If you have the apple body type, you are blessed with beautiful curves. Meanwhile, that also means finding the right skirt could be a challenge due to your little to no waist definition. In this detailed guide, we’ll first take a deep dive to understand your body features, and then guide you to find the best skirts for your shape.
MAIN CONSIDERATION
Skirts are a perfect style garment to give an apple-shaped woman’s less prominent lower body a volume boost. But you may be wondering what exactly you have to look for when it comes to choosing the right skirt for your figure.
Here are some important considerations you need to take note of.
Straight and Undefined Waist
This is the area where you need to put a little extra effort in because apple body shapes typically have a straight-looking waist with little to no definition. The waist lacks distinct curves as it blends into your thicker, rounded midsection.
You will need skirts that provide proper cinching to bring definition to your waist.
Narrow Hips
Your hips are naturally narrow and may appear less curvaceous and have a more subtle transition from the waistline. Your hip bones are less prominent and your hip area generally lacks the pronounced curves seen in other figures such as hourglass body shapes.
Since your hips are almost in identical width to your midsection, you’ll need skirts that can add a bit of depth to your hips.
Flat Buttocks
As the previous two features state, the lower half of your body lacks curves and prominence. This also means that your buttocks may significantly lack some curvature and volume, which makes them appear more straight or less rounded in shape.
Slim and Shapely Legs
What’s amazing about your lower body is that you generally have very nice slim legs. Whenever you gain weight, your legs are rarely affected so they are always slim and nicely shaped.
With your legs being one of your best features, finding a skirt that showcases the visuals of your legs can be very beneficial style-wise. You can show them off but choose the right skirt structure and length.
STRUCTURE
The right structure of the skirt will make a huge difference in balancing the visuals of your frame. The goal should be to add some depth and structure to your lower half while maintaining the leanness of your legs.
A-Line
A-Line skirts are universally flattering thanks to their ability to create a balanced silhouette. For apple body shapes, they balance your frame out by drawing attention away from your fuller midsection.
The structure of an A-Line skirt gradually widens from the waist down, skimming over the hips and thighs without clinging tightly. In addition to this, the gradual flare makes your waistline more apparent as it visually cinches your waist to accentuate it.
It’s ideal that you go for A-Line skirts in structured fabrics because this will give your lower body more depth and shape to balance out your more pronounced upper half.
Peplum
The timeless feminine charm of peplum skirts also offers a clever solution for balancing your apple figure by creating the illusion of a more defined waistline. This particular structure features a flared fabric or ruffles that is attached to the waistband just right around the hips.
This overskirt or flared fabric attachment adds volume and creates a visual break between the waist and hips to effectively camouflage the midsection while also defining the waist. This effect can help balance out your proportions to create the illusion of having an hourglass figure.
In addition to the fact that its structure tweaks the prominence of your hips, the flare of the peplum also adds movement and flow to the skirt to efficiently divert the attention away from the midsection.
Flowy
Flowy skirts are ideal for your apple body shape because the softness of their structure creates a relaxed silhouette that minimizes attention on the midsection. One example of this is spring skirts or beach skirts that have a loose, draping fabric that’s also very effective in drawing the eye away from the tummy area to give a more balanced look.
Since your body from the waist down lacks curves and definition, flowy skirts can help add volume to the lower body to bring more dimension to your frame. Not only do flowy skirts have amazing visual style benefits, but they also provide comfort and ease.
Asymmetrical Hem
The uneven hemline of asymmetrical skirts are not just fashionable and fun to style but are also quite helpful when it comes to balancing out the features of your apple-shaped frame. It draws attention away from your fuller and heavier midsection, which creates a distraction from any concerns in that area.
Moreover, the asymmetry of the hemline creates diagonal lines that help to break up the roundness of your waistline and therefore give the illusion of a more defined waist. The longer sides of the asymmetrical hemline can provide coverage for the thicker upper thighs while still exposing the slimmer part of your legs.
Full Circle
As typical apple shapes lack depth and prominence at the lower half region of the body, you’ll be needing an ample boost of volume to make your hips look more pronounced. This is where full circle skirts come in as this particular skirt structure is cut in a complete circle, which offers a generous silhouette and creates a beautiful drape that skims over the midsection without clinging too close to it.
This helps neutralize the focus on the tummy area, which tends to be heavier or bulkier for apple shapes. The volume and movement of the full circle skirt significantly add fullness to the lower half body to create the illusion of curves and a more defined waistline.
High-low
Just like asymmetrical hemline skirts, high-low skirts offer the same sense of visual dynamics that help create the illusion of curves on your apple silhouette. The difference is that this particular structure is short at the front exposing your knees and legs, and gradually goes longer at the back.
The way a high-low skirt is structured helps give you a more defined and proportionate shape by working around your problem areas like your undefined waist, heavier midsection, and narrow hips.
FIT
The fit of your skirt should be able to give you a streamlined and cohesive look by not looking too tight. Ideally, the right fit will feature a snug waistband to define your waistline and a slightly voluminous drapey fit from the waist down to conceal your problem areas.
Such a cut and structure will help minimize the bulge or heavier weight of your midsection, while also creating the illusion of curvier hips.
LENGTH
Mini
Your beautiful, slim legs are your apple shape’s defining glory so never hesitate to flaunt them! This is why mini skirts are a fantastic choice for your figure because they effectively divert attention from the midsection to have the gaze solely focus on the legs.
They are highly flattering and add an aesthetic appeal to the apple shape, especially during hotter seasons when you want to wear minimal clothing.
When choosing a mini skirt length, you may choose to expose as much of your legs as possible. However, it’s also very important to opt for ones that you’re comfortable with.
Knee-Length
If you’re not too comfortable with shorter skirt lengths, you can still showcase the natural beauty of your slim legs by going for knee-length skirts. Basically, skirts that hit right at the knee, or slightly lower, can still visually elongate and highlight your legs while still providing more coverage.
Of course, you have the freedom to go for skirts that feature longer cuts. Although ideally, it’s much better to choose certain lengths that still expose a part of your leg to prevent overwhelming your figure.
FABRIC
Structured
Since you’d want additional depth on the lower half of your body, most particularly the hips, the ability of structured fabrics to provide shape and definition to the silhouette can be highly beneficial. The structured fabric helps create a more balanced and proportionate look by adding structure to your entire ensemble.
In addition, structured fabrics can essentially hold their shape to prevent the skirt from clinging to the body and emphasizing any problem areas. This results in creating a smoother and more streamlined appearance by minimizing any concerns in the midsection.
Soft and Flowy
Going for structured fabrics is quite helpful, but that doesn’t mean that your apple shape can no longer embrace soft and flowy fabrics. Fabrics like georgette, soft cotton, and chiffon are good examples of such fabric materials as they feature a very relaxed fit.
Its forgiving silhouette significantly minimizes the emphasis on the midsection and the fluidity of the fabric can help camouflage any concerns in the tummy area, such as a muffin top.
STYLES TO AVOID
Bodycon
You wouldn’t want the lack of definition and size discrepancies of your lower body to be obvious, so you have to stay away from skirts that will make that more apparent. Bodycon skirts are specifically designed to be tight-fitting and this can very much emphasize the fuller midsection characteristic of your apple-shaped body.
They lack the ability to create a balanced silhouette as they do not provide the necessary volume or structure to visually neutralize the proportions of your figure. This will end up making you look disproportionate and top-heavy.
Tiered
You may think that tiered skirts are good for adding volume to your narrow hips. However, this structure features immense layers of fabric stacked on top of each other, which creates an overwhelming cascading effect.
Instead of providing a balanced and streamlined look for your apple figure, tiered skirts will only accentuate the width of the midsection and create an unflattering, boxy appearance. They may also make your apple-shaped body appear wider and disrupt your desired proportions.
Pencil
It is advisable to avoid pencil skirts as they may not be the best choice for your apple body shape because they can potentially disrupt the natural body shape. Their fitted, and shapeless design are tailored to be form-fitting around the waist and hips, blurring your lower body definition even more.
Pencil skirts pretty much have the same unflattering effect as bodycon skirts. They don’t give the right amount of depth and volume to bring balance to your frame.
Mermaid
Mermaid skirts are generally not considered the most suitable option for your figure because their structure doesn’t complement the size differences all over your body shape. Mermaid skirts feature a fitted silhouette that hugs the waist and hips tightly and therefore making the lack of curves around this area more obvious.
Due to the fitted nature of mermaid skirts, they also tend to draw attention to your heavier midsection area and accentuate your fuller waistline. This can create an unbalanced and disproportionate look due to the dramatic flare at the bottom emphasizing the width of the hips and thighs, further exaggerating the top-heavy appearance.
Bias
Bias skirts are particularly unflattering for apple shapes because of how they drape and conform around your midsection area. The diagonal cut and curve-hugging fit may end up highlighting your tummy bulge and making it look even bigger.
