‹#›

40+Style

The complete guide for dressing the

pear body shape

‹›

Welcome to this special guide by 40plusstyle.com where we celebrate style and beauty of women over 40 and 40plusstylecourses.com where we teach you how to get more style.

My name is Sylvia, creator of both sites and I believe that we should have FUN with style & fashion.

I feel that personal style advances as we age as we become ever more aware of what suits our personality, our body and our life. I also believe in personal style that is unique to YOU. I feel that when you find the style that suits you, you will feel happier and more confident living your life.

I know that many of you struggle with dressing your unique body so this guide is for you. It will give you some Hps and tricks that make dressing your body type easier, so you feel happier and more confident!

Please note that these are guidelines only and you can break them as you please!

Enjoy this special guide!

2

‹›

the complete guide for dressing the pear

body shape

3

‹›

First, Determine which body shape you are

4

Determine which body shape you are

T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l t y p e s :

Let’s have a look at 5 basic female body

shapes. There are several ways to define your

body shape.

•Hourglass

•Inverted triangle

•Pear (also called triangle or spoon)

•Rectangle (also called ruler or banana)

•Apple (also called cone or downwards

triangle)

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f P e a r s h a p e• Your hips are wider than your shoulder • Fat tends to accumulate on your thighs and sometimes the

buttocks

• You tend to have an elongated waist and the legs tend to be shorter in comparison to the rest of your body

• You have a defined waist5

Determining your body shape with measurements:

If you know the measurements of your bust, waist and hips you

can also use this online calculator which will give you a general idea.

Please note that we are all different and the 5 mentioned shapes

above are just the 5 basic shapes. For example when I changed my

bust size with just 1 cm, I got different results.

However, most of us will be leaning towards one of these basic

shapes but only few of us will be exactly one of the 5 body shapes

mentioned.

6

‹›

How to dress the Pear shape body

type

7

How to dress the pear body typeK N O W I N G Y O U R B O D Y T Y P E

The aim of dressing for your body type is to achieve a flattering

look that accentuates your strengths or the parts you wish to

highlight. In general you will want to achieve a nice hourglass

shape.

In order to achieve that you will:

• Accentuate the shoulders,

• Draw attention to your upper body and waist

• and Elongate the legs.

Please note that these are general guidelines as every body is

different. Always experiment with your unique shape and see

what works for you.8

Guidelines for the pear body shape

• Since your hips are a lot wider than your

shoulders you want to emphasize the shoulders

and widen them. So it’s actually good for pears

when shoulder pads are back in fashion!

• Puffy shoulders will work too. Always make sure

that the shoulders are properly fitted.

• To give the impression of longer legs and a shorter

torso you can wear a few layered tops with one

very short, like a short jacket. This will break up

your elongated torso and give the illusion of

longer legs.

10

Guidelines for the pear body shape

• Wear trousers that are not too tight or light. Boot leg trousers

are very good for pears.

• Wear something catchy on top. Either a catchy colour or some

nice detail on your top.

• Breast pockets, big collars or a pattern are also good.

• Horizontal stripes help to widen your upper body to bring it

more into balance with your hips as do (subtle) shoulder pads

• It’s best that your tops and jackets end either above or below

the widest point of your hips and bottom

11

• Use accessories to further emphasize your top half like necklaces and scarves.

• Waist belts may look good on you as they emphasize

your small waist.

• You will look best if your trousers or skirt are the darkest part of your outfit.

• Wear structured A shaped coats of knee length. A

great coat for you is the trench. Make sure you get one with lots of details on top (like lapels on shoulders) and plain from the waist down

12

Guidelines for the pear body shape

• Wear a good bra.

• A line dresses will always look good on you.

• Dresses with defined shoulders and a good a line are

particularly good.

• V line tops will draw further attention to your upper half

• High boots are very flattering for your legs

• Wear medium to chunky heals with a bit of height to

further elongate the legs.

13

Guidelines for the pear body shape

‹›

which pieces should a pear body

shape avoid?

14

What not to wear• Skinny jeans (can be worn with some tunics or A line long tops)

• Pencil or straight skirts

• Very short skirts

• Tops with narrow shoulder lines

• Pleats and pants with a lot of detailing

• Too delicate footwear and kitten heels may look too dainty on

your legs

• Be careful with shoes with ankle straps and booties as they will

shorten your legs15

These guidelines are not set in stone - rules are meant to be broken!

‹›

an example of a capsule wardrobe

for the pear shape

16

what is a capsule wardrobe?

17

A capsule wardrobe is a a set of clothes that mix and match well together.

You can create your whole wardrobe as a capsule or create capsules for particular functions, for example work, casual, sport or even colors, for example a yellow capsule.

Creating capsules within your wardrobe gives you multiple ways to wear several items and will create a lot more variety with fewer clothes.

You will find the pieces of your capsule in the following pages.

Different types of tops

18

Flattering pants

19

SKIRTS THAT END AT THE KNEE

20

the best dresses

21

THE BEST JACKETS FOR YOUR SHAPE

22

SHOES & other accessoriesWear medium to chunky heals with a bit of height to further elongate the legs. I also recommend nude or neutral shoes that will show a bit more skin and blend in with a look (a more monochromatic bottom).

Use accessories to further emphasize the top like necklaces and scarves. Waist belts may look good on you as they emphasize your small waist.

You can also draw attention towards the upper body by selecting earrings, sunglasses, and other accessories that draw visual interest.

Don’t carry your bags on your hips but rather shoes smaller bags or carry them in your hand.

23

24

capsule wardrobe outfits 1-3

25

capsule wardrobe outfits 4-6

26

capsule wardrobe outfits 7-9

27

happy styling!

Now go and create your own capsule!

If you like you can show your outfits in our private Facebook group and get feedback from our wonderful community of women!

28

Do you want to discover your unique style and learn how you can create the most fabulous and flattering outfits every single time?

If you like more help finding or finetuning your style in a fun and structured way, you will love our style course: 21 Steps to a More Stylish You. This course will also look at other key style elements such as hairstyle and makeup.

Our second course Accessorise Me Confident & BeauBful is the ulHmate course on accessorising and taking your outfits to a new level. Discover that you don’t need a lot of clothes to look amazing every single day, using the power of accessories!

29

Happy styling and have FUN with fashion!

I hope you enjoyed this guide and that you will put it to good use!

I’d love to connect with you at the site, our courses or one of the social media channels below.

Find me at 40PlusStyle.com, 40PlusStyleCourses.com, Instagram, Facebook, TwiRer or Pinterest!