Devi Style: The Lengthened Sillouette

Hey Devis! Welcome to another installment of how to dress for your body type. Most of these tips are useful for all sorts of body types, but especially for what we defined as the Devi H&B (hips & breasts) body type. In a community where 5'5" is considered tall, we're constantly looking for ways to appear longer and leaner. Here are some of our tried & true techniques for lengthening your sillouette.


Long pants: To give the appearance of height to your body, tailor your pants/jeans to almost reach the floor when you wear 2-inch heels. (Remember, stick to flared, boot-cut or straight-leg pants and jeans.) That way, you can wear them with 2- or 3-inch heels, and they will make your legs look longer. The key is for the hem to hit below the ankles, and even below the heel, if you can handle a higher heel.





Wedges: Heels can obviously make you appear a lot taller than you already are, but I've never been able to handle really tall heels. Thank heaven for wedges. They’re in style, easier to walk in, and more comfortable because they usually have a little padding under the sole, and they distribute the weight of your whole foot. I’m a big fan of Michael Kors wedges.





Long scarves: If worn around the neck to casually hang down below the waist, this will direct focus to a vertical line on your body, and vertical lines give the appearance of length. Make sure it’s not too hefty.







Sectioned shirts: Women who are heavy on top do better with shirts that are visually sectioned. There’s a reason wrap shirts are so popular. They flatter many different body types – and they’re also a great way to wear white gracefully. If you’ve got any excess weight in the tummy area, look for a wrap shirt that hangs away a bit under the waist instead of fitting snugly.



Beware the cleavage: Thanks to our small stature, being blessed in this arena can be a curse. If you want to flaunt your assets tastefully, wear a shirt or dress that gives a hint of the top of the cavity between them. Also, avoid the squished-together look, unless you want to channel Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons.




Top or bottom: Which part of your body is most flattering? Accentuate it. As Donna Karan said, “Highlight the positive and delete the negative.” If you have a narrower rib cage, slender arms, and well-proportioned breasts, but heavier hips and thighs, wear fitted shirts and lighter colors on top. If you are heavy up top and have excess weight in your waist area, but have slim legs and shapely calves and ankles, wear more fitted pants/jeans and short skirts.




Black all over: Perhaps nothing will do more to give the appearance of a lengthened sillouette than wearing all black. It’s also the most versatile look, good for the 9 a.m. meeting as well as the 9 p.m. dinner date. To punch it up, try wearing a long scarf, mentioned above, in another color, with the outfit.





My last piece of advice, which is a more general style tip, would be to try shopping for clothes with a friend. Ask her to pick out some clothes that she thinks would look good on you, and try them on. Some of the best pieces in my wardrobe are ones I never would have picked myself, but that friends have picked out for me. Sometimes it takes another eye to give you suggestions that you would usually skip over.