Maxi Dresses to Flatter Every Figure

The best thing about maxi dresses is there is a style to suit every shape. You can't be too tall, too short, too slim or too curvy to pull it off. Although summer maxi dresses are for everyone, it is important to find one that is flattering to your shape.Get the style right for your figure and you'll look like a goddess, get it wrong and you'll look like you're drowning in a very pretty sack. Here are some tips to follow if you want to buy a maxi dress that is flattering for your figure.If you carry more weight around your hips and bum, you are part of the majority of British women who have a pear shape. Balancing the top and bottom halves is the key to finding a maxi dress that will flatter your figure. Avoid dresses that are tightly fitted around the hips and give the appearance of broader shoulders with a strapless or sleeveless style. Distract from the hip area by selecting a dress with an empire waist line.Apple or top-heavy ladies also need to find the right dress to balance the top and lower halves of the body. Avoid high necklines and opt for v-neck dresses to flatter the bust. A loose, floaty number will give the impression of a more proportioned lower half to bring balance.Those with a ruler or boyish shape can use frills, ruffles and bold prints to add texture and femininity. Adding a belt can nip in the waist to create the illusion of an hourglass shape.The ladies that are lucky enough to have an hourglass shape can pull off just about any style of maxi dress but you might still want to accentuate your best features. If for you, that is your shoulders, a halterneck or strapless maxi dress will bring attention to the right places. Enhance your natural waistline by accessorising with a large waist belt.Petite and plus-size women need not worry about being able to find the perfect fit. Most high-street stores carry petite lines and sizes over 16 and there are also specialist stores that are available to cater to both groups if you can't find what you need in the high-street stores. Whether you are 5'2" or a size 22, you can find a style and fit to flatter. It is important to find a maxi dress that fits well if you want to look your best!

How to Choose a Maxi Dress That Flatters Your Figure

Maxi dresses are by far the most democratic of dresses because they suit every body shape. Whether you are an apple shape (top heavy), pear shape (bottom heavy), hourglass (large on top and at the hips and thighs), or boy shape (straight down), you will be able to find a maxi dress that suits your shape.

However, although this style of dress does suit everyone, you must pay special attention to match the dress of your choice to your body shape if you want to make sure you have heads turning wherever you go.

Understand which dresses suit your shape, and you will look beautiful, get the style wrong for your shape and you are likely to look frumpy or bulge in all the wrong places.

Follow our advice and guidance, and you will be able to find the perfect maxi dress for you ??just in time for summer.

Pear Shape

A pear shape is bottom heavy. People with this shape have a slim neck, narrow shoulders and waist, and a larger bottom and thighs.

The most important consideration when choosing maxi dresses is to choose a style that balances the upper and lower portions. You can do this in one of two ways.

1. Choose a design with lots of volume on top; by increasing your upper proportions, the top and bottom appear evenly matched, thus creating the hourglass figure.

2. Choose a design with a plunging neckline. By drawing attention to the neckline, you draw attention away from the hips, and people will not notice any differences.

Apple Shape

An apple shape is top-heavy. People with this shape have a slim bottom and thighs, but a larger bust and wider shoulders.

The most important consideration when choosing a maxi dress is to select a style that balances the lower and upper portions.

Oddly, although you have the opposite body shape, you should follow the second piece of advice indicated for the pear shape. Choose a plunging neckline to draw attention to the area, and away from the hips and thighs.

Opt for a dress that is loose fitting around the thighs and hips, as this will appear to add volume, and thus balance the look.

Boy Shape

If you have a boy shape, the aim of any dress should be to add curves in all the right places. Do this by opting for dresses with volume around the bust and around the bottom. Frills, lace, and other embellishments in these key areas will help greatly. Emphasise the curves of the bust and bottom by selecting a cut that nips in at the waist, or use a belt to create effect.

The Hourglass Figure

The best shape to have and the shape the others need to try to achieve. If you have an hourglass figure, you are fortunate because most styles of dress will suit you. However, there are still a few rules to heed.

Firstly, unless you are very slim, avoid dresses with too much volume, as you run the risk of looking a lot larger than you naturally are.

Choose cuts that accentuate your assets, so a plunging neckline, a tucked in waist, and a semi-clingy skirt will look fantastic.

How to Select a Maxi Dress or Skirt for your Figure

A Maxi is either a skirt or a dress that comes right down over the ankles. They are in fashion right now and thank goodness for that, they are so good at hiding imperfections in your legs and giving you a slim looking figure that I couldn't do without them. You must however choose the right one for your figure, so I have listed a few tips to help you find the perfect maxi.

1. Avoid Too Many Frills
A skirt with many frills may look fantastic on the rack, but usually makes women look like they want to be walking down the aisle in a bridal dress. Save the frills for your wedding day and avoid too many frills and furbelows on your everyday dresses and skirts.

2. Avoid the Overly Full Maxi
An overly full maxi with yards of extra material will make any figure look fatter. Choose a slimmer cut, such as an A-line to make the most of your figure, while minimizing the perception of weight. This is particularly important if you carry extra weight around your waist.

3. Shorter Women Can Wear Maxi Skirts Too
While taller women look fabulous in any maxi skirt, many shorter women feel that a maxi skirt emphasizes their lack of height. To avoid this, choose a maxi skirt with a subtle A-line and a vertical stripe within the pattern. This will make your legs look longer. Avoid any horizontal strips or hem detailing, as anything that stops the eye from travelling down will give the illusion that your legs stop at that point, visually shortening your legs. You want the skirt as long as possible, virtually touching the floor, this will give your legs the maximum visual length.

4. Blend the Skirt and Top Colours
Whenever you wear a maxi skirt, make sure the top you wear matches the maxi skirt. Blend the colours, so that the top does not create too much of a horizontal cut across your middle where it reaches the skirt. Blending the top with the colour of the maxi skirt, rather than wearing a contrasting top, provides a smooth vertical line and makes your body look longer and leaner.

5. Wear Close Fitting Tops
Wear close fitting tops when you wear a maxi skirt. Because a maxi skirt will create a flowing effect, you do not want to wear loose flowing tops as well as this will emphasize your width, rather than your height. A tighter fitting blouse or shirt will give your Silhouette a slim line from your shoulder to the flowing finish at your feet.

Maxi skirts and dresses are fashionable and give you a pleasant change from wearing pants all the time, especially if you want to cover your legs. Buy a maxi that accentuates your length, to create a slim-line look. If you choose to go with the skirt select tops that don't contrast with it and make sure they are close fitting. Avoid any horizontal stripes and too many frills and you will always look great in your Maxi.

Choosing the right maxi dress for your figure

The return of the maxi dress to designer and high street stores in recent years has been welcomed by many fashion conscious shoppers up and down the country. A style pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s, ankle-length maxi dresses are in theory designed to suit women of all body shapes. In practice, however, this is not usually the case. Typically, this style looks best on women of tall and slim stature. Women under around 5'10" that wear maxi dresses can often look shorter or wider than they actually are, while others with a fuller-figure often feel that they give no definition to their body shape. However, it's important to remember that maxi dresses are not a uniform category. By being a discerning shopper and tirelessly trying on dresses before you buy, it's possible to find the right maxi dress for you whatever your size. If your dress size is a 16 or over, there are certain features of maxi dresses that you should think about avoiding. For example, stay away from halter-neck variations if you have a large bust because this style has the potential to make you look more top-heavy. Instead, look for maxi dresses with a scoop or v-neck and sleeves up to the elbow or mid-upper arm. These features will flatter your assets rather than over-emphasise them. You should also avoid maxi dresses made out of knitted or jersey materials. These fabrics will cling to your body and accentuate any bulges. Instead, opt for loose cotton or cotton-feel materials during the day and silk for eveningwear, as these will softly frame your figure rather than squeezing it. Women who measure under 5'10" in height should also pay attention to certain rules when buying a maxi dress. Patterns that run vertically instead of horizontally, for instance, can counteract the shortening qualities of the average maxi dress. What's more, features that expose some leg can also add height to shorter maxi dress wearers - examples include side slits up to the knee or thigh, or hemlines that are shorter at the front than at the back. However, more often than not, inches are best added by wearing a good pair of heels, ideally ones that are chunky or wedged and can stand up to the powerful presence of the maxi dress. If you have long hair, consider styling it in an up-do as well for added height. For those that fall into both of these categories, there is one more important tip to bear in mind when wearing maxi dresses: separating the bust area from the skirt. Many maxi dresses are styled with an empire waist line, which has slimming and height-adding properties. But if the maxi dress you've got your eye on doesn't have one of these, try adding your own belt instead in order to create a visible waistline and the illusion of longer legs.