HOW TO GET THE FULLER FIGURE

Hey there! I have a little confession to make. Caught your attention now, didn't I? Anyway, let me go ahead with the confession of yester-years. As you know, I love fashion. I am one of those people that pride themselves as having a very good dress sense (notice I didn't say "good", I had to add "very good"). Well, I wasn't always that way. I was just OKAY when it came to dressing. For those who knew me, they'll tell you that I was a proper "tom-boy" back in the days. They would also tell you how very skinny I was, (I used to weigh 53 kilograms (approximately 116 pounds (lbs) at a height of 1.72 meters. In other words, I was underweight. That didn't seat well with me, my family (especially my parents) and my peers, (I used to be a source of ridicule amongst them in secondary school). If you understand the African mentality, then you already know why. However, for the benefit of those who do not, it's basically for two reasons; 1)because the African men preferred full-figured ladies to skinny ones and 2) it was believed that the fuller, the figure you had, the more money you had to feed, in other words, you weren't poor.

Canoe-shaped neckline

Round neckline

Embellishment on the top

As I grew up, I guess I accepted me for who I am, regardless of what people said. I decided to embrace whatever shape I had and flaunt it. I went about it the wrong for quite a while without realizing. To me, it was the "in thing". Later, down the road as I matured, I realized that I had to dress for my shape. I am not what you can call "very well endowed", (even though I dey try for my mind), but I preferred deep plunging neck lines, body-hugging tops and tight jeans (boot-leg though). It was a drastic change for anyone who knew me and I now understand their plight. Imagine moving from baggy jeans/joggers with big t-shirts, lumberjack guy shirts to tight, body-hugging clothes. Lol. Right now, I'm seriously wishing I had those photos in soft copy to share with you.

Turtle neck style or button-up

Square neckline

Sweetheart neckline and A-line pleated skirt

Now, I can say I am confident in myself. However, not everyone else is. It is for this reason I wrote on creating cleavages and I'm writing this one now. There are a few basic, very simple things that you need to note when it comes to dressing to create a fuller figure.

• This point is very important please! Just because you want to appear fuller, doesn't mean you should wear loose fitting clothes. (That is the conception of my parents, the looser the outfit, the more it hides your thin frame. Lol).
• You also don't need to wear smaller sized, very tight clothes, so you can show off how skinny you are (for those that like been thin). The key is MODERATION.
• Three major factors act to create a fuller figure for anyone, whether they are aware of it or not, include

1. Cover up: By this, I simply mean, cover up most part of your chest and bosom. You don't have the cleavage afterall, so there is nothing to flaunt. Wear clothes with a round, square, sweetheart or canoe neckline. A turtle-neck style is also good for cold seasons. It doesn't always have to be a t-shirt.
2. Buy tops that have embellishment like ruffles, beads/buttons, folds in front of it. Be careful with this though, too much embellishment may have the opposite effect. You can also try out artificial round neck collar accessories. (Those ones that look like mini bibs).
3. Create a waist: This is very important. It doesn't make you look straight. You can create a waist in these simply ways; firstly, by use of a belt. This is the easiest way , believe me. I can't tell you how many belts I own. Secondly, make sure the clothes you buy have darts in certain strategic places that makes the waist appear smaller. Lastly, the latest, is a trend that hit the markets last year. Dresses made with 2 different colors in vertical position with the middle portion already tailored to have a figure of 8.

1. This is the oldest in the book. Wear clothes with bold designs, be it graphical, flora or polka dots. Also clothes that have horizontal stripes. White is a color people complain about, but it can give your figure that extra boost.
2. Finally, for the bottom, use mostly A-line, flared skirts, skirts with pleats, fringes or ruffles. You can also wear straight or pencil skirts, but ensure that something is done about the top and waist. Use mostly straight cut or bootleg trousers or jeans. To me, skinny jeans should be used when a proportion of your bum is covered.

These may seem a bit much right now, but I can only say this. I changed my dress sense, and I started winning awards for best dressed. People have come to me severally to take them to the places I shop. i have no issues with that at all. Afterall, I can't buy all the clothes in the market and the retailers have to eat. But I always tell them this;

• It's not about where I shop, it's about what I shop for, and how I put them together. In other words, the cloth doesn't make the lady, the lady make the cloth.

Cheers.....