Having an hourglass body shape means you are blessed with beautiful curves, but if you are overweight, you may feel frustrated at times to find the right styles for your shape. The key to flattering a chubby hourglass is to only wear clothes that highlight your best assets and camouflage your weaknesses, which we will go into great detail. But first, let’s first understand your body’s unique traits!
Typical characteristics
The overweight hourglass has the following features:
- Well-defined waist
- Waist can be small
- Slightly rounded shoulders
- Naturally curvy silhouette
- Could have extra weight around the midsection
The key to dressing the overweight hourglass body shape is to follow your natural silhouette. You should focus more on highlighting your lovely curves without throwing off the balance of your overall body frame.
This means avoiding clothing styles that can project a top-heavy or bottom-heavy appearance. Any style that adds volume to either half of your body is a huge no as it won’t offer a flattering result on your hourglass body.
Overly tight clothing
Clothing styles that are extremely tight on the body frame such as bodycon dresses or fitted tops are not flattering for the overweight hourglass shape as it emphasizes ever curve.
If you’re not comfortable showing this off and drawing attention to your body weight, then it’s best to steer clear of overly tight clothing. Since the hourglass shape has a naturally balanced structure with well-defined curves, you can still play this up with comfortably fitted dresses and tops.
You don’t have to sacrifice your comfort to look breathtakingly beautiful. Instead, wear tops and dresses like the V-neckline top and wrap dresses that flow seamlessly with your natural silhouette while showing off your unique curvy shape.
As a plus, wrap dresses will camouflage tummy bulges, so you don’t have to worry about your muffin top being visible as an overweight hourglass.
Tops with horizontal stripes
It’s no secret that horizontal stripes create the illusion of width. When worn around the upper body, this will visually widen this area, throwing your silhouette completely off-balance.
The effect is similar when worn on dresses as the widening result will be uniform from top to bottom. So, if you’re trying to minimize your body as an overweight hourglass, this is not a flattering choice for your silhouette.
Horizontal stripes will draw attention to your bigger appearance and further emphasize them. If you must wear tops or dresses with stripes, vertical stripes are a more flattering option.
Vertical stripes on your clothing help to create a slimmer and more elongated look. With this, you can visually slim down your overall silhouette without altering your natural body balance. This will also give you a curvier outlook.
Tops with excessive ruffles
For the overweight hourglass, simpler is always better and more sophisticated. Maintain that elegant look by keeping your tops free of excessive details such as bows and ruffles. These details are known to add volume to any area where they are present.
Therefore, wearing tops with excessive ruffles will add more volume to your upper body and make this area appear bigger than your lower half. This will project a top-heavy appearance that completely distorts your naturally curvy silhouette.
Rather than draw more attention to your upper body in an unflattering way, opt for more streamlined and simpler tops.
These styles are usually clean without extra details and follow your natural curves seamlessly. A v-neck top without ruffles will work wonders for your figure with amazing results on your overall appearance.
Shapeless tops
No one loves a boxy silhouette, least of all the overweight hourglass. One of your best assets are your natural curves and you shouldn’t try to hide them underneath shapeless tops. Even as a plus size woman, the hourglass figure stands out for its balanced silhouette and well-defined waist.
You need to show this off with comfortably fitted tops. Therefore, wearing baggy and shapeless tops will only hide your natural curves and possibly add unnecessary volume to your body.
Obviously, that’s not what you would want to achieve as this will give you a bigger outlook that completely distorts your appearance. For the overweight hourglass, you’ll look amazing with tops that highlight your waist without being overly tight.
These tops will draw attention to your naturally curvy silhouette without emphasizing any tummy bulges. Wrap tops are great for this.
High-neck tops
Tops that are in this category could be turtlenecks or generally tops that cover your collarbones and neck entirely.
Wearing high-neck tops as an overweight hourglass woman will make your upper body appear bulkier and this volume is not flattering for your bottom-half. With a bigger appearance on your upper body, this will project a top-heavy outlook that distorts your naturally curvy silhouette.
With this, you won’t have the beautiful outlook that comes with a well-defined waist. Rather than wear high-neck tops, you should opt for more flattering styles like the scoop neck or v-neck top that draws attention towards the center.
These necklines will also elongate your neck, naturally projecting a slimming effect on the rest of your body. For the overweight hourglass, it’s always best to avoid styles that make one half of the body bigger than the other.
Oversized jackets
A major mistake that many overweight women make is to try to hide their body weight under baggy clothing styles. However, wearing oversized jackets won’t conceal but rather add extra bulk that will make you look bigger.
An overweight hourglass woman wearing an oversized jacket will add unnecessary bulk that won’t give the stylish result you desire. Layering is great but not with jackets that give an extremely baggy outlook.
Instead, look out for jackets that help to define your waistline. A great example of this is the wrap jacket which is a cool coat style that helps to define your small waist, truly highlighting the curves that make you beautifully unique.
Apart from this, wrap coats offer a great deal of coverage that follow your natural shape without hugging your body tightly. Use this to accentuate your hips rather than wearing oversized jackets.
Double-breasted coats
If you’re looking for a great deal of sophistication that makes you feel less conscious about being overweight, you should avoid double-breasted coats. What you need in your class feminine wardrobe are jacket styles that don’t give your overall frame extra unnecessary bulk.
Double-breasted coats have a pattern that is unfriendly to the overweight hourglass body. Usually, they will feel too overwhelming on your body as it is overly embellished and has no effect in improving your overall body structure.
This is largely due to the overlap of buttons at the front that increase the width of your bust. With this, your hourglass body shape will lose its natural body balance.
Peplum coats are better suited for your body as they offer a great deal of waist definition that accentuates your hips without revealing problem areas on your figure.
Cropped coats
As an overweight hourglass woman, wearing a cropped coat will make your upper body appear top-heavy and that can be quite uncomfortable. Usually, the coat will ride up higher due to your full bust, making the cropped coat appear shorter than it actually is.
The result is that there will be more focus on your upper body as it draws the eyes upwards, and that throws your natural curvy silhouette off-balance. What you need is a coat that effortlessly makes you look good rather than shattering the balance of your beautiful figure.
Since cropped coats will do this on your overweight hourglass figure, it’s best to completely avoid them. Instead, look out for fitted coats that are at least hip length. These will give you an elegant and stylish appearance without adding extra bulk to alter your body shape.
Some of these coats can also visually lengthen your appearance, and this is typically accompanied by a slimming effect.
Wide belts
If your overweight hourglass body type is accompanied by a little weight around the midsection, it’s best to avoid adding details to this area. Avoiding details around your midsection means staying away from wide belts as much as possible.
While belts are great for creating a waist cinching effect, no matter your body size, you need to be careful to choose the right belts or it will have the opposite effect. Therefore, wearing wide belts on your body will only draw attention to the size of your tummy.
An overweight hourglass woman with a muffin top will feel more self-conscious as the wide belt accentuates the tummy and even leaves some skin spilling out around your hips. This is not a great look and won’t complement your lovely body frame.
It’s always better to create a waist cinching effect with slimmer belts that sit high on your waist and help to emphasize your curves.