So, you don’t quite have a perfect body?

No matter what how much you weigh, magazines and celebrities’ bodies are hard to come by. And not many of us wake up in the morning and say, “I want to look fat today!”

So, as we all have 'challenge' areas of our bodies which we wish to minimise, we must learn The Art of Optical Illusion; that is, learning to camouflage and, most importantly, to accentuate the natural assets which we do have. Legendary designer Coco Channel could have not said it better: “fashion is architecture; it is a matter of proportion”. 

Now quickly get a piece of paper and describe four areas of your body.

What areas did you write down? Were they your positives or were they your negatives? Some of us are not too aware of our good looks or attributes, but boy are we aware of our defects!

The art of optical illusion is about learning how to dress for your body proportions so you first need to know the shape of your body, before learning how to accentuate what nature has given  you.

In general, there are some tricks and tips for men and women that you can use to dress 5 kilos thinner...

1. Accentuate the positives
What do you see as your best physical asset? You could do the brief exercise above and if you were only allowed to keep three features of your body, what would they be? Perhaps a flat stomach, nice butt, athletic legs, a large chest, good skin, handsome face, muscular arms? Learn how to accentuate those assets and camouflage those less flattering areas we all have.

Do you have a great waist? Work it by choosing trousers, a belt and a shirt that hug around it.

2. Inject Colour in your life
The right* colours are the quickest way to not only make you feel vibrant, but also reduce years off your complexion. The white of your eyes will stand out and eyes will sparkle, blemishes and imperfections tend to soften, and your face will look more vibrant, healthier and yes … younger.

For example, if you are a ‘Winter’ use your greys as your neutrals and wear a top in your complimentary yelllow to illuminate your complexion.

And let’s not forget that colour also affects your mood, body shape, your outlook in life and the impression you effect on others. Wear your complimentary colours near the face to draw the eye up with the rest of your body.

3.  Stay away from ill fitted clothing
(Disregard if you're hip hop). Both clothing extremes too tight and too loose have a negative effect and add kilos to your figure. The common mistake is that bigger clothes hide the most, when in reality, big clothes rob you of any shape, making you look like a trunk under a tent. Likely, wearing something too small for you can make you look a lot bigger than you actually are. Be brutal and always buy for the perfect fit.

Hide the love child? Buy pants with waistbands that cover across the belly, not above or below it to avoid those ‘roll over’ effects.

4.  Learn ‘The Art of Optical Illusion’
The general rule is to wear vertical lines on the parts of your body you wish to lengthen or narrow and horizontal lines on the parts you wish to widen or shorten. This applies to your patterns, seams, buttons, accessories, pockets and fabrics amongst many others.

For instance, if you wish to deflect attention from your hips, avoid wearing large sleeves or cuffs on your shirts. When your arms rest on your side they will bring attention to this area, creating a horizontal line and creating a wider illusion.

5. Flex, point and stretch your body
If you are not very tall, you can create the illusion of being longer by dressing the same colour, i.e. sticking to the same colour of pants, socks and shoes. 

Think about staying away from rounded toes; they can create a horizontal line at the end of your legs making them look stumpy.

We must not forget that every piece of clothing you put on your body is made up of four basic design elements: proportion, line, colour and texture. To look slim we need to make sure that all these elements are working in harmony with each other.

There are more tricks up our sleeves. This and so much more is covered on our website, or just email me.

*Complimentary Colour is the correct colour that your image consultancy has recommended, which compliments your undertone and natural features.