Summer 2004 Newsletter

Slimming Summer Styles

With summer just around the corner, we are looking forward to break-up parties, BBQ’s with friends, New years parties and many more events where we will be with co-workers friends and people we have never even met. So how do you know what to wear? Every time you are asked out do you suffer the eternal agony, what should I wear? Will this make my bum look fat? I wish I was a couple of kilos lighter.

Losing weight does not necessarily mean munching on carrot sticks and drinking cabbage soup. By simply wearing the right clothes for your body shape and especially the ones which will disguise any perceived figure flaws you can look instantly slimmer and younger.

Looking slimmer is simply done by diverting the eye from any problems and fixing it on your best assets. These assets could be great eyes, a long neck, slender wrists or long legs. The list goes on. There are many ways you can look slimmer. The simplest is having a photo digitally enhanced to elongate your body. This is very simple, often done in the media but really won’t work when you are actually standing in front of a person. What you want to accomplish is to make the person who is looking at you move their eyes up and down as opposed to side to side as they take your appearance in.

In my books Getting Gorgeous and Getting Handsome I have whole chapters devoted to looking slimmer. Some of the tips you will find are
1. Wear vertical stripes. They will very easily and effectively make the person looking at you, look at you up and down.
2. Wear clothing that skims the body and doesn’t strangle you instead. Ideally you should have an idea of the form and shape of a person and not a skin tight clear view of what is going on under the clothing. The tighter your clothing is the larger you can often appear as cellulite is no longer concealed but outlined in all of its lumpiness. Leave something to the imagination as it often paints a prettier picture than harsh reality
3. Have faith in good underwear. You might have a gorgeous little black dress that you want to wear to a party but are concerned that you are leaving little to the imagination and allowing just a little too much flesh the opportunity to move independently of you. Your answer is in the great range of body slimmers that are on the market. A g-string may save you from VPL (visible panty line) but it does not hold your cheeks in check when you are moving where as a great pair of body slimming pants will, and they can even give you a little lift if you would like. The same goes for your breast ladies. There is nothing like a bad bra to age you significantly and add pounds to your shape. Have yourself fitted properly and notice the difference it will make to your shape.

I can’t save all my tips for the women as I know how many men out there also want to look their best. Just last night I was with a client and we did a complete wardrobe overhaul for him. His bed was stacked with clothing that I think even the charity stores will send back but the local theatre company may enjoy for any period dramas they may be putting on. For many men the main issue seems to be continuing to wear the clothes that looked good on them in the 80’s or even earlier. My tips for men are
1. Keep an eye on your pleats. Firstly trousers with double pleats in them can give you way too much fabric around your thighs and make your legs appear to be heavier then they are.(Not forgetting that these are very dated styles) Secondly if you have gained a couple of pounds or are even working out extensively by having your trousers so tight your pleats pull flat you are again looking heavier than you are. The rule of thumb with pleats is that they must fall into their pleat or they are too tight.
2. Your neck should not ooze out of your collar. Business shirts should be able to do up and when they do should sit around your neck and not squeeze it from your shoulders.
3. Don’t wear your clothes too big. If your trousers are too long for you have them shortened so that they sit at the top of the heel of your shoe from behind. If they are too long you can look very short and squat from behind.

Crisp cottons and fabrics without an excess of lycra in them will often make the body look slimmer than something that not only flows with the body but flows into any folds you might have. Keep it crisp, smart and slim.

Whatever you do over the coming months have fun, enjoy all you do and have a very safe and prosperous new year. Remember to listen out for those three little words ‘You Look Great’ and you will know it is all coming together for you.

Remember don’t keep me a secret and share me with your friends.

These articles may be reprinted with consent from the author.

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