Learn more about how fabric prints affect the visual perception of your body proportions. Discover what the things worth paying attention to are, while choosing among clothes made for people of average height and what the "alteration friendly" prints may look like.
Have you ever wondered why some outfits suit you perfectly, while the others with seemingly the same cut just don’t look right on you? For instance, some skirts or pants tend to "cut" your silhouette, whereas others create a beautifully layered look.
One of the reasons why it may happen is directly related to the fabric prints of the clothes. Every type of print will interact differently with a particular pattern and your specific body type. In fact, you may rely on some fabric prints in highlighting the natural beauty of your proportions.
Most of clothes you can buy are initially made for people of average height. Obviously their design takes in consideration their specific body proportions. For example, you can often see those larger floral or geometrical prints looking fantastic on a taller models, because optically they need a longer skirt or dress to make an outfit look great.
Such kind of clothes is truly beautiful, but unfortunately won’t make the same impression after some length alteration. It is a question of a scale and a little bit of an optical trick.
Fortunately, you have your best prints that will make you look stunning, you just have to get to know them!
While looking for the right outfit with the right print may be a hassle, here below are some of my tips for making it easier. Those are also the guidelines that I personally follow at Cangiante when creating clothes for Little People. Every aspect is important, and the choice of fabrics remains at the core of my design process.
Floral and geometric prints
Choose those which are rather smaller and more uniformly spaced on a fabric's background. Little daisies or dots drawn on a lightly colored background will visually unify the outfit without drawing attention to its different parts. Big prints are eye catchers indeed, but they do not work well for smaller pieces of clothes. Take advantage of the unifying effect of smaller prints instead.
Striped fabrics
Opt for thin vertical strips instead of thick horizontal ones, as they instantly make you look slender.
Accentuate the top piece
Printed fabrics catch the attention first when worn alongside the plain ones. They also look more lightweight. Use them for your top pieces to balance easily the entire outfit.
Unifying plain colors
Wearing one plain color blends your proportions, as they are not separated in blocks of different colors. A white shirt and cream pants worn together would give your silhouette a more balanced look. It’s something you could not achieve while associating two bright plain colors. This principle works also well for the shades of colors belonging to the same color palette. You can jazz up your monochrome outfit by adding some color accent here and there, but keeping one main color helps structure the outfit perception.
Fortunately, today the fabric designers offer a wide range of prints that could suit perfectly each and every body type, you just have to find yours!
I hope these pieces of advice will be helpful for your next shopping experience!