Let’s Go Shopping
It’s time to go shopping for pants, but first you need to understand their regular vs curvy design. Now that you understand your body elements and the clues they give, you know if your body is angular or curved. This is the first step in creating a closet full of pants that enhance your body and tap into your confidence and personal power.
I’m starting with pants because they are the most difficult piece of clothing to find. Think about all the curves between your waist, tummy, butt and thighs. Then think about all the different curves out there for women. Not all pants fit the same, so look for ones that fit your body the best.
The first step in finding pants that fit is to determine the silhouette.
As you learned in the first Body Element, Body Shape clothes come in two silhouettes, angular and curved. With angular clothes, the shoulders, waist and hips appear to be the same width. With curved clothes, the waist appears to be significantly smaller than the shoulders and hips. If you have an H, O, or V body shape (rectangle body shape, apple body shape, inverted triangle body shape) then you go for angular silhouette pants. If you have an A, S or X body shape (pear body shape, hourglass body shape, figure 8 body shape) then you go for curved silhouette pants.
In the ready-to-wear world you look for regular vs curvy pants.
Regular Vs Curvy Pants' Silhouette
When shopping for pants you will find mostly angular silhouette ones which are known as “Regular.” These pants are specially designed for the H body shape. This is because most design lines look great on this body shape. O and V body shapes can find pants, but you really need to look for manufacturers/designers that fit your body. It is doable. However, you might need to get the pants tailored in the butt and/or leg area.
How do you tell angular vs curved (regular vs curvy) pants? First, many pants will have a label saying regular or curvy. Regular is an angular silhouette pair of pants. Curvy is a curved silhouette pair of pants.
Most of the time there isn’t a label, so in that case you can also look at the difference between the waist and hips. When there is little difference then the pair of pants has an angular silhouette. If you can tell the waist is significantly smaller than the hips then the pair of pants has a curvy silhouette.
Curvy Non-Jean Pants' Silhouette
At Macy’s, you can find a great collection of non-jean curvy pants (many can be found in petite, plus sizes, short length and long length) (not all stores carry curvy fit but can be ordered on-line) in the following brands:
- INC
INC High Waisted Curvy Fit Bootcut Ponte Pant, Macys.com Web ID2891334
- Alfani
Alfani Curvy Fit Slimming Bootcut Pant, Macys.com, Web ID 656431
- JM Collection
JM Collections Tummy Control Curvy Fit Pant, Macys.com Web ID 7657042
There are other brands that come in curved silhouette. Just search for “curvy pants.”
Curvy Jean Pants' Silhouette
If you are specifically looking for jeans, then the selection is better. At Macy’s you can find curvy fit jeans in the following brands (all of these brands come in skinny, straight and bootcut leg) (these are just a few of the selection):
- INC
INC Essential Curvy Fit Skinny Jean, Macys.com Web ID 2907350
- Style & Co
Style & Co Curvy Fit Straight Leg Jean, Macys.com Web ID 6869835
- Lauren Ralph Lauren
Lauren Ralph Lauren Super Stretch Modern Curvy Straight Jean,Macys.com Web ID 8908717
- Celebrity Pink
Celebrity Pink Junior’s Curvy High Rise Skinny Jean, Macys.com Web ID 6498911
- Levi’s
Levi’s Women Curvy Bootcut Leg Jean, Macys.com Web ID 8790128
When it comes to non-labeled pants, different brands fit differently. The key is to figure out which brand fits your body. Start by looking at the difference between the waist and hips. When the waist is visually smaller than the hips a curvy body shape might be able to fit in it.
Some brands have a more generous fit in the hip/thigh area where other brands are very slim. For example, DKNY pants tend to be fuller in the hip/thigh area along with Anne Klein.
Summary
- Most pants are designed for an “H” body shape (rectangle body shape) which you will see as “Regular.”
- If you have a “V” (inverted triangle) or “O” (apple) body shape, find the manufacturer/designer that fits your body the best. You might need to get the pants altered in the thighs and/or butt area.
- Look for a label that says “Curvy” if you are an “A” (pear), “X” (figure 8) or “S” (hourglass) body shape.
- Sometimes manufacturers/designers have a more generous hip and thigh area. Experiment to find the manufacturers/designers that fit your body the best by trying on different pants.
- To determine the silhouette, look at the difference between the waist and hips. If there is little difference between the waist and hips then it has an angular silhouette. If the waist is smaller than the hips it might have a curved silhouette.
Plan a window shopping trip and try on many pants to find the designer/manufacturer that fits your body curves the best. Look at the difference between the waist and hips.
What did you learn on your shopping trip? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Wear Your Greatness!!
