fashion and style 2023

The fast & fun way to stop looking frumpy

Feeling frumpy? Here's why...

1: You Aren't a Standard Size

THE PROBLEM

When a garment is too small or too big for you, it is often quite obvious. Eg: if the garment is too small it will feel tight and uncomfortable 

But this is quite different to not being a standard size. When you aren't a standard size it's less obvious and often related to the vertical proportions of the garment against your body. An obvious example is if the full length of a dress is too short.

A less obvious, yet very common example, is when the garment is too long for you from the shoulder to the armpit. This is not an issue that will cause physical discomfort so often goes unnoticed. And it's also not related to your height. But, if this one element is wrong, it has a domino effect - it will make your posture look bad, your bust look saggy, which in turn will make your tummy look bigger than it is. It's this cumulative effect that makes you look frumpy

If you look frumpy there's a good chance you're not a standard size and you'll love learning about tweaks

THIS IS YOU IF:

  • You have a closet full of clothes you rarely wear and you don't know why
  • You look older than you are OR feel
  • You hate shopping because you struggle to find styles that look good on you
  • You often try 3-4 outfits before deciding what to wear
  • Getting dressed causes you stress

2. You Hide Instead of Balance

THE PROBLEM

Many women try to 'hide' the body bits they don't like under loose and/or long garments that give them no shape. This solves one problem - you can't see the bits that cause your anxiety - but creates another. Crude attempts to hide your body bits will often make you look frumpy and can make you feel self-conscious and overly sensitive to comments about your appearance

THIS IS YOU IF:

  • You don't like your upper arms and hide them under loose, puffy or frilly sleeves 
  • You have big boobs and big tummy and hide both under loose garments that have no shape
  • You are a small size, very straight with small boobs but you are tummy conscious and try to hide your tummy under shapeless dresses and tops
  • You don't like your butt or thighs so you wear A-line dresses and skirts
  • You don't like your knees or calves so you hide them under dresses or skirts that are too long 

3. You Wear The Wrong Colours

THE PROBLEM

Every woman has a set of colours that will make her look and feel alive and attractive. Colours that sit outside of your group can make your skin look sallow (yellow) which in turn can make you feel frumpy, or they can draw attention to body bits you don't want to show, which can make you feel self-conscious, which will make you want to 'hide', which in turn will make you look frumpy. It's a circular issue!

THIS IS YOU IF:

  • You look in the mirror and aren't naturally drawn to your own eyes
  •  You look in the mirror and are immediately drawn to look at your tummy
  • You don't regularly get compliments on the colours your wear
  • Other people often comment that you look tired when you're not

4. Your Foundations are Wrong

THE PROBLEM

Many women don't realise that the wrong knickers and bras can make you look frumpy

THIS IS YOU IF:

  • You bra cups don't fit your bust correctly - eg: your have gaps between the cup and your boobs 
  • Your bra straps cut into your back and create 'wings' of fat 
  • Your bra cups make your girls go 'east and west'
  • Your knickers cut into your soft skin tissue creating 'chunks'

5. You Wear the Wrong Fabrics

THE PROBLEM

Curvy women who wear styles in non-stretch fabrics often look and feel frumpy because they are limited to styles that fit their widest parts - at the expense of their narrowest parts. It's like pushing a round peg into a square hole - there will be gaps and those gaps can make you look frumpy

THIS IS YOU IF:

  • Pants that fit your hips are too big at your waist 
  • Shirts that fit your bust are too big at your waist
  • Shirts that fit your back, shoulders and waist pull across your bust
  • A-line dresses make you feel bigger around the hips and butt but they are your only choices because other styles pull across your hips, butt and thighs 
  • You can see saggy skin between your bra and underarm from side and/or front
  •  Shift dresses that fit your bust and tummy make you look larger than you are

SOLUTION

It might take a while to beat the frump on your own OR...