Monday, September 7, 2020

Ageless Style Link Up "Dressing For Your Body Type"

The Ageless Style Link Up-  The first Monday of every month a group of over forty fashion bloggers pick a monthly theme and show different ways of styling it. 

Happy Labor Day!  How fun that this month's Ageless Style Link Up falls on a holiday.  As you read this post, I'm off enjoying time with my grand babies, so I had to pre-schedule this post.  If you don't see the link up at the bottom of the post, it's because I was unable to load the code before I left, but no worries, just click on one of the other ladie's blogs and you will be able to link up there.

This month's theme was picked by Jeannie.  She said she had a reader's request for how to dress for your body type.  I must admit I wasn't thrilled with this challenge, because as over-40 women I would rather focus on everything that is RIGHT about our bodies, rather than what is wrong with them.  However, I do agree that body type, not age, should guide how we dress.  

So before we begin discussing what's wrong with my body type, I want to share a few positive things about my body.  

  • 1.  I'm HEALTHY!  Yes, can I get an Amen!  First and foremost having a strong, healthy body is something to be grateful for.  I have been chronically ill in my lifetime, so I know from experience that if "you have your health, you have everything".  Nothing influences your life more than bad health.  It's hard to get out, it's hard to work, it's hard to just have a normal day free without pain.  At 57 years of age, I surprise all my doctors when I say I am taking no prescribed medications.  They always tell me how rare that is.
  • 2.  I'm somewhat NATURALLY THIN.  I emphasize the word "somewhat".  I can't eat whatever I want without gaining weight.  My weight constantly fluctuates between the same 20-30 pounds.  I have to really work at being my lowest weight, the weight where I feel I look my best.  Yet, even if I ate all I wanted to and never exercised, I still have never been considered clinically overweight in my life.  So I'm thankful I haven't had a lot of the really painful struggles over my weight a lot of people have to endure.  I know it's so hard to constantly watch everything you eat, to deny, deny, deny, exercise for hours, and then get on the scale only to have gained two pounds.  It's very frustrating.
  • 3.  I have LONG, LEAN LEGS.  
  • 4.  I have GREAT SKIN
  • 5.  Because my nail bed is long, no matter how short my fingernails are cut, when I paint my nails it always looks like I have nice, LONG NAILS.
So now that I've described the positive things about my body to keep things in their proper perspective,  I can now focus on how to accentuate those positive aspects and play down the more negative ones.  The first thing I had to do was determine my body shape.  Although I see myself having aspects of several different body types, I think I mostly have the  Apple Shaped Body:  Bigger on top, smaller on the bottom.   My legs and forearms are very thin.  All my weight wants to congregate in the bust, chest, neck, and stomach.  



Here's an example of an apple shape body type.  I feel the pictures closely represent me, although my shoulders, forearms, and thighs are thinner than pictures.  The mid-section is quite accurate to my body type.

                                                                                       Photo Credit

There are so many different body shapes for women, all are beautiful and all come with their own unique assets and challenges.  I'm not going to go into addressing all of them because you can google them for yourselves, or you can check out the other Ageless Style Bloggers because we all have very different body types.  I will therefore spend the rest of this post explaining how I dress for my Apple Shape body.



Because my legs are my thinnest part of my body I try to emphasize them when I choose what to wear.  Even though I'm well over 50 now, I still wear shorts and short skirts and dresses.   In the colder months, I find skinny jeans and leggings to be the most flattering on me.


For my top half, I try to focus on tops that are more loose and billowy, although, I'm not afraid to tuck tops in if it's a loose tuck or tie a loose knot.  I think a lot of women with my body type try so hard to hide their stomach by always wearing large, loose tops, and then they actually make themselves look bigger.  The top I have on in this post is very loose, but I chose to tuck it in to show my waist.  To avoid seeing too much tummy bulge, I pull the fabric out a bit a bit around the waistline so it's loose and not a hard tuck.


I also feel high-waisted pants, skirts, and shorts are more flattering on apple shapes than low waist.  I am so grateful hip huggers are out of style and high waist is back in.  If you don't like high waist pants, at least try a mid rise.  You can tuck the tummy in nice and tight.


In the close up picture below if you look closely you can see a little bit of tummy bulge in my zipper area.  But it's actually very well concealed by the top tucked loosely in.  

Other aspects of the top that flatter my figure are the off-the-shoulder style and the elastic sleeve.  The off-the-shoulder style shows the thinnest part of my upper body, my shoulders,  and covers up my heaviest part:  the upper arm and bust.  The sleeves emphasize the smallest part of arms, the forearms, while covering up the larger upper arms.


Now it should be mentioned when I googled "How To Dress An Apple Shape Body" it says I shouldn't wear skinny jeans and leggings because they would just make my legs look thinner.  It also says I shouldn't wear off-the-shoulder tops because it would make my shoulders look even wider.  🤣 Obviously, I am not paying any attention to those rules.  I think styling rules make nice guidelines, but ultimately you have to wear what you feel confident in.  I also believe most body shapes are very generic and we don't all nicely fit into one specific body shape, but can be more a mixture of many.  I've often wondered if my body shape was more of an Inverted Triangle or a Rectangle.  I've also been told by other bloggers that they thought my body shape was Curvy.  Maybe I'm all four body types?  Who knows.  What I do really know takes us back to where this post all began....that we should focus on what is RIGHT about our bodies instead of what is WRONG with them.  


 Now be sure to check out the other Ageless Style Bloggers to see how they dress for their body type.  Maybe you will find someone who's body type is very similar to your own.


Amy ~ Amy's Creative Pursuits BlogFacebookInstagramGoogle+Pinterest
Bettye ~ Fashion Schlub BlogFacebookInstagramYouTube
Daenel ~ Living outside the stacks BlogInstagramPinterestTwitter
Debbie ~ Fashion Fairy Dust BloglovinBlogInstagramPinterestFacebookTwitter
Jennie ~ A Pocketful of Polka Dots BlogInstagramFacebookPinterestTwitterBloglovin
Jodie ~ Jodie's Touch of Style BlogFacebookInstagramPinterestBloglovinTwitter
Julia ~ When the Girls Rule BlogFacebookPinterestInstagram
Kellyann ~ This Blonde's Shopping Bag BlogInstagramBloglovinTwitter
Shelly ~ The Queen in Between BlogInstagramBloglovinPinterestFacebook
Shugunna ~ Nzuri N* Simplicity BlogPinterestInstagram

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!





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47 comments:

  1. I love this outfit on you! Such great colors for late summer and early fall days and the hat is perfect! You did a fantastic job with this challenge!
    Glad you got to visit the grandbabies over the holiday weekend!

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    1. Thanks Ellie! I always try to wear fall colors when the weather is warm in late summer/fall even though my clothes are made for summer. We had a great time with the grand babies!

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  2. Amy, what a darling outfit! You're like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms (ha ha, no, that's not a blog, I'm just showing my age with an old book title) with your ditzy floral top, hat, and straw bag! So charming!

    And how nice to list of POSITIVE body attributes for a change! Everyone so focuses on the "bad" (and I don't even like the term "bad" but you know what I mean).

    Interesting about the nail bed. I never thought of that. I must have a short nail bed as I have to grow my nails well past my finger tips to make them look like anything at all, but then they're so long that they easily split, crack, or break and are super short again!

    Enjoy your grand-babies!

    Bettye
    https://fashionschlub.com

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    1. Thank you! ha ha! I must be old too because I recognized the name/title. Yes, I wanted to list positive body attributes instead of always focusing on the negative. And it's nice to be blessed with a long nail bed because you never have to grow you nails too long. We had a lovely time with the grand babies.

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  3. AMY!!! I love that you included what you LOVE about your body. We all need to do that. I wish I'd thought of that!!
    And the funny thing is when you talked about the points of dressing "your shape" when googling it and it was different from what you put together (which I loved BTW). It goes to show you can rationalize almost anything with words and "facts" yet beauty and style is subjective and visual!!!
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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    1. Thanks Jodie! Yes, I think we should all focus on the positive things about our bodies instead of always dwelling on the negative. It was pretty funny that I dressed my body type differently BEFORE googling how to dress an apple shape body.

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  4. You look beautiful, as always! I have nice long nail beds too so as long as I keep my nails panted they look long and healthy.

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    1. Thanks Joanne! Isn't having a long nail bed nice? We never have to grow our nails long to look like we have long nails.

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  5. This theme will really resonate with so many women. I love that you pointed out your assets - being healthy is most important!
    xo,
    Kellyann

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  6. Love your outfit 😍 you look great 😉

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  7. I love this outfit on you! I think you definitely know how to dress your body because what you wear is always flattering!
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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  8. Looking fabulous!! I too adore high waisted pants or skirts...such a better fit!! xx

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  9. Such a beautiful outfit and photos. You look amazing.

    New Post - https://www.exclusivebeautydiary.com/2020/09/laura-mercier-parisian-nudes-eye-shadow.html

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  10. You look great. Love the addition of the hat.
    I too am blessed with the naturally thin gene. My brother did not get it so it really is something to be thankful for.. my husband has it too..

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    1. Thanks so much! Genetics are pretty interesting aren't they?

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  11. Im so obsessed with denim skirts lately. This one is adorable and I love how you styled it with that top.
    Sherry
    https://justlivejoy.com/choosing-the-perfect-bag-and-tote-for-travel/

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    1. Thank you! I love them too and I have several different kinds.

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  12. Great fashion tips.
    Love your outfit too.

    Ann
    https://roomsofinspiration.blogspot.com/

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  13. I love that you mentioned you don't always follow those 'rules' when it comes to getting dressed. I think to an extent we should wear what makes us feel good. I'm the same way with skinny jeans. I want to emphasize my legs! Haha!

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    1. Yes! Absolutely. And I keep reading that skinny jeans aren't in style, yet women won't give them up. I know I'm not getting rid of mine anytime soon. ha ha!

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  14. Your outfit is perfect as well as your photos. I like both of them.

    New Post - https://www.exclusivebeautydiary.com/2020/09/jo-malone-nectarine-blossom-honey-body.html

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  15. I enjoyed reading this post. It is so body positive something I need to do more of because certainly I don't look at my best parts when buying clothes! It always tends to focus on if it can cover X, Y, or Z! Your outfit is beautiful and I just adore that top. Very eye catching and pretty.

    Maureen | www.littlemisscasual.com

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it too. I tend to focus on my flaws too, it's human nature. My goal was to not do that when approaching this subject matter. Thanks so much.

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  16. I like your outfit. If I was inclined to wear a skirt that would be a good one. - Margy

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  17. Amy this top is darling! I love the yellow mustard color and the jean skirt with it. Such a pretty area with flowers. I tend to wear things to accentuate my legs too. Love that straw bag!
    thanks for linking!
    jess xx
    www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

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    1. thanks so much Jess! The pictures were taken downtown Eau Claire along their river walk.

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  18. It's been interesting to visit the posts and learn about different body types. I just love this outfit on you, the off the shoulder top really works on you and so pretty with the denim skirt. I haven't worn a skirt since before Covid and I need to get one out of my closet!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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    1. Yes, it was so interesting to see how all the different bloggers approached this topic. And it's so sad you haven't worn a skirt since Covid. I know there are so many items in my closet that did not get worn last season. When I look at my closet now I see items and they seem like new to me since I haven't been able to wear them.

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  19. I love how you started with a list of what is positive about your body! It is important to know our body types and dress ourselves in the best way. You do a great job of that!

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

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  20. That is such a beautiful outfit. And your photos are amazing.

    New Post - https://www.exclusivebeautydiary.com/2020/09/shiseido-zen.html

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  21. I am really enjoying the theme this month and reading what all of you have to say about dressing your body type. I get super confused by all those body type rules because I don't fit neatly into any one category. I am like a combination of 3 or 4 different ones. And then I feel like they don't account for height. I agree with you that we need to find what looks best on us...the mirror and the camera are my most useful tools in finding what looks right and what doesn't. All that being said, I really love this fun end of summer outfit! That top is adorable and you are rocking the denim skirt!

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    1. Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed reading every one's posts. I think we all approached the theme very uniquely. And I agree with you about not fitting into any one category. That is EXACTLY how I felt. And you're right, the body types never account for height and that makes a huge difference too.

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  22. That's a lovely summer outfit and I like the florals with the denim skirt, so cute! :) I agree we all have so many things to be thankful and positive for about our bodies - and it's fun to be able to dress them how we like! :)

    Hope you had a great weekend :) Thanks so much for joining the #WeekdayWearLinkup!

    Away From Blue

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  23. Thank you for the image positive post! I love that you focused on the things you are happy with, rather than what you don't like. I actually think the best way to dress for your body is to get on out there and try on many, many, many different types of clothing and styles and decide what classic pieces work for you best. Also, trying to draw attention to what you like about your body. This outfit you featured is absolutely stunning. It's the perfect mix of chic and classic, with the off the shoulder top and hat being so on trend, and the denim skirt being a classic item. Have the best time with the grand babies.

    bosbodaciousblog.blogspot.ca

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    1. Thanks so much! I agree about trying things on...especially trying things on you wouldn't normally try.

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