Fall fashions look great on the lean and hungry. What do full-figured women do with fluffy fur, plaids, beefy knits, and shiny fabrics?
Wear 'em, says Joanna Arettam, contributing editor for OnlyReal.com, a new Web site for the plus-size woman.
She shows how to do it with good sense, adapting styles to complement a woman's shape.
"The simplest guideline is to put less fabric where there is the most of you," says Arettam.
If you're big on top, bypass the fuzzy angora sweater and get fall's soft look with a smoother knit such as cashmere or lamb's wool. If your weight is on the bottom, go ahead and wear herringbone or tweed, but keep the pattern small and the color a subtle tone-on-tone.
Keep your balance, she writes. If you must have that glazed leather mini, pair it with a sleek turtleneck and minimal accessories. Get the chunky sweater, but keep your trousers smooth and streamlined.
Wearing everything in a single color or in tonal variations is always slimming, she adds, especially if the color is dark or jewel-toned.
All that is good advice, and only part of the help available on OnlyReal.com, launched this spring for women who wear size 12 and up, which is about half the women in the country, according to OnlyReal.
OnlyReal is headed by Dan Hess, former lingerie buyer and marketing director for Macy's East. He said he is also the founder of Body & Soul, a former chain of plus-size lingerie stores.
Since the site opened, Hess said, it has received 30 to 40 e-mails a day from women who either want to say thanks or want to be plus-size models.
A spokeswoman for OnlyReal.com is Natalie Laughlin, a size 14 model for Wilhelmina Models who has appeared on billboards in Times Square as well as the cover of Mode magazine.
Arettam is a freelance fashion writer and author who lives in New York and writes under a pen name. Her articles have appeared in Glamour and New Woman, she said, adding that she's "on the cusp of plus size."
Larger women will appreciate Arettam's knowledge that all plus-size women are not shaped alike.
For example, if you're full-breasted, avoid fur collars, she said, but you can still indulge with fur trim on the cuffs.
If you're pear-shaped, fur collars, dramatic buttons, and double-breasted styles will be just the thing to draw attention to your upper half and balance your figure.
Here are some of her other tips:
Plaids: Wear them in small patterns, tonal combinations, or subdued plaids such as glen plaid. Or wear a scarf in a bold, bright plaid.
Gold and metallics: Burnished tones will look better than brilliant ones.
Leather: Choose the softest versions you can find. Unembellished leather and suede are flattering and won't go out of style.
Get the layered look with a lightweight pashmina.
close