LoveIt

If I asked you to describe what the image above represents there's a 99.9% chance you'd say it's about women coming in all shapes and sizes. And you'd be spot on — well almost! 

The problem is there's been so much hype about shape and size that we forget to add one small but critical word to our observations — height!  Here's why height/body length) matters...

I've added a blue line at the shoulder height of the two women in the middle of this picture. Why is this important?

It's important because ALL patterns used to produce ready-to-wear fashion are based on a standard 'height' which gets converted to a 'standard body length' which is then broken into a set of 'standard vertical dimensions' which are then pushed through an algorithm for different sizes 

All of these measurements are based on the fit model(s) used by the brand to develop the style...

What this means is that a garment designed to fit the upper body length of the 2 women in the middle is going to be too long in the upper body for 4 of these women and too short for the others

You might be starting to wonder what on earth this has to do with your tummy — let me show you...

This is an image of me wearing a dress that is designed for someone ~2" longer from the shoulder to the armpit than me. I have used pegs to show how much fabric needs to come off the shoulder for the dress to fit my torso perfectly from shoulder to armpit...

Notice the dramatic difference this makes. My boobs look perky on one side and saggy on the other. The problem with excess fabric from shoulder to armpit is that it makes everything look saggy!

And when your boobs are pointing south (even if you have a small bust) it makes your tummy look bigger than it is! But's that's not all...

Because this dress is designed for someone 2" longer in the upper body than me, there's a strong chance the waistline of the dress will be sitting in the wrong spot too. And you guessed it, that will also make my tummy look bigger. It's a double whammy! Let me show you a waistline example...

When the waistline of a dress (or top) doesn't sit directly on your waistline it will make your tummy look bigger. Too high or too low, the result is the same...

To illustrate, I have added lines to show you the dress waistline vs my waistline. They don't match and I look like I have a 'pot belly'. The problem is this dress was designed for someone much shorter from bust to waist than me!

Bigger differences like this example are easy to spot. The problem is that smaller differences eg: like 1.5cm (1/2") can make you feel tummy conscious too. But because they aren't as obvious to see in the mirror, you blame your tummy instead of the clothes.  And then this happens...

Avoiding the 'pot belly' look is why many women turn to floaty garments that hide their tummies — big tick! But, unfortunately floaty styles that hide the tummy make many women look matronly, unstylish or older than they are or feel!