Traveling through midlife can be a wonderful experience, but it also presents some challenges to all of us. We are not exempt from the wrinkles, thinning skin that wants to sag, the weight gain as our metabolism slows, and the belly fat that naturally gathers around our middle.
I don’t know about you, but I am not going to sit back and say, “whatever…I’ll have another donut and watch a movie”. No, I fight the aging battle every day, approaching it from a healthy and natural perspective, but fight it nonetheless.
One of the ways we can ‘fight back’ is to learn how to dress to look slimmer. Our bodies may ultimately do their thing to some extent no matter how we battle it, but we absolutely can create a look that shows us at our best.
So here are 10 simple and practical tips to consider when putting an outfit together, to help you look thinner.
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When your goal is to dress to look slimmer and trimmer, maybe even a little bit more youthful, it involves more than selecting the right combination of garments.
So our handy list of tips is going to begin with four fundamentals that can make all the difference in how you look and feel in an outfit, whether it’s a casual or more formal style.
1 | What’s Under it All
The most beautiful outfit that drapes well and fits perfectly will look less than hoped-for if the undergarments are baggy, saggy, droopy, or otherwise don’t bring anything positive to the overall look.
A proper fitting bra can make a world of difference, particularly if you are well endowed or find that the girls are sagging more than they used to. We tend to be creatures of habit and our buying decision can reflect that. Just because a particular brand, or size, worked well for you 10 years ago, it might not be the best decision for you today.
Keep an open mind when shopping for undergarments as far as size, support, and if you are on the slow fashion train, sustainability.
2 | Understand Your Body Shape
It would be so very simple to say that if you do these three things…1-2-3…everything you put on your body will look fabulous.
But we know better. We are all unique, with unique body shapes and sizes, skin tones, hair color, height and weight…you get the idea.
All that said, there are some fundamental body shapes that most of us fit into, at least a combination of two if not one specific body shape. It’s important to understand what your particular body shape is, so that when you’re purchasing garments and putting outfits together you’ll know what to pay attention to, and what to avoid.
There are four main body shapes: apple, pear, rectangle (banana), and hourglass.
You’ll find all the details, outfit suggestions, shopping info, etc. in this post:
3 | Posture Counts
Yep. There are many benefits to maintaining good posture, and one of them is looking slimmer.
When we stand straight and tall we can appear 3 to 5 pounds thinner, and, our clothes will look better, too.
Think about it. Do you know someone who has a habit of slouching, or perhaps is unable to stand straight? The slumped shoulders cause the rest of our body to stand a little bit awkwardly, and one of the results is that we look heavier.
So, stand up straight, sit straight, and look slimmer.
4 | The Fit is So Important
Well-fitting clothes are always a plus, but particularly as we get older and are searching for answer to the question of how to look slimmer.
Some women think that by wearing baggy clothes they’ll look slimmer. Not.
Some women wear clingy, tight-fitting outfits in the hope that they’ll look slimmer. They won’t.
And, it can be a challenge to find the right balance of a garment that fits well, is not too tight, not overly loose, and (depending on the fabric and garment), drapes well.
Here is my own example. I have been fortunate to stay within the same relative weight for many years, and as a result I have not had to change my pant size for a long time.
That all changed for me this year, at age 65. The changing body shape and the settling of the belly fat combined to create a little more around the middle than would fit comfortably into most of my shorts, capris, and pants.
It was hard to size up after all these years, but I finally made the decision. I honestly don’t know why it should have been so difficult, but I managed to turn it into a big deal (in my head, anyway).
And you know what? My new bottoms…shorts, capris, jeans…look so much better. Sizing up gave me ample room, the fabric doesn’t cling to closely to my midlife body, and I actually look slimmer.
The moral of my little story is this: Proper Fit trumps Size. It may take a few try-ons to get the right fit for you, but it is definitely worth the time and effort.
