Style: Body issues

Although there are many more interesting chapters of this book, I decided to conclude my final blog with something I  believe many women, as well as girls my age could benefit and learn from. In Chapter 6 of "Style", Conrad covers Body issues and how to best flatter your body with clothing.

An example of "bracelet sleeves",
specifically made to show off your
wrists and bracelets

Body issues are something that comes to mind for a large majority of women when picking out clothing to wear because lets face it, I highly doubt not one of us is 100% happy about our body (even though you should be go you). If you have a problem with a specific part of your body, one way to take the eye away and to make yourself feel more confident is to highlight the 3 most feminine parts of your body (at least what Conrad believes to be). These 3 flattering and feminine points are the wrists, the ankles and collarbones. You want to make them visible, whether it's by a 3/4 length sleeve and an eye catching bracelet, a pair of cropped pants or strappy sandals, or a V-neck top.

Showing off what you believe to be your best assets is something that will make you not only appear better but feel better and far more confident. If you feel your shoulders or arms are a Feminine part of your body, one way to show them off is obviously by a simple (or not, depending on the occasion) strapless dress. Another tip given is to purchase shirts a size larger so they can drape of your shoulder and look more feminine as well as show off your shoulders.


If you feel if your legs are your best asset (well first of all lucky for you!) a skirt is most likely the best way to flaunt them freely. The length of the hem is your choice. Many women like to hide their knees but others don't mind as much. if you want to wear a shorter skirt but without as much skin, a pair of black opaque tights are always an option and in my opinion seem to slender the legs even more. When picking out a skirt to flaunt your legs you must remember that the fuller or bigger the skirt, the thinner your legs will appear but skin tight skirts will have the opposite effect, the "Sausage in a casing look" Conrad says. also, there isn't a need to show skin to flaunt your legs, a pair of skinny jeans (especially when paired with short heeled ankle boots) will do the same thing, elongate and thin.


Downplaying "problem" areas of the body is just as important as highlighting your many beautiful assets. For many women, a problem area of the body is the upper arms. one tip given by Conrad is to steer clear of cap sleeves (the short, tight ones) unless you have smaller, more toned arms (which if this were the case this most definitely wouldn't be a problem area am I right). A good thing to do is wear a 3/4 length sleeve or a top with puffier sleeves to make your arms look slimmer in comparison. "They can change the entire silhouette distracting from the problematic area" (Conrad 111).

An example of Boot cut jeans, talked
about to the right.

Thighs are also a problem for a lot of women (even though now its considered more attractive to have bigger thighs then it is to be a stick, thank god that trend has gone!). For a girl with larger thighs, the best way to flatter them is to wear a larger and loose skirt, this will make your legs look thinner in comparison. As said before you would want to stay away from shorter tight skirts such as pencil skirts. Another thing that helps downplay larger thighs and make them look like more of an asset (which in my opinion they are!) is to wear boot cut jeans with a slight flair to balance out the proportion.

The idea of having a perfect body is something almost women aspire to. but as said in the book "The goal here is to reflect the idea of having a perfect body, not to actually possess it" (Conrad 112). Every  woman has a different idea of how her body should look and their idea of perfect. the most important thing over all is that YOU feel confident in yourself while walking around, whether in sweats or a flattering dress. Everyone has a different idea of a perfect body, "so if you've got it, flaunt it (in a classy way) (Conrad 112).