The petit supermodel Kate Moss is a great example of the body shape, The Brick. 
Bricks have a slight or no waist, longer legs, small bust and bottom, and usually have broad shoulders, rather thick thighs and calves. It means that your shoulder width is the same as your hip width, without any particularly prominent body area. Although! This shape can come in many sizes and for some the tummy is more prominent, which can lead to a square, masculine look. 
Bricks usually find it more difficult to be feminine than many other body types, but it is not impossible. Carefully chosen clothes can bring really good results.

The most important guidelines.
- Many Bricks try to cover up with baggy clothes, but this normally only makes things worse as loose garments just hang off the shoulders, emphasizing the whole brick like shape.
- The key to dressing well as a Brick is to either embrace the "androgynous look" (Wich is also fabulous). Or try to reduce the masculine elements in your shape as much as possible. 
- The bigger the belly the less of a waist, and gently draping jersey tops and empire lines are the best ways of creating an illusion of one. 
- Belts are also good tools, just make sure you place them in the most narrow part of you tummy. For Bricks that is often straight under the boobs.
- Pants should be in a material that follows the curves of the body. Too stiff material won't do anything for your shape.
- A boxy, unstructured top on a dropped-waist dress that snare the widest part of your thigh, is by far the worst mistake you can make. 

It might sound bad to have a bricklike body shape! But I'm just going to let the pictures of these very gorgeous Brick ladies speak for themselves, and hope you will be persuaded to seeing that there's nothing wrong with having a straight figure. 
It definitely has it's perks when it comes to fashion.
Don't be afraid to go a little over the top, because your frame can easily carry glamorous and bold styles that many women would not even be able to attempt. 

Other Bricks: Kim Cattrall and Jennifer Hudson.

(The 12 body shape and rules are mostly borrowed from Trinny and Susannah's Body Shape Bible. I have made some alterations. Photos in this post are borrowed from Google. Unknown source.)

Tomboys are cool!

Just as Kim Kardashian, you lucky Hourglass ladies have the curves that are the very essence of what makes a woman womanly. You have large boobs, a small and short waist, big hips and generous thighs. These extreme measurements can make it difficult to find clothes that fits nicely, as your breasts and hips can be a size large, and your waist a size small. 
With Hourglass ladies, its simply a case of realizing you have nothing to hide and to accentuate everything you have.

The most important guidelines.
- Classic lines and styles such as V neck knitwear and pencil skirts are your secret weapons. 
- Elastic material shapes to your body. You don't want your clothing being too wide in the waist and too small elsewhere.  
- Your big bosom and short waist can contribute to making your whole body look shorter and larger than it really is. So  
  make sure to wear clothes that "lift" your breasts, this will elongate you waist.
 - Think 50′s glamour and dare to show your curves! 
- Don't cover your body in bulky clothing. But if you do, make sure you know what you're doing. I know some Hourglass 
  ladies that rock that oversize look. Just never wear too loose-fitting clothes and never on more that one body part at a  
  time. Remember! The larger the curves, the more important to show your waist.
- Big decorations and excess fabric add volume, which you don't need. 
- "The Body Shape Bible", says that pants are difficult for Hourglass women and they suggest drapery wide legged pants as   
   the best alternative. But I love a pair of high-waisted skinny jeans on that tiny waist and nicely rounded bottom. Just look   
   at Marilyn Monroe and Scarlett Johansson. Leave the straight-figured to rock that runway look, because your attributes 
   are equally desirable. 

In my opinion, the only thing that's completely wrong for the Hourglass is to wear big and shapeless clothing, that covers your figure. The more you show of your fantastic body, the more flattering.  
Just to clarify, by showing your figure I mean figure hugging. Showing too much skin can easily become vulgar because of your dramatic curves. 

Other Hourglass ladies: Salma Hayek, Scarlett Johansson, and the great Marilyn Monroe.

(The 12 body shapes and rules are mostly borrowed from Trinny and Susannah's Body Shape Bible. I have made some alterations. Photos in this post are borrowed from Google. Unknown source.)


Curves rule!

Naomi Campbell, known for her amazing body, and the most famous Cornet of them all. 
Cornet's are the typical 90's supermodel body shape, also known as "the athletic figure", or "tom boy body". 
The shape resemble an upside down triangle, where the shoulders are borad, boobs are usually small, straight waist, slim hips and long, slender legs. 
Many Cornets struggle with looking masculin because of their borad shoulders and narrow hips, and there are many rules and guidelines to help you dress, to flatter, or change the appearance of your figure. But in my personal opinion it shouldn't be about hiding and changing. It should be about highlighting your best features. Yes, you might look more like an hourglass with the right dress, but it's better to make the best of what you got. After all you have the super model figure. 

The most important guidelines.
- Stay away from anything that will increase your shoulder width.
- Three-quarter sleeves or oversized arms will make you look masculin.
- The wide diamond-shaped neckline is great for reducing the broadness of your shoulders. 
- Break up your shape with bold patterns and unusual cuts, such as cropped pants and asymmetric lines. Think about creating angles. 
- Clothes that can be wrapped and draped around your angular body are especially forgiving. 
- Cornets have lovely legs, and skinny jeans were made for you. In fact they're better on you than any other shape. Be careful when wearing any other styles, too wide and you can lose your dramatic lines. 
- Your slim shapely legs need a slim, shapely heel. Chunky platforms are overwhelming on you. 

Not all Cornet's are as well balanced as Naomi and her colleagues. Some are even more exaggerated, some have shorter legs, and some have a muffin top. For these individuals the rules are even more important. 
You are an extreme shape and trying to disguise that will only make you look gawky and gangly, so flaunt what you've got. This might not always agree with your taste in clothes. But don't worry, there are ways to make some of the more difficult styles work for you. For example, if your body type says you can't wear shoulder pads, it is possible to balance out your shoulder width, with the help of a flared skirt and so on. The trick is to find pieces that show of your lovely legs, creates a waist, and widens your hips. NB! This is just for people with a good understanding of shape and an eye for details. 
Not all trends are for everyone. Just keep in mind that you can get away with stuff many only dream about. 
Have fun with what you wear, and experiment.

Other Cornets: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Garner and Amanda Seyfried.

(The 12 body shapes and rules are mostly borrowed from Trinny and Susannah's Body Shape Bible. I have made some alterations. Photos in this post are borrowed from Google. Unknown source.)

You can't decide if you are slim or curvy, because you're both. You know you are bottom heavy, and you might have considered yourself as being a pear shape, but you don't have the saddlebags and the big bum. 
The Skittle is characterized by a long slender upper body which gets wider at the middle, and carry most of their weight around the thighs. The top half is in good proportion, but you've probably had some issues with trying to cover up your lower half over the years. The shape is characterized by average boobs, slim waist, ok tummy, big thighs and chunky calves
I know what you're thinking! Halle Berry doesn't have to cover up anything. 
Although she might be the fittest Skittle I have ever seen and looks good in almost everything, there are still some looks that flatter her more than others. It is only when she breaks the most important "rules", you recognize that she is indeed a Skittle.

When a Skittle gets out of shape, the first thing to go are the thighs, thus creating the upper and lower thigh "bumpy parts". (I wish we could all find our cellulites and wobbly bits attractive, but I'm afraid society is not quite there yet). 
Being a Skittle myself, I find it best to focus on what flatters my body type. Such as, how to accentuate the positives and try not to pull attention to the unflattering bits, instead of covering them up. 
With the right information, you have the power to decide what is right for you.

The most important guidelines.
- Pants and skirts that hang from your bum to the floor will ease the pounds off your thighs, and A-line skirts are especially good for Skittles. 
- Many advice Skittles to NEVER wear skinny jeans and to cover their larger lower half. 
(I feel that there is nothing wrong with a little bottom-heavy curves. In fact, thanx to J'Lo and Beyonce it has become desierable. Yes, you might look thinner wearing wide-leg pants, but that is a matter of taste).
- Pencil skirts show of your upper outer thigh bump, making your hips look square.
- Cropped pants will shorten your legs and increase the size of your thighs. 
- Anything above the knee will lead the eye straight to your thighs or make them look bigger than they are.
 (If needed, I wear stockings to give them a more firm look, seeing as I like big thighs. Again, it's a matter of taste). 
- Wearing a long turtleneck sweater and too short pants is possibly the biggest mistake you can make.
- Fitted tops show off that lovely small waist, so just focus on how your upper body looks great in almost everything.

"We are not all cut from the same cloth", so there will be some individual variations. For those uf us who simply prefer figure hugging clothes, we need to change the rules a bit (Personally, I feel wide pants make me look like a "small giant" and prefer to accentuate that I'm in fact tall, not big). Luckily, there are some tricks you can use to make the wrong look right, and that involves being extra thought on the other rules. Or for the more advanced, you can create a silhouette illusion. 
For example, when wearing tight pants or skirts, keep your bottom half away from light colors and shiny materials, make sure to wear a forgiving top and that the hemline doesn't cut your figure in the widest parts. 

For any skittle no matter the height or weight, you should avoid going overboard by trying to cover your whole body with baggy shapeless clothes. Try not to neglect your shapely arms, tiny waist and defined ankles. You don’t need to hide yourself! It's all about creating balance and giving your curves soft transitions.  

Other Skittles: Meryl Streep, and myself. And as you can see in both of my pictures, it's a thigh situation. 

(The 12 body shapes and rules are mostly borrowed from Trinny and Susannah's Body Shape Bible. I have made some alterations. Photos in this post are borrowed from Google. Unknown source.)

Strong legs rock! 

My Tea decided to remind me of one of my mottos today. 

Beauty is about looking healthy and wearing clothes is about comfort, social standards, basic need and self-expression. 
Since appearance unfortunately does matter (At least at first impression) you are sending a message to others about who you are, through the way you look. If you want to meet new people or get ahead at work, you don't want to look unapproachable or send the wrong message. The best course of action would be to figure out what you want to signalize and combine that with looking healthy. Dress for success!
If you're too busy or just don't care about appearance and fashion, at least don't pull yourself down by wearing the wrong things (I'm not saying you aren't good enough the way you are. But since it's not socially acceptable being in the nude everywhere we go, we must put clothes on. Why not make the best of it?). 
For starters, light or no makeup, a ponytail, jeans, simple top, or a comfy dress, is far better than the wrong makeup, unflattering hairstyles, and too large, too small or ill-fitted clothing.  
If you take the time to figure out what works for you, it will be a lot easier to feel good about the way you look on an everyday basis. 

The biggest fashion mistake we make is trying to look like someone else, so choose your subject of inspiration carefully. People come in so many shapes, sizes and colors, and what looks good on one may fail miserably on another. 
Looking back, I have definitely made some errors. For example, I thought I could pull of the "tiny and cute" look (As I've mentioned before, I'm 6 feet / 182 cm and have been for a while), and there was a baggy pants faze, which was even worse. 
Luckily, my clever cousin gave me a book called "The Body Shape Bible", and I came to realize that there was nothing wrong with my figure - I only needed to dress to flatter my shape. Knowing your fashion is not always enough to do it justice.
The authors of "The Body Shape Bible" (Trinny and Susannah. A pair of british stylist's) has divided our figures into 12 body types. Straight figures: The Column, Brick, and Cornet, The top heavy: Lollipop, Goblet, and Apple, The bottom heavy: Pear, Skittle, and Bell, and The curvy: Hourglass, Vase and Cello.

In my previous post about "Body Image", I wrote some guidelines. I will repeat them again.
Step 1. Who am I, what style do I like? 
Step 2. What flatters my figure, looks, and colors? (This is where the 12 Body Types, face shape and color rules come in).
Step 3. Make step 1 and 2 work together and for you.  
To better achieve the desired results, you should know that: 
- If you are petit, large prints will make you look even smaller, and small pattern make the large, larger. 
- Dark colors are slimming and shiny material, light and bright colors draw attention to the area and make it look larger. 
- A hat can emphasize height, by making the short look shorter and vice versa. 
- A cut, belt, or a hemline can broaden or slim the targeted area.
- Details like flowers, bows and pockets will draw attention to the spot.
​
Figure out what your like, use the rules as guidelines, and edit until you find a way to make the style look good on you. 
There will always be new trends, but they might not all be for you. If you find your best look, you can still apply elements of these trends to better suit you. 
Nonetheless, it is important to stay true to yourself. There's a difference between taking pride in your appearance, and feeling like you have to hide what sets you appart from the rest to fit in. Dressing to flatter your shape can make you feel good/better about yourself, but do it because you enjoy it and not because of outside pressure. 
Last but not least! The most attractive thing you can ever wear is confidence and empathy.

There will be more about the different body shape's, how to dress, personal style and colors later.
(The images of all the pretty ladies in this post are borrowed from Google. Unknown source.)

Body image. We all know what I'm talking about. In the media, in school, going out to clubs, even at work appearance matters. 
When I asked my mother if she remembered at what age her hair went gray, she didn't know, because she didn't pay attention to it. Times have changed. 
These days both men and women are expected to look fit and young, as well as being successful, popular, having a family, hobbies, travel and all that. Good looking, fit people, even get better jobs and higher salaries. Thus leaving a bunch of people stressed out with low self-esteem. I won't get into all that, because we've heard it all before. It's everywhere. 

We're complaining about the pressure and I've realized that I too, no matter how hard I fight it, sometimes become one of the "followers". Only a few lucky ones are completely oblivious to the pressure. Naturally, it is a human trait wanting to fit in and be liked. For example, look at Tyra Banks. A magazine posted some "unflattering" photos of her, claiming she was overweight. She argued she was merely curvy and natural. Non the less, only a few months later she lost a lot of weight. Lady Gaga was mocked for gaining weight after surgery. She couldn't exercise, it's natural. And then there are headlines like, "monster face", when a celebrity show signs of aging. Oh! and also, the "monster face", when they try to fix it. It's quite sad actually. People are being bullied for not looking the way others expect them to. Ops! I got into it. 

It has gotten better though! There has been an entire revolution where "plus size" women become super models or get their own TV show, women of color win Top Model, freckles and gap between teeth considered trendy and beautiful. 
This is why I love fashion. Fashion is about pushing limits, getting reactions, making you think. It's commercial art.
The fashion industry may embrace the different in an extreme manner, but acceptance is acceptance and change has to start somewhere. 

Full figure, fit, skinny, short, tall, dark skin, pale skin, big nose, thin lips. Beauty is symmetry, yet it is the quirk, differences and personality that gives a person charm, without it we are merely copies of each other (Boring!). And wouldn't it be great if we just celebrated being unique?
The point is, that we're all born with different attributes. Some can never be thin, some can't put on weight, your nose is your nose. It's metabolism and the rest of that genetic predisposition stuff. 
I have accepted most of my "flaws" and realized many of them were strengths. Don't spend too much time wanting what you can't have instead of owning your quirks. 
That's where you'll find strength and confidence, both on the inside as well as the outside, and confidence is what's truly attractive. To quote Lady Gaga: -"Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way".

(All the photos of the beautiful people in this post are random pictures from Tumbler or borrowed from Google. 
Unknown source. Except for Kate Moss for Calvin Klein underwear, obviously).

I love fashion, things that are a little different, creative and beautiful, and as many other creative souls I have a tendency to "feel" what I want to wear, instead of just throwing something on. 
"I feel like being a superhero today! How can I make that work with what I've got, without it looking like a halloween costume?" You just want that feeling, not the spandex and the cape. 
Being a perfectionist, I'm not finished before I get that feeling of satisfaction, thus resulting in a lot of "involuntary" tardiness. 
My fabulous sister (also being too creative for her own good) used to be late, making her outfit before school. True story! 
In reality, we don't have time for that. So as a person who hates being late I wanted to better myself and find a solution where I could be efficient, without totally diminishing the joy I get from "playing" dress-up and feeling confident in what I wear (People whom are always late are annoying. Also a true story!). 

Getting to the point. I love uniforms! They look awesome, they're "comfy", make you look great and you always know what to wear. So I decided to create my own "uniform". 
For starters, everyone should dress how they feel, or want to feel. With some guidelines off course. 
Step 1. Who am I, what style do I like? 
Step 2. What flatters my shape, looks, and colors?
Step 3. Make step 1 and 2 work together and for you. 
It's all about figuring out who you are, what you like, and edit until you find a way to make that style look good on you. 

You should go with your most flattering, but still appropriate color. For me it's black, which is also my favorite (Altho it's not actually a color, but merely the result of absence of, or complete absorption of light). You can't go wrong with black (Except for at weddings...), it's stylish, slimming and respectful. Other safe base colors for non flashy people are: Different shades of gray, navy blue, army green, black and white, jeans blue, brown, and so on. But please, be colorful if you're the type. 
I like my clothes to feel comfy, look edgy, but classy and laid back, with a hint of either tribal or futurism. 
Being Norwegian, our weather does not exactly scream dress and heals, so I had a hard time figuring out how to make it work. But when I found the perfect shoes, cardigan, and that super elastic skinny jeans trend emerged, my life got a little easier. I'm too curvy to fit into regular jeans comfortably and they don't flatter my figure. Anyway, It's so much quicker getting dressed wearing pants. All I need to decide is which top to wear, instead of an entire outfit. It used to be more like….what shoes, wich dress, what? …AAARrggg! I'm late.

Now, I throw my jeans on, a cardiblazer (Cardigan blazer hybrid), fitted but forgiving quality top (Also in black for the sake of safe), a signature accessory (In my case a dog tag with my name and information), shiny Dr.Martens (Comfy and pretty. Even wear them with dresses), sunglasses (So I can get away with no makeup on extra stressful days) 
Yes, it can get boring, but it's better getting dressed for life, than spending your life getting dressed. On days where I have the time, but can't be bothered, I flash it up with a statement top, bold accessories and a hairdo.

Your uniform don't have to be pants, or black, or minimalistic. It just needs to be flattering and appropriate for most occasions, such as work, hangout with friends, shopping, going out and so on. 
Be unique, but more important, be yourself. If you must, let your freak flag fly!

(There will be more about body shape, personal style and colors later.)

What's your uniform?

My new years resolution this year was to think QUALITY over QUANTITY. 
A break through moment for me, was discovering my roommate's perfect wardrobe. Observing her always finishing the look with a nice blazer, cardigan, et cetera..., while I always ended up throwing on a black unattractive cardigan over my otherwise well thought trough outfit, made me think. She spends more on clothes, but yet she has less clothes than I do. Also, she always have something fitting to wear. Hmmmm...?
After some revising of my habits, I learned that I might be shopping too economically- so much that I end up buying the cheap version of the item I actually wanted or needed. This habit lead me to being the kind of person that have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. I own five black dresses, that I wear at best once a year because they're either too short (being 6 feet, that's a shopping mistake I often make), the material too thin, or in a style I'm not that into. At the price of five dresses, I could have bought one really great black dress, in good quality, that fits perfectly, that I can wear everywhere and use frequently.
I try to learn from my mistakes, so this year when I needed a basic outfit update, I went all out and bought a great pair of quality black skinny jeans, real Dr.Martens (not the copy), and the perfect cardigan (that I almost didn't buy because it costed £40. Old habits die hard). Now, I wear those pieces almost eeeevery day, I love it, I feel great in it, it's cool, it fits great, and it keeps the "new look" for a remarkably long time. Quality saves money and the environment, people. 

So, in the spirit of having clothes that I actually feel like wearing, I cleaned out my closet, and gave nine bags of clothes to charity. More room to see what I have, with a side dish of a good conscience. I had a friend help me, got real tough about it and even got rid of the clothes that I actually like, but is either too short, not my shape, not my color, or in fact I never wear it because It's not me anymore. From now on I will have to try to buy stuff that I can actually wear.
​
Today, these three items (see photo above) are going to a friend's closet, where they will have a much better purpose than just filling up mine.  
Conclusively, it costs more to buy cheap at times. In the time of consumerism, child labour, underpaid third world workers and global warming, I feel it is my duty to think about my responsibilities as a consumer.
Because it ultimately effects others. 


Photo: Dress 1: Too short, dress 2: Not my color, Jacket: Not my shape.