and bottom half. Be bold and body positive!

To know more about praan.t and their new collection featuring kala cotton from Bhuf, and khadi Matka from Bengal , reach out to them on their FB page @praan.t , and Instagram page @praan.t.