The rectangle body is known for its straight up and down shape, which can make you come across as lack of curves. It is critical to find the right formal dress styles that can accentuate your best assets and create the illusion of curves. In this detailed guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about formal dresses for the rectangle body type.
Traits
- Sporty, toned figure – One of your figure’s most distinctive traits would be your athletic shape. You’re always lean, and when you work out, you are able to build very toned muscles.
- Straight silhouette – Your figure is quite angular in appearance as there are not many curves present in your frame.
- You gain weight evenly – There’s not just one or two areas where your excess weight shows up. In fact, the weight you gain tends to be barely noticeable because you gain it evenly all throughout your body.
- Slender arms and legs – They are generally well-toned, which is associated with the fact that you gain weight evenly and that you’ve got yourself an athletic figure.
- Flat and less pronounced buttocks – This also contributes to your flat and straight figure because you don’t have much volume in the bottom half of your body.
- Your bust size may range from small to large – It’s not unusual for rectangle shapes to have a full bust size contrary to popular belief.
- Little to no waist definition – Your waist and hips are almost similar in measurement so the curved indentation that your waist is supposed to have isn’t too apparent.
- Symmetrical shoulder, waist, and hip width – The reason for your straight and angular appearance is due to the close width size of these regions in your body.
Puff Sleeve Dresses with Flounce Hem
Always remember that the key style goal for rectangle body shapes is to create the illusion of curves to add more depth to your figure. A puff sleeve formal dress that also features a flounce hemline has all the interesting details that can attract enough attention while also softening the edgy straight lines in your figure.
Puff sleeves add just the right amount of volume to the shoulders to subtly broaden the upper body. This creates a balanced contrast with your hips and therefore makes you look more shapely.
Meanwhile, the flounce hem adds movement and volume to the lower part of the dress, which further enhances the appearance of curves in your rectangle figure. Since most rectangle shapes have an athletic frame, you may struggle with the fact that you lack feminine attributes and the combination of puff sleeves and a flounce hem can give you that romantic and feminine aura you’d want to have!
Beaded Mermaid Dresses
The mermaid silhouette is specifically designed to hug the body from the bust to the knee and then flare out dramatically down to the hem to give you a curvy silhouette. The way it has a nicely fitted bodice also allows the dress to nicely cinch the waist and add definition to your rectangle figure.
A well-tailored beaded mermaid dress features attention-grabbing embellishments on the bodice that can effectively draw focus to your upper body. This intricate detailing will lead the eye upward and downward, resulting in a visually elongated and streamlined effect to counteract your figure’s harsh straight lines.
The mermaid dress style radiates glamour and drama, which easily makes it an ideal choice for formal occasions where you want to make a statement. The combination of the fitted bodice, full dramatic flare, and intricate beadwork creates a show-stopping look that can bring out your feminine curves perfectly.
Plunging V-Neck Lace Dresses
It’s actually safe to say that V-shaped necklines will always be your foolproof style choice when it comes to picking garments – all thanks to their universally flattering look. For rectangle shapes that lack curves, a Plunging V-neckline can help draw equal attention to your upper body and create a focal point at your chest area.
This neckline style helps break up the straight lines in your figure to make you look more dimensional and shapely. The plunging neckline gorgeously showcases your sexy collarbones and athletic decolletage to add more shape and femininity to your figure, therefore detracting attention from the straighter lines of the body.
One-Shoulder Velvet Dresses
It gives a similar visual effect as V necklines in a way that it draws attention upwards to showcase your decolletage and neck. The asymmetrical neckline of a one-shoulder dress effectively breaks the straight lines in your figure by gently sloping down from one shoulder to the armpit on the other side.
To have this sexy neckline cut along with the luxurious texture of velvet fabric, rectangle beauties out there can be at their most opulent selves! The one-shoulder style and the sophisticated velvet fabric are inherently distinctive and eye-catching, which can really help you showcase a bold sense of style, making it an ideal choice for your formal events where you want to make a statement.
Belted X-Line Dresses
What rectangle-shaped girls really need to work around is the fact that their figure is drawn by harsh straight lines that completely blur out their feminine curves. The X-Line style, especially when worn with a belt, efficiently cinches at the waist and flares out, which instantly creates the illusion of curves similar to hourglass shapes.
The belt serves as a focal point to which it emphasizes the narrowest part of your torso. This further accentuates the waist, which is very helpful for rectangle shapes that have very little to almost no waist definition at all.
The flare in the skirt, combined with the cinched waist, helps elongate the legs while also giving an oomph of volume to make you look curvier overall. This gives you a more graceful appearance that’s well-balanced and shapely.
Flowy Dresses With Ruffles
Cascading ruffles are quite voluminous by nature and they also exhibit a sense of movement and femininity to any outfit they grace. Cascading ruffles add a nice amount of volume and movement to the dress, particularly around the hips and lower body, resulting in the illusion of curves and dimension to the body.
Since your bust, waist, and hip measurements are relatively similar, there’s clearly a lack of depth in your figure so adding details that can detract attention away from these straight lines such as cascading ruffles can be significantly helpful. The layers of cascading ruffles add depth and texture to the dress to provide a more visually interesting and dynamic look in which this extra dimension effectively breaks up the straight lines in your frame.
Just remember to choose the placement of the ruffles carefully to make sure they don’t look too bulky and overwhelming. Ideally, it’s better to have them on the lower part of your dress (skirt).
Sweetheart Neck Ball Gowns
There’s nothing more charming than the sweetheart neckline cut that gently slopes down in a heart shape, emphasizing your bust shape and creating a natural curve on your cleavage. Since you have an athletic and angular figure, the addition of a sweetheart neckline will create more depth in your figure.
The sweetheart neckline draws attention to the bust to help create a visually appealing focal point. Rectangle shapes can vary in terms of bust size, but regardless of this, a sweetheart neckline can be particularly flattering for it fully enhances the shape of the bust.
In addition to the neckline itself, the combination of a sweetheart neckline and the voluminous nature of a ball gown silhouette projects a timeless and romantic aesthetic. Not only does it look extravagant, but it also helps bring more shape and dimension to your overall formal ensemble.
Backless Halter Dresses
Are you fancying something sexier and more sultry for your formal gala night? Your rectangle body shape will surely adore the mesmerizing beauty of a backless halter dress as it’s not just sexy, but also very flattering for your figure.
A dress that features a backless halter design can help draw focus to the shoulders, neck, and upper back. This even distribution of attention highlights the most elegant and graceful areas of your body, resulting in a more visually appealing silhouette.
The halter neckline usually ties around the neck, and this design element helps break up the straight lines in your rectangle body shape, therefore adding a sense of curves and femininity. In addition to this, it also has a lengthening effect on the neck that creates a more graceful and elongated upper body appearance.
Chiffon Empire Waist Dresses
The way the empire dress elevates the waistline can be quite helpful to bring the gaze to your bust line, as the waist seam is placed just right beneath your bust. This effect will camouflage your lack of definition and instead, give you a more elongated and streamlined appearance.
It’s also a perfect way to showcase your decolletage as this silhouette brings more focus to your upper body, so choosing the right open neckline will further enhance its visually pleasing style benefit. In many cases where a rectangle-shaped woman has a longer torso, wearing a chiffon empire dress will help balance out this disproportion as it elevates the waistline to enhance the length of your legs instead.
Lastly, chiffon fabric is a lightweight and flowy fabric that drapes beautifully and adds a soft, romantic touch to your overall look. This can soften the angular lines and strong athletic features of a rectangular body shape to give you a more ethereal, graceful appearance.
A-Line Tulle Dresses
The A-Line silhouette is probably the most universally flattering dress shape out there and it can easily make a rectangle-shaped figure look more dimensional and defined, that’s for sure! The fitted waistline of an A-line dress helps define the waist to highlight the narrowest point of your midsection and make the transition line between your upper and lower body look more curved and apparent.
It also flares out gently from the waist down to the hem, which significantly adds volume to the lower part of the dress to balance out the proportions of your rectangle body frame. Meanwhile, tulle is a lightweight, sheer fabric that drapes delicately which can help soften the angular lines of a rectangular body shape, giving a more feminine and graceful appearance to your formal ensemble.
Avoid Bodycon Dresses
There are not many curves in your rectangle figure to begin with, so wearing something that’s too tight-fitting such as a bodycon formal dress will only emphasize this lack of curves even further. Bodycon dresses are designed to cling closely to the body, which can sometimes emphasize a lack of defined waistline, leading to a less balanced and curvaceous silhouette.
Additionally, as the focal point of wearing a bodycon dress is about showing every curve of your body, this will steer attention away from other potential style elements, such as necklines, sleeve designs, or fabric textures, which could help create a more balanced and visually appealing appearance.
Avoid Shift Silhouettes
Shift gowns and dresses are known for their loose, straight-cut silhouette that doesn’t really provide much emphasis on the waist. Well, for someone who struggles with the lack of waist definition, wearing a dress or gown that has a shift silhouette is an obvious no-no.
Also, they tend to hang straight down from the shoulders, which can sometimes give a more boxy appearance especially if you don’t consider the right fit. This will absolutely drown your figure and completely miss the opportunity to give your figure a more curvaceous shape.
