Pattern placement makes or breaks

This post will challenge you to identify the best version of a printed garment for your colouring & body shape based on how a print is placed on that garment. 

When you buy high street, usually the print pattern is placed differently within a style & within a size.

Why? Because doing it this way they use less fabric instead of waiting for the pattern to repeat on the fabric roll before cutting more units.

Expensive garments can afford to use more fabric to place the pattern in a desired spot for each size within the style and even between sizes.

Pattern placement will affect where the eye goes when you are wearing the loot. That means it will affect whether you look taller, shorter, thinner, fatter etc. 

Does the eye go to your face? your waist? your arms? your hips? your legs? north- south? east-west? diagonally? where else?

What do you want to highlight? What do you want to hide? Does the pattern work with you on this or against you?

The colours near your face should be the best colours for your complexion. This one is not negotiable. Ever.

SIA has photographed 11 of these tops with a view to having you assess which is the best for you and which is the worst.

You don't have to like the top or its pattern to do this. 

If you want, do it imagining the print in your best colour, then in your worst colour. Also consider the background colour.  You also need to consider the pattern & its placement waist down. 

Don't worry about sleeve lengths, neckline widths, hem lengths or whether it's lop sided on the hanger. Just focus on the pattern placement of the front.  

The best way to handle this is to compare the first two. The winner is then compared to the next one on the list. The winner here is compared to the next one. And so on, until an ultimate winner is found. Then do the same to find your worst pattern.

The beauty of this is that there is no copping out. Because every print placement is unique, you cant say that they are the same. There has to be a winner & a loser.

This is really important stuff - if you want to be well dressed, it's in the 101 category. 

Meghan Markle in Karen Gee

It's no secret that in the past SIA has given fails to most of Meghan Markle's outfits. 

It's always the fit that goes wrong - she doesn't seem to have any alterations to her clothes, unlike Kate, Mary or Melania. 

The latest Karen Gee white dress is no exception. 

There are two big picture things wrong with the Karen Gee dress. And I haven't even started on the midi flatters no one. 

1st - a rectangle body shape will never find her best look in a straight up & down sheath. Even if it had a belt, the answer is the same. A rectangle body will look like a rectangle in a straight up & down sheath.

2nd - the fit is very poor.
It is rippling & bubbling all over at the slightest move she makes. That and/or she is wearing bad foundation garments. 

Personally I think that it is too big for her, but that's just a theory. 

In the past when her clothes haven't fitted her well, in a dark colour it's hard to notice. But in light shades like white - everything stands out. 

This is a big fail for SIA. 

It looks marginally better with the trenchcoat because the skinniness is hidden but when you have to cover up the figure, it's not the best pass in the world either. 

The back split

On another note, the dress is $1,800 being made with the Karen Gee Premium fabric. Fair enough. But the back split is edge to edge. These splits are quite easy to split. A better split would be the overlapping one. 

So what could have been better?

A dress that has interest at the top & the bottom, creating a waist. The interest can be with colour, print, a dark contrast, pattern, zips, buttons etc. A boatneck or a fit & flare style could have also detracted from her rectangle style. If she wanted a sheath, then a Roland Mouret style with curves & flounce would have been a big improvement. 

SIA cannot comprehend who dresses this woman. 

Georgie Gardner - flattering a rectangle body shape

Please note that this post is not about the presenter Georgie nor about the brands of the clothes she wears.

It's about how to flatter (or not flatter) a particular body shape with the lines and details of your clothes. 

Georgie is the model, not the object of the post.  

Georgie's body shape

Georgie Gardner has a rectangular body shape. Some may argue she is an hourglass & certainly that would be my second choice - but I believe she has too thick a torso compared to the rest of her body to be a true hourglass. 

I also have a feeling she has a broad upper body which adds to a chunky upper half. 

She also has a large head compared to her body & that makes the body stand out as a stick like shape. Think more rectangle. 

This picture #1 is a good one to start off with. Notice how the ruching/draping, the print & the necklace virtually disappear into the background. 

Add to it that it's a soft fabric and all you see is the column shape of the body because there is nothing in the dress that can alter that shape to anything else. She may as well be in a shift dress.  

#1

Next, take a dress with visible diagonal lines and an open neckline, #2. Both these aspects break the rectangle pattern & cause the eye to move side to side. 

Can you see the difference in how this flatters her better than the first photo?

#2

There is no photo #3.

The next two photos #4 & #5, are standard for Georgie. Soft blouses tucked into a dark bottom. 

In this case the soft blouses have a cape like horizontal ruffle which breaks some of the rectangle shape. However it creates almost a top heavy look, without necessarily having big boobs. 

Her upper body walks into the room before she does. The lower body looks boring. It may look nice to alot of people but it's no where near as nice as it could be. The eye doesnt travel upward to her face until late in the piece. The eye travels everywhere else first. That's not a good look. Can you see that? 

#4

#5

The next photo #6 is much better. 

Notice how the top/skirt are the same as before (different colour) but the necklace on the decolletage brings the eye upward immediately? That's what SIA calls good dressing. 

The boring bottom half isnt the focus, nor is her rectangle shape. I repeat, this is good dressing.  

#6

The next photo, #7, is similar to #6 but instead of a blouse, she is wearing a knit tee top & the necklace (or bring detail) sits much higher on the neckline. 

While the colour of #7 is better for her, the grabbiness of #7 shows up her rectangle shape and the breadth of the bling highlights her large head. 

#7

This next photo, #8 is the one which prompted SIA to write this blog. Normally diagonal draping like that is supposed to take the emphasis away from up & down bodies. But this one may be too big (?) and it looks like a sack of potatoes. 

It also looks too heavy in the hemline (it drags the eye down) - let's take it up say 1-2 cm. But the other tragic part is the covered upper body - there is no definition of any curves; its just a straight up & down sack. 

The lesson here is that basic knits really just follow the body at best. Unless they are cut well, if you dont have a waist, a knit will expose that because it doesnt have the body to create a waist for you. In this case, the cut isnt good enough to create a waist for Georgie (& the size may be wrong too). 

#8

Perhaps a solution is to take a woven dress which has its own shape? Witness #9. The break in the colour blue/black brings the eye upward, the indent at the waist gives her an hourglass.

The only crime here is the length. If you take that up by 5 cm, it will be gold. As it is, that large expanse of black swamps her bottom half.  

#9 

Have a look at #10. 
It's woven and has body - it retains its shape. But the black sections give her curves - a waist & hips and the white sections reduce the look of her broad upper body. 

In fact the upper body is broken up beautifully by this dress & the eye travels up to her face. This is what SIA calls good dressing. 

The only issue with this dress is the gold colour - it's not right for her but she is tanned (make up) & gorgeous, so it works. However in a better colour, it would work fantastically.  

#10

The next two photos, #11 & #12, show Georgie with a broken up decolletage. it's a much better look for her rectangle shape than when she wears a high plain neckline. 

#11

#12

Finally, look at some photos where she ditches the high neck line & exposes decolletage. Can you see how that work better to create more harmony with her look? 

#13

The next photo, #14 not only exposes decolletage but also exposes cleavage. SIA is not a fan of cleavage for her day job. 

#14

The next photo #15 looks like the same brand as #14 and is a disaster. Not only is it showing cleavage it looks too small and it makes her torso look like a tree trunk. She almost looks like a lolita. 

Dressing an apple shape - Camryn Manheim

SIA is having a girl crush on Camryn Manheim. 

Camryn is an apple shape in a plus size & she manages to look every so stylish because she knows how to dress for her shape.  

Her looks revolve around the following formula:

* basic neutrals (or strategic colour/print placement), 

* usually in knits or sheer wovens 

* with a flare from under the bust (empire bust)

* open necklines always (expose decolletage not cleavage)

* often bell sleeves to balance the bust

* often bracelet sleeves to expose the wrists

* fabulous jewellery/necklaces in fine layers - nothing chunky which bounces around the girls. 

Does anyone notice what she wears on the bottom? 

Usually black pants but it doesnt matter. 

She does it so well, that all the attention is on top, near her face. 

A line, vertical blocks of grey, covering the bum. 

Layering the jewellery over simple pieces. 

Another A line. The sheer sleeves & the
bell shape of the sleeves adds allure. 

More formula - sheer sleeves, open neck,
fitted boobs, floats over the hips. 

This is stunning & likely to be Max Mara. Open neck, sheer sleeves,
embroidery creates vertical lines, A line. Easy. 

An open blouse with ruffles helps to slim her front.
Three quarter sleeves add to the allure. 

This looks works in some ways & doesnt in others. It's way too long for her, swamping her.
The jeans are also way too wide. For a more feminine look, I would also swap the shoes for something with a low vamp. Otherwise not too bad for a non black boho look. 

Again, A line, bum covering, arm exposing, narrow pant legs but I would
substitute a shoe with a low vamp which exposes some of the foot.
Notice how to bright colour is limited to the front of the top - not making her look like a ten tonne tessie from a bright colour being wrapped around her torso. 

Notice the vertical lines on the lace pattern?
Also the band of lace that sits just under her bust
& emphasises that as the narrowest part of her torso.
This is how a "tent" top should work. 

Another gorgeous top - low cut, band under the bust & notice the
wide paisley band on the hem?
That helps to give it an A line shape which flatters her hips.
Also love the sheer sleeve panels. Sheer stops tops being too covering up. 

Another gorgeous empire line - but this one has an issue -
the section below the bust isnt long enough.
A one thirds to 2 thirds split is more attractive than the 1:1 of this top. 

More empire line, more layered necklaces, more flattery.

Another empire line - notice how this has a
vertical centre panel like it is a top & a cardi?
Great slimming vertical lines. 

This isnt an empire line (there is no seam under the bust) - but the way
the print is printed to reveal the white background is a terrific way of creating an A line.  

Pin tucks create a snug bust, floaty below the bust.
Bell sleeves add balance to a large top half. 

This top is magic.
Black upper minimises the bust, fanning into a print at her border.
Open neck as always. 

The age old trick of a scarf which isn't too bulky or wide sitting over the girls. 

This is one of the few I am not a fan of.
Why? The dark colours under her bust look
like they are sitting half on her bust & half off.
It seems to cut her off in the bust, looking too small in the cups.
I do however like the vertical dark lines flowing down the centre of the garment. 

Not a fan of short structured jackets like this on a plus size.
I would prefer clean lapels (ie: no lapels) and
that necklace doesnt work with such a heavy velvet fabric.
It may have been better of the top coming out from under the jacket was a bit floatier
& had a shape slightly different to the hemline of the jacket. 

This is gorgeous, showing you that structured can work on a plus size.
Longer line, clean lapels, contrast top.
Notice the cuffs are not too long?  Perfection. 

Another stunning business look. Probably from The Practice.
Probably expensive but stunning. The neckline, the cuffs. Perfection. 

This one has one big fail & that is that the grey band is not wide enough to
cover her breasts and highlight the
narrowest part of her torso immediately under the breasts.
Because the seam joining grey & black falls across her breasts,
the narrowest part of her torso is hidden. Not flattering. 

Love the way to necklaces are layered to mimic the scoop neck of the top.
This woman leaves nothing to chance. 

No one has fat shoulders. Expose one.
Simple. Easy. Why aren't you doing this?

Leave the neckline open, wear a cami underneath,
make it a print & all lumps
& bumps are hidden/covered. 

Low neck cardigans like this with one button done up always work well.
The shape has to be an A line, though - no straight up & down.
When you see one, grab it. 

Similar neckline cardi in a tie dye look. Perfect. 

Low neck, fitted bust, flare under the bust, bell sleeves,
sheer & vertical beading in your best metal.
It's a formula. Use it. 

This looks like a wrap knit, again fitted in the bust, open neckline. 

Floaty fabric & sheer sleeves. 

A wrap shirt (or dress) acts like an empire line as long as it starts
 to secure just under the bust & never  at the waist. 

The fitted A line knits she wears on Extant.

Do up one button or hook. & let the sides float outwards.
Never do up more than one button unless it's tailor made. 

Notice how she does the brocade outer up so only a small section is
coming together? Notice how that section is just under the bust?
Totally strategic. Totally works.  

Even though orange isnt her colour, the correct shade
of red in the jewellery & the lippy rocks this look. 

Please be really careful with high necklines. This is a pose &
anything looks good in a pose.
The reality may be a whole other story. 

This print is fattening. The only reason she remotely gets
away with it is b/c the pattern is printed in an empire line.
Very hard to find this in real life. 

Be careful with prints larger than the size of your fist - they can be fattening. 

When SIA grows up......