Horizontal stripes do not necessarily make you look fat

Horizontal stripes do not necessarily make you look fat.

Repeat after me.

Horizontal stripes do not necessarily make you look fat.

Does this women (Debra Messing) look fat in her Ralph Lauren Collection bumble bee dress?



Of course not.

So repeat after me.

Horizontal stripes do not necessarily make you look fat.


How does this work?

The key to horizontal stripes not making you look fat is for the garment to have them in such a way that the eye moves vertically when you do the blink test.

The eye will move in different ways depending on colour, width, placement of stripes & the cut of the garment. Obviously the fit of the garment has an impact as well.


The blink test

The blink test will help you determine the impact of an item & whether it's positive or negative. I have done a previous blog post on the blink test.

Here's how it goes -

Close your eyes, facing the mirror, wearing the item.

Keep them closed for 5 seconds (this is important to clear your head of other thoughts & pictures).

Then open your eyes, staring at yourself in the mirror.

In that first 2 seconds, what's the first thing you notice?


Recommendations

It is recommended that you:

Buy the item if your answer is something like: your face, any positive body part especially if its above the waist and upwards

Be wary of buying the item if your answer is something like: you belly, you hips, your thighs or any negative body part (especially if its below the waist) or downwards.

So lets try a variation of a bumble bee gown....

Have a look at this photo of Debra Messing (again) in a Ralph Lauren Collection semi bumble bee dress?


Is this dress as effective in fat reduction as the first dress?



No, definitely not - the few black stripes dont produce enough of a column - instead they create a bit of an east west feel.




Here is a Stella McCartney AW 2010 piece - not a sign of east west - it has a mini column look.



FYI, Worn by super model Natalia




In contrast, the below piece from the same collection, IMO does have an east-west movement (even on a skinnie minnie model) Its the same width of stripes, but the cut emphasises east-west at her hips.




Conclusion

I use this test all the time (& sales assistants either look at me funny or keep their distance, knowing that they cant "sell" to me).

Its a double check of whether I am spending my hard earned money wisely - after all, if an item passes the blink test, its more like to end up on your back more than your wardrobe and hence CPW (cost per wear) will going down. How cool is that?