Hello beauties!
This week's W3 post is for all my plus sized beauties!!! I wanted to explain how you ladies can get away with wearing printed pants to work for your shape and not appear too fashionably loud for the office! Since you are more curvaceous, you may have already noticed that some clothing can look a bit more va va voom on you than on your thinner counterparts, especially when it comes to working with prints. Now you may be entirely happy with the va va voom effect you bring, but for the office, it just doesn't work. You want to appear fashionable and trendy, yet have your co-workers and customers/clients take you seriously as well.
What I love about these pants from Ann Taylor Loft, is that they are printed in a very casual and wearable color combination. You could totally get away with wearing these if you work in a casual or business causal environment. Here are some suggestions:
Look 1: The Apple Shape
If you have a more rounded upper body and larger bust, I'd suggest wearing a solid color basic top, using one of the colors featured in the pattern, in this case, white. By choosing a solid color which still ties in with the pant's color scheme, you're allowing the pant to be the star of the show, which will distract from your larger upper body, since the eye will gravitate to the pattern.
Look 2: The Pear Shape
If you have larger hips, you can still wear patterned bottoms, as long as you some how maintain interest on your upper portion. In this case, I'd suggest wearing either a tangerine orange, canary yellow, or hot pink colored top with some ruffling down the center with a v-neck cut, to add interest. The pop of color against the pant would cause a contrast in both color, as well as solid against pattern. The ruffling effect would add some dimension to your smaller bust, which would prevent your hips from looking that much more wider than your upper body!
Look 3: The Rectangular/Boy Shape
If your body appears to be straight, with no curves, your goal is to create them, visually! The way I would suggest doing so with a pair of printed pants like these, would be to use the pop of color, as I mentioned for the pear, but this time instead of the ruffling, choose a top that has a peasant style with a cinched elastic waist or you can just add a waist belt; I'd prefer the color brown, since it's a neutral. The brown belt against the pop of color would brake up your upper and lower body portions, making them two distinct sections visually, while adding curves as the bottom portion of the top flares out.
Look 4: The Hourglass
Since you have a well balanced out body, your upper and lower portions appear the same in width, with a defined waistline, your goal to maintain it. The way I'd suggest doing so in this case, would be to pair the pants with a white basic tank or camisole and a bold colored blazer that has a tailored fit with one single button in the center, which emphasizes your waist/midsection. The contrast with the white solid tank/cami and colored blazer would pop and of course the pattern of the pants would draw attention to your lower body, too!
As always, I hope you ladies found this post helpful and applicable for your work wear. Remember, consistency always paves the road for success ;)
THE DETAILS:
Pants: Ann Taylor Loft Julie Fluid Ankle Pants in Ornament Print (Sizes 00-18) (Purchase HERE)
PS: When shopping at Ann Taylor Loft, if you have larger hips, go for their "Julie" pant. It offers more room in the hip area, so that you don't have those annoying lines across your crotch ;)
XO
