10 Styling Tricks to Create a Sleek Outfit Every Time

Silvana Patrick
by Silvana Patrick
10 Minutes
Easy

As a stylist, I see many women making the same styling mistakes.


Here, I want to show you some tricks to fix these problems and create a lovely seek outfit. When it comes to defining body type, most people only take into consideration height and weight.


But we also need to consider our body proportion - which is the relationship between the upper and the lower body. Let's get started.


Using contrast to create balance

1. Use contrast to create balance

Contrast is using light and dark to create an overall balanced look. It is an essential styling technique that can be compared to highlighting and contouring with makeup.


Dark colors slim, elongate, and make certain things appear to be receded. Light, bright colors bring forward, amplify, and make things appear larger.


If you have a large bust and you're wearing a white top, it will make your whole upper body appear larger.


Instead go for solid, dark solid colors on your upper body.


This technique works brilliantly for ladies whose upper and lower body proportions are quite different from one another.

Using contrast to create balance

If you have a petite top half and wider hips, you should wear light colors at the top and dark at the bottom.

Using contrast to create balance

Here I’m wearing a simple t-shirt and pants. Because I am smaller at the top though, I should be wearing a light color on my top and dark at the bottom. 

Using contrast to create balance

2. Proportion

The proportion of the body is one of the most important things. While the contrast will create balance around the body shape, the proportion will create a balance between the upper and the lower body parts of your body.


The ratio between the upper and the lower body part should be roughly one-third to two-thirds. Here, I am elongating my torso by wearing a black top that is untucked.


Bear in mind that wherever the color breaks as that's where the eye catches.


So if it finishes at the widest part of your body, you will appear boxy and larger than you are, and that's exactly what we want to avoid. 

Proportion

To resolve this problem, I tucked in the top and belted the waist to make the ratio in balance and define the slimmest part of my body.


High-rise pants and skirts will make your legs appear longer than they are. I also swapped the shoes for pointed-toe heels, which again help to make my legs appear longer.


If you don’t have such a slim waist, the best thing to do is to wear dark solid colors and pieces that will follow your natural curves without being too tight or too loose.


Go for mid-weight fabrics, nothing that will add bulk or be too unforgiving.

Creating a long line

3. Create a long line

Another great tip is to wear a dark foundation and a long piece on top, such as a long blazer or a vest.


Something that will create a longer line. Avoid a crossbody bag as this can make the look busy and create a lot of volume around your body.

Wearing shoulder pads

4. Wear shoulder pads

For those who have narrow shoulders, wearing a little bit of padding will create more structure and make your shoulders appear more square.


This balances out the proportions between your hips and your shoulders.


By leaving the blazer open, you create a slimming vertical line, and rolling up these leaves makes your arms look longer.

Shapeless outfit

5. Avoid shapeless outfits

This oversized blazer makes me appear quite shapeless. The cropped pants with the flat shoes shorten my legs - the proportions are just way off.

Cinching the waist

6. Cinch the waist

Here, I’ve kept the blazer but paired it with full-length pants. I’ve also added a belt to cinch my waist and create some shape.

Fitted blazer

7. Go for a fitted blazer

On the other hand, you can wear the same pants but with a shorter and more fitted blazer and some heels. 

Cropped over long

8. Cropped over long

Another tip for making your figure appear elongated is to wear a long base with a cropped outerwear layer over the top.

Long over short

9. Long over short

If you're wearing a mini dress and you top it off with a long vest, that has a very elongating effect as well. 

Long over short

Using one of these techniques creates the illusion of a long line that is always slimming.


When you wear contrasting colors or prints, the eye is naturally drawn to the area where the two come together, which is typically your waistline.


This can be a good thing if you have a natural hourglass figure.

Monochrome look

10. Go for monochrome

If you want to elongate a boxy frame, dressing in one color is a simple way to lengthen your body by creating one sweeping look. Opt for pointed-toe shoes, as they help elongate your legs.


Sleek outfit ideas

Once you put into practice these basic styling techniques, you’ll be more in control of how you look.


These tips will help you learn how to camouflage your flaws and highlight your assets.


Which tip is your favorite? Let me know down below.

The author may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.

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