How to Dress if You Have Wide Hips

Most women aren't born with the super slim hips of a supermodel, but that doesn't mean you can't shrink your hips a bit with the clothing you choose. Even supermodels have to resort to tactics to hide less than perfect hips by adjusting the camera angle or altering what they wear. If you want to downplay your hips and call attention to your better features, try subtly changing the way you dress. Here are some ways to disguise large hips:

Emphasize your shoulders and upper body

Instead of lamenting how large your hips appear, use some stunning accessories to emphasize your head, neck and shoulders. Drape a colorful, silk scarf or put on a dramatic, handmade necklace to draw the eye upwards away from your large hips. Another way to emphasize your upper half is to wear a lighter or brighter color on top. A brightly colored silk or printed blouse is a nice way to play up the upper half of your body. Another strategy is to choose a top with small shoulder pads to give your hips balance.

Use color to de-emphasize your bottom half

To downplay wide hips, wear a darker color pant or skirt that's not too form fitting. Dark colors cause the hips to recede and appear less prominent. The good news is dark pants and skirts need to be dry cleaned less often and look elegant when worn for most occasions.

Choose the best fabrics for downplaying wide hips

Your choice of fabric can play in how wide your hips appear. Avoid fabrics that have a strong pattern, particularly horizontal stripes and loud, bright graphics, as well as fabrics that are billowy. Lightweight wools and linens are good all around fabric choices.

Choose the most flattering pant and skirt styles

To hide large hips, choose looser fitting trousers that have a moderate leg width. Extremely narrow leg widths may enhance the width of your hips and a wide width will make your legs appear shorter. Stay away from high-waisted pants or pants with cuffs. The ideal skirt for large hips is an a-line cut that starts at the waist and widens towards the hemline. These skirts tend to emphasize the waistline while disguising large hips.

The most flattering length for a skirt for the pear shaped woman is just below the knee.

Large hips don't have to detract from your overall appearance. By using simple fashion strategies to disguise large hips, you can sport a more streamlined physique.