Dressing My Apple Body Shape: 7 Things I Wish I Knew Sooner

Don’t waste any more time wearing the wrong clothes for your body shape. Here are seven things I wish I knew sooner about how to dress my apple body shape.

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You know that one friend who can make a potato sack look good?

Well, I’m not that friend.

As an apple body shape, I have to try a little harder than my friends with different shapes. Okay, I have to try a lot harder.

And for years, I wasn’t dressing my body in flattering clothes. I thought I was doing everything right, but I still wasn’t happy with the way my clothes looked on me.

Fed up and frustrated, I decided that I was finally going to figure out how to dress my body.

I spent months observing how other people shaped like me dressed – in person, online, and on TV. I considered what I liked, what I didn’t like, and what I thought they should wear. Eventually, patterns emerged and I realized that what I should be wearing wasn’t what I was actually wearing.

So here are seven things that I wish I knew sooner about dressing my apple body shape.

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How To Dress the Apple Body Shape

Balance is key to dressing the apple body shape. Your goal is to balance your larger upper half (waist, shoulders, and bust) to make your body look more proportional.

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1. Wear Wide-Leg Pants and Jeans

I wore skinny jeans for years because my legs are the only skinny thing on my body (other than my feet and fingers). But I didn’t realize that skinny jeans made my waist and upper body appear larger, especially when paired with a loose top.

Wide-leg pants and jeans are better for apple body shapes because they balance the thicker waist and heavier top half of our bodies by adding volume on the bottom.

Wide-leg jeans are also great for apples because they don’t have to fit perfectly on our small bottoms and narrow hips. Because apples are thicker in the waist than they are in the butt and hips, skinny jeans and slim-fitting pants are often baggy on the butt and legs if they fit the waist. But wide-leg jeans are more forgiving because they aren’t supposed to be tight on the hips and bottom.

2. Wear Slim-Fitting Tops

Because I carry most of my extra weight in my stomach and back, I tried to hide it by wearing loose and oversized tops.

But all I did was make my top half appear larger, especially when I paired a loose top with skinny jeans.

Slim-fitting tops are best for apple body shapes when paired with a wide-leg bottom. This balances the body.

Slim doesn’t necessarily mean tight. It just means that the top fits closer to your body and is not super oversized.

Look for slim-fitting t-shirts, peplum tops, and tops with smocking or cinching at the waist. Try a French tuck (just tucked into the front) to define your waistline.

Shop Slim-Fitting Tops

3. Wear Shorts With a Longer Inseam and Looser Leg

It’s natural to want to show off your legs, especially when they’re the slimmest part of your body.

But short shorts make your waist and upper body appear wider, throwing off the balance of your silhouette.

The best shorts for the apple body shape have a longer inseam and hit about mid-thigh, elongating your body. They also have a medium-width leg opening, helping to balance your wider mid-section.

I’m 5’4″ and I prefer shorts with a 4″ inseam.

Shop Shorts

4. Add Necklaces

I’ve never been big into jewelry, so I didn’t realize how much of a difference they make for my body.

Necklaces create a “V” on your upper body, drawing the eye inward. They create an elongated line in the center of the body, which balances a wider upper body.

Shop Necklaces

5. Monochromatic Outfits are Slimming

Wearing one color in the same shade is my favorite styling trick for apple body shapes because it’s sleek and slimming.

A contrasting top and bottom (a white shirt with black pants, for example) breaks up the body and creates a line at the thickest part of an apple’s body – the waist.

If I’m not wearing a monochromatic outfit, I like to go all dark or all light. For example, I prefer to wear a black shirt with dark blue jeans, or a white shirt with light blue jeans.

6. High-Rise Is Your Friend

Many of the tips for apple body shapes say to wear mid-rise bottoms, so that’s what I did for years. But then I finally tried high-rise pants and they rocked my world.

High-waisted jeans and shorts cover and contain the extra weight apples carry in their stomachs. High-rise jeans sit at the smallest part of your waist and emphasize the narrowest part of your middle.

I’ve also found that high-rise pants don’t slide down as much as mid-rise pants do. High-rise pants hit at the smallest part of the waist, meaning that there’s something below (even if it’s just a stomach pooch) to hold them up. Mid-rise pants, however, hit at the widest part of your waist, so there’s nothing below (like hips) to keep them from sliding down.

7. Wear Non-Stretch or Heavier-Weight Stretch

I always bought super-stretchy jeans because I needed the stretch in the waistband to fit my stomach. But then I tried some rigid denim jeans and I realized they looked so much better.

Non-stretch denim or heavier-weight stretch denim is flattering for an apple body shape because it adds structure to your smaller bottom half.

Rigid jeans also skim along the stomach and create a flattering straight line down your belly. Super-stretchy jeans, on the other hand, cling to every lump and bump.

Wide-leg jeans are the best non-stretch style because they’re not supposed to fit tight to your body.

But if you just really can’t stand the idea of rigid denim, look for low-stretch jeans in a heavier weight that still provide structure to your lower body.

Final Thoughts on Dressing the Apple Body Shape

While I’ll never be the friend who can make a potato sack look good, I can be the friend whose clothes make her look good. It takes more effort, but it’s worth it.

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