There’s nothing worse than getting dressed for a big event, only to look in the mirror and not like what you see. But dressing well shouldn’t be a difficult task – all it takes is a foundational understanding of the best ways to dress for your specific body shape.
Whether you’re built like Chris Hemsworth, Chris Farley, or anyone in between, it doesn’t take a miracle to feel confident in what you’re wearing. Just some basic knowledge of garment proportions, how to style different outfits, and a realistic assessment of what you actually look like.
To understand these so-called “rules” better, I spoke with Fernando Kularatne – founder of Sydney-based menswear label Riley & Sons (and a man with a decade of experience behind him as a stylist).
Image credit: Jason Lau
“My approach to style comes from a place of helping the client understand who they are,” Fernando tells me.
“You can follow all the tailoring rules you want, but it all comes from a place of being self-aware. That’s the foundation of being comfortable and confident in the way you dress.”
As a result, he tends to steer away from the shape-based descriptions of body shapes and types, instead preferring to describe different body types in relation to a lifestyle: the classic “inverted triangle” body shape is instead described as an “active presence” by Fernando and his team, while “good living” refers to the “oval” body shape.
“The way people dress and the conversations they have with themselves in the mirror tend to skew to the negative, so we try to reframe that in a positive light,” he explains.
Fernando’s approach to dressing well is all about clean visual lines, emphasising the correct parts of an outfit, and removing focus from areas that are perceived negatively (either by yourself or others). That means creating a balanced visual impression of an outfit, no matter what your body shape is.
In short, you want to create a clean line from the shoulder down to the ankle, without too many sections that are overly wide or narrow. This can partially be achieved by choosing garments that compensate for any areas that are relatively out of proportion, but it can also be achieved with thoughtful detailing, accessories, and footwear that all serve to emphasise or de-emphasise specific areas.
“For most people, dressing well is almost counterintuitive,” Fernando tells me.
Image credit: Jason Lau
“One of the biggest mistakes people make when they’re trying to hide a place of vulnerability is that they accidentally end up highlighting it.”
“So what we want to do is create an opposite balance, because our eyes are really good at distinguishing breaks [in an outfit]. We can use this to our advantage and drag the eye to a positive attribute instead of trying to hide an attribute, which is a much better way to create confidence.”
Below, we’ll run through the four different body shapes that Fernando uses as a framework with his clients at Riley & Sons, so no matter what body shape you have, you’ll be able to look a million bucks every time you leave the house. While his background and experience are focused on formal and semi-formal clothing (suits, button-down shirts, trousers, etc), his advice can be applied to dressing for any setting.
Active Presence (Inverted Triangle Shape)
Image credit: Jason Lau
An active presence is used to describe someone with shoulders and a chest that are wider than their waist and hips, typical of someone who lives a quite active lifestyle. Because many people interpret this body shape as a desirable one, they think clothes that emphasise the lack of proportion between the hips and shoulders are the way to go, but it actually creates a visual distraction that misses the balance.
“We don’t want to further accentuate the shoulders and chest line; we want to create a bit more bulk around the waist to make things more proportionate and not too top-heavy,” Fernando suggests.
“You can still keep the natural curve of the waist, but adding a little more ease to the fit of the garment around that area can make it less visually dramatic. Using a heavier, matte fabric can also help. Having higher-waisted trousers to cut into the cinch point of the silhouette will also even things out, giving the person a stronger base relative to their wide chest and shoulders.”
Having an upper body like a Dorito might be the goal of bodybuilders, but the best way to dress when you’ve got wide shoulders is to increase the emphasis on the lower part of your body. This stronger base will increase your presence in a room, without making you look like you skipped leg day.
The shoes you wear can also help here. Shoes with a bold, heavy visual impression will draw the eye downwards and away from the wide shoulders, with other details like a deep trouser cuff will serve the same purpose.
Strong Presence (Rectangle Shape)
Image credit: Jason Lau
The strong presence is used to describe someone with shoulders, hips and a stance that are relatively in proportion to each other. With this body shape, you want to avoid appearing to be too solid, so the best way to create some visual interest is with some nice tapering of the trousers from the knee, as well as a subtle curve from under the armpit to the waist, to create a softer silhouette.
“You want some movement coming through the silhouette, as opposed to having a visual block,” Fernando explains. “What you want is to create a gentle flow from the shoulders over the chest and lats, into the waist and over the hip, and then a nice soft run from the hip to the ankle.”
Once again, it’s about keeping things in proportion; however, when your body shape is already naturally evenly proportioned, some easy movement within the garments will soften the rectangular visual impression.
Strong Base (Triangle Shape)
Image credit: Jason Lau
Folks with a strong base will typically have hips and stance evenly stacked, and are wider than their shoulders, meaning the focus needs to be on the upper body to draw the overall impression into proportion.
“Here, we’re trying to create movement around the upper part of the body, so we’re accentuating the shoulders and chest, drawing attention to the face while having a bit of a softer foundation. To do that, I’d suggest a standard padded shoulder for a jacket, and to create more of a focal point in the upper body, a wide lapel helps.”
“I’d also use a peak lapel that naturally drags the eyes upward towards the shoulder, as opposed to a notch lapel, which can either pull the eye down or across into the body. A medium profile shoe will help give the illusion that the stance is quite neutral, which can help to add focus toward the upper body.”
“Once again, it’s trying to deemphasise any points of potential low confidence and focus on other areas.”
You’ll understand the through-lines of Fernando’s styling philosophy by this point – honestly appraise your body shape and where an area is relatively larger compared to the rest of your body, emphasise elsewhere to create proportion.
Good Living (Oval Shape)
Image credit: Jason Lau
Finally, the good living body shape typically has narrower shoulders and stance compared to the hips and waist – similar to the strong base – meaning the upper body is where emphasis is needed.
“The chest and shoulders need to be a focal point, so we’d use a similar technique to the strong base,” says Fernando. “For the jacket, a peak lapel and a low-button stance will create a more dramatic V-shape, and while I wouldn’t have it loose, I wouldn’t have any tension on the top button – any tension will create a visual break that draws attention to the mid-section.”
“We’d use a squarer, straighter cut to the trousers, with a subtle taper that doesn’t distort the proportions and emphasises a vertical gaze. A mid to heavy profile shoe, like a double-monk or a Derby, would work really well here. What we want is lots of detail in the upper half of the body and an interesting shoe that combines to draw attention up and down and almost bypasses that mid-area.”
Once again, it might sound counterintuitive, but if you’re a short king looking to walk taller, dressing to emphasise the vertical gaze is what you need to do.
“With a shorter build, we want to accentuate the vertical gaze,” Fernando promises. “The easiest way of doing that is with high-waisted trousers, ideally sitting just under the belly button and without too much tension on the waistband.”
Image credit: Jason Lau
“We also want to ground the outfit, so we want our trousers to have a full break or a single break. If the cuff of a pair of trousers has no break, it makes you look shorter.”
If you haven’t come across a trouser “break” before, it’s essentially the slight folding of fabric that forms at the front of your pant leg. A full break has a decent amount of gathered fabric, while a no break falls directly from the knee – possibly giving the impression the trousers are too short.
Taller
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For the tall men out there, it’s all about visual detail around the centre of your body.
“Taller men look good with a mid-rise pair of trousers that sits just off the hip, almost at its widest point. We’re trying to reduce the vertical gaze and accentuate the horizontal impression, so a belt also adds more visual weight to the mid-area, a notch lapel will bring more central focus, and while I generally do a two-button sleeve for jackets, to create more visual noise for taller clients, I might do four or five.”
Image credit: Jason Lau
Again, it’s about bringing balance and proportion to the visual impression you give off, so rather than leave people wondering what the weather is like up there, you have them thinking about the details like your belt or buttons.
Final Thoughts
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Knowing how to dress for your body shape isn’t rocket science, but it does begin with an honest conversation in the mirror where you ask yourself, “What is my body shape?”
There’s no shame in any body shape, but without answering that question honestly, it’s difficult to begin the journey of balanced, proportionate dressing. Once you have answered that question honestly, you can start to consider which area of your body is relatively larger and how you can emphasise elsewhere.
It may feel uncomfortable or strange at the start, because dressing proportionately involves emphasising the parts of your body you may feel are weaker or smaller. However, it’s only once you address these areas that you’ll be able to bring the overall visual impression you give others into balance.
If you have wide shoulders, emphasise your waist.
If you have wide hips, accentuate your chest and shoulders.
If you’re shorter, draw attention vertically.
If you’re taller, pull people’s gaze horizontally.
Thank you to Fernando for his wisdom, and if you’re looking for a professional to help you on the path to dressing for your body shape, make sure to book a consultation with him in person.
If you enjoyed this guide on how to dress for your body shape, you might enjoy our other fashion guides below:
Nick Kenyon is the Editor of Boss Hunting, joining the team after working as the Deputy Editor of luxury watch magazine Time+Tide. He has a passion for watches, with other interests across style, sports and more. Get in touch at nick (at) luxity.com.au
