What to wear is the question on most women’s minds, even those who look great all the time. I see women look at mannequins to get ideas. Today you’re going to see mannequins in a whole new way. In fact all the posts this month will be on evaluating the clothes five different mannequins are wearing.
Since the holiday season has started you will be out and about purchasing holiday presents. Take a little time to look at what mannequins are wearing and determine which design lines and color/color combinations match your Body Elements. This way you can start developing your eye for knowing what works for you. As a result, you will know what to wear for your body.
This first mannequin is wearing an Alfani black and white houndstooth dress with a black cardigan sweater and gold round pendant necklace (Macys.com: Alfani Dress – Web ID 11271892; Alfani Cardigan – Web ID 11506564; Alfani Pendant – Web ID 10645834).
I’ll be dividing the section up into the five different Body Elements plus Scale Strategy:
- Body Shape
- Face Shape
- Color Skin Hair and Eyes
- Body Proportion
- Body Frame Size
- Scale Strategy
What To Wear For Body Shape
Body Shape gives you clues to the silhouette of the clothes and placement of horizontal and vertical lines. To review the different Body Shapes and the clues they give go to What Are Your Body Shape Clues.
The style of this dress is a classic shirtwaist dress with a full skirt. Based on the silhouette most body shapes can wear it. However the horizontal line placement of the belt at the waist will limit who can wear it.
The question you need to ask yourself is: “Do I want focus to go to my waist?” If you have an “O” (apple) Body Shape the answer is no. Also if you are carrying weight in this area the answer is also no. There are better places to bring attention to.
However, the placement of the cardigan’s hem and that of the sleeves might be perfect for you. If you carry any weight around your tummy this is a great length for you. The question is: where does it fall on you? This is when you try it on to determine if the horizontal line of the hem is actually right for you
Also the vertical lines the black cardigan creates can lessen the effect of the waist horizontal line. You would need to try on the outfit to make that determination. This style cardigan with other clothes might be great for you because of its vertical and horizontal line placements.
Finally look at the cardigan’s silhouette. It has an angular silhouette which is great for “H,” “O” and “V” Body Shapes.
What To Wear For Face Shape
Face Shape gives you clues as to the shape of:
- Inside design line detail
- Prints
- Accessories
To review the different Face Shapes and the clues they give go to How To Keep Your Feet From Resembling Olive Oyl’s Feet.
For inside line detail this dress has a shirt collar with points that are angular. The houndstooth print has an overall feel of an angular print. However it’s paired with a round pendant.
Strictly speaking the inside lines and print shape are for angular faces and the pendant is for curved faces.
If you have a curved face this outfit isn’t great for you. But the pendant is perfect.
If you have an angular face, but round pendants make you happy then wear the pendant on days you don’t need that extra boost of confidence.
I love poke-a-dots. I don’t know why; they just make me happy. I have a black and white poke-a-dot sheath dress with an A-line skirt. When I wear it I make sure all other design elements are perfect for my body elements and I wear it on days I don’t need that extra boost of confidence.
I have an angular Face Shape so the pointed collar and houndstooth print is perfect for me. However round necklaces don’t make me happy so it doesn’t work for me.
What To Wear For Color Skin Hair and Eyes
The color your skin hair and eyes gives you clues to:
- Colors in general
- Color combinations
- First clue to scale of prints and accessories
There are four posts explaining this Body Element and the clues it gives you. To review them go to:
This outfit is void of color so the question for you is whether black is a good neutral color. Not everyone can wear it. It can be overpowering. If you can wear it, the next evaluation is the color combination and more specifically the relative lightness and darkness. If your color contrast profile is high contrast then this combination is great for you.
With respect to the color of the pendant: is your best metal color gold? If it is, the color of the pendant is perfect for you.
If the shape of the pendant works for you but the color doesn’t, go to the fashion jewelry counter to find out if it comes in other metal colors. Many times it does.
For scale of print and pendant, go to the Scale Strategy section
What To Wear For Body Proportion
The clues Body Proportion give you are:
- Placement of horizontal and vertical lines
- Second clue to scale of prints and accessories
To review Body Proportion and the clues it gives you go to Body Proportions — Out Of Balance?
There are seven placements of horizontal lines on the mannequin:
- Pendent below the neck
- Collar at the shoulders
- Belt at the waist
- Cardigan sleeves at the waist
- Dress sleeve hems at the hips
- Hem of cardigan between the waist and crotch
- Hem of dress between the knees and floor
These are the questions you have to determine: are these placements of horizontal lines right for you? It all depends on your body proportions. Where are you long, same or short?
Remember don’t put horizontal lines in areas where you’re short, but do put them in areas where you’re long.
Most of these horizontal lines aren’t moveable. However if the cardigan sleeve hems aren’t in the right place for your body you can wear them scrunched. The dress hem can also be shortened if it’s too long for you.
If you’re short between your chin and bust and/or bust to waist, the vertical line of the cardigan can help that area look longer.
For scale of the print and pendent go to the Scale Strategy section below.
What To Wear For Body Frame Size
Body Frame Size gives you the third clue for scale of prints and accessories. To review this Body Element and the clues it gives you go to Body Frame Size — Bone Size Clue.
To determine if the houndstooth print and pendent scale is right for you go to the section below.
Scale Strategy
Scale Strategy is determined by bringing the scale clues from:
- Color Skin, Hair and Eyes
- Body Proportion
- Body Frame Size
To review or determine your Scale Strategy go to Scale Strategy — Bringing It Together
The houndstooth print scale range is medium to medium/large. For this print to work for you, your overall Scale Strategy needs to be the same.
The pendant is also in the medium to medium/large range. This scale could work for you if:
- Your overall Scale Strategy is medium to medium/large and your body proportion is the same between your chin and bust.
- Or your overall Scale Strategy is medium/small to medium and your body proportion is long between your chin and bust.
To know if the scale for the print and pendant is right for you ask yourself if you feel light or heavy when wearing it. If you feel light then it works. But if you feel heavy it doesn’t work.
To learn more about this tool of determining if you feel light or heavy go to Your Body Knows.
Summary
Dress
This Alfani houndstooth dress can be worn by most Body Shapes (with the exception of the “O” Body Shapes) as long as they don’t carry weight at the waist because of the belt. The houndstooth print and collar work best for angular Face Shapes. The length of the dress could be a problem for those with short legs; however the hem can be easily shortened if everything else works. Black and white color contrasts are for women who have a high contrast Color Contrast Profile. Finally this dress is great for women who can wear black. This dress also comes in red.
Cardigan
The Alfani cardigan has an angular silhouette. The placement of the horizontal lines works for a lot of women. The vertical lines down the front are great for those who are short between the chin and bust, and bust and waist. Also for those who are big busted or carry their weight at their tummies the front vertical lines work well. Finally black is great for those women who can wear black. This cardigan also comes in white.
Pendant
The Alfani pendant is round; therefore it has a curved shape. It’s great for curved Face Shapes. One can change the length of the pendant for those who need it longer or shorter. Finally this pendant is great for those who can wear gold metals. This pendant also comes in silver for those who only wear silver (Macys.com – Web ID 10645816).
The great thing about looking at mannequins for clothes ideas is you can educate yourself on design lines, their placement, colors and color combinations. Also you can educate yourself on determining if these design lines and colors are right for your Body Elements.
What did you learn today? Is this Alfani outfit right for you? Did you start seeing the horizontal and vertical line placements? Do you have any questions about the analysis? Please write in the comments below.
In next week’s post I will analyze an outfit with a Charter Club cashmere sweater and pants called What To Wear — Charter Club Cashmere Sweater With Pants.
Wear Your Greatness!!
