the importance of proportion

Something to always keep in mind when you are putting an outfit together is proportions. You want to achieve balance between loose and form-fitting pieces. This still creates a nice silhouette and gives you shape.

For instance, pair a flowy blouse or long tunic with form-fitting pants: skinny jeans or cigarette pants. Also, form-fitting pants like these will lengthen your leg with their long lean lines. This is perfect for you if you want people to notice your long legs or want to mask your midsection.

If I wore a wide-leg pant with this duster and blouse, my outfit would not look as put-together. Depending on where I am going, I could look too casual or unprofessional. Furthermore, my legs would not stand out which is the part of my body I am drawing attention to with this outfit.

Another option is a form-fitting blouse with wide-leg pants or a skirt that pulls away from the body. This is ideal if you want to show off your tiny waist or want to draw attention away from your legs or butt.

I'm wearing my palazzo pants in this picture. They are very wide leg, but just imagine if I was wearing a loose blouse on top, my body's silhouette would be completely lost in all of the fabric.

Therefore, if everything is too loose, you may not look polished or pulled together. To some, this is sloppy and unprofessional. On the other hand, wearing an entire outfit of form-fitting or tight pieces may not translate well, either. This depends on the occasion: pairing a form-fitting blouse with tight pants for the outfit may send the wrong message to your boss or co-workers that you are not serious about the job or even worse.

If you want to know more about, check out my blog post "9 Ways to Wear a Dress." Therefore, I work to show you the different ways you can dress up or dress down a simple dress. The silhouette I used in the post is a swing dress, which has very little shape. In each of the nine pictures and accompanying captions, I explain ways to cinch at the waist to create this balance of proportion highlighted here.