The apple body shape comes with beautiful curves, but also has its own set of challenges, especially when it comes to the pants. This detailed guide will help you fully understand your body and find the perfect pair of pants for your body type!
MAIN CONSIDERATION
As an apple-shaped girl, you tend to lack definition from the waist down because of the absence of natural curves and the diminished volume of your hips and legs. This is in comparison with your more pronounced and curvier upper body.
Since your lower body may lack some definition, the right pair of pants should have the proper structure to balance out your overall proportions. To know what styles of pants are perfect for you, here are some things you need to take into consideration first.
Undefined and Shapeless Waistline
Your waist looks straight due to the fact that it doesn’t have the distinct side curves to define it. Its width is almost symmetrical to your narrow waist and therefore creates a heavier-looking midsection area.
This is why you’re more prone to looking shapeless if you wear pants that are too clingy or are tapered at the hem.
Heavier Midsection
You tend to gain more weight on your midsection, which explains why your apple body shape is significantly more prone to a tummy bulge, also known as a muffin top. This “bulk” also contributes to the overall weight your upper body has, and therefore causes obvious imbalance with your lower body.
This particular concern can easily be resolved if the pair of pants you’re wearing can provide enough support and hold to prevent your midsection from protruding.
Narrow and Straight Hips
Your hips are pretty much just like how your waist looks. They also lack definition because of their narrowness in comparison to the prominence of the upper body, and also because there aren’t any curves to project the appearance of the hips.
Flat Buttocks
Of course, along with narrow hips comes flat buttocks, which also influence the diminished appearance of depth around the lower half of your body. Since you have a flat bottom, you will be needing certain styles of pants that can help amp up the shape of your rear to make it more shaped and defined.
This is also the reason why you shouldn’t settle for pants that cling too close to the body because they can instantly make your flat bottom very obvious.
Slim and Toned Legs
Apple figures have a very much coveted set of slim and toned legs. You barely gain any weight on your legs so you won’t struggle with thick and flabby calves.
Your legs are also in great shape as they are not just slim, but also quite symmetrical. They efficiently balance your entire frame out by diffusing the visual weight you have on your upper half.
FIT
The fit needs to be streamlined on the legs and supportive of the midsection. Since your midsection area tends to carry more weight than the rest of your body, you’ll need a snug fit that can control the appearance of your muffin top while also cinching your waist.
Avoid pants that are too tight or clingy because this might highlight the imbalance of your figure even more. Look for flowy or structured fabrics that have a tailored fit.
LEG SHAPE
Wide-leg
Because of your fuller midsection and a narrower lower body, it’ll be ideal to give your hips a bit of a volume boost. You can achieve that desirable width enhancement by wearing pants with wide-leg structures.
Apart from giving your hips and legs a bit more depth, wide-leg pants can also effectively camouflage or neutralize the thickness of your midsection. The slightly loose and structured fabric of wide-leg pants neatly skims over the waist and hips, which results in a gentle and forgiving silhouette that doesn’t cling tightly to your body.
Flat Front
Opting for pants with a smooth and flat front helps draw attention away from your heavier midsection and undefined waistline. Flat front pants also help void adding unnecessary bulk on your frame to keep your entire ensemble looking cohesive and streamlined.
For women with apple-shaped bodies, pants with flat fronts can effortlessly transform your figure into looking more balanced and toned. Also take note that the most flattering options for flat-front pants are those with side zippers or back zippers, as they provide a more pronounced and flattering look for your apple figure.
Pleated
Pleated pants have folds or pleats that create vertical lines, which can help to camouflage and distract attention from the midsection. The way the pleats are seamed also helps add volume around the hips and upper thighs, resulting in a cinched-in effect that gives the appearance of a more hourglass-like shape.
Bootcut
If you’re feeling a bit more fun and funky with your outfit, bootcut pants can actually be a fantastic choice for your beautiful apple figure! Bootcut pants have a slight flare at the bottom, which helps create a visually pleasing silhouette by adding width and balance to the lower part of the body – as usual, great news for you!
As an apple-shaped girl, you may have already noticed how you tend to carry weight around the midsection, so going for pants that feature a structure that subtly camouflages this area is very helpful. This figure-flattering feature is even more enhanced when you go for a mid-rise or high-rise style that sits comfortably at your natural waist and snugly hugs your midsection area.
Flared
Flared pants have pretty much the same visual effect as bootcut pants, wherein its secret to balancing out your apple figure’s proportions is through its structure that’s fitted at the waist and hips that also gradually widen from the knee down, creating a distinct flare or bell shape. This pants style full of retro vibes can help amp up the volume of your less prominent lower body to balance out your heavier upper half.
The gentle flare from the knee down also has an elongating effect wherein it creates balance by visually extending the length of your legs to efficiently draw attention away from the waistline.
Straight-Leg
One of the easiest and most iconic ways to bring balance to the proportions of your apple body shape is to go for neat, streamlined cuts – like straight-leg pants. These pants have a consistent width from the waist down to the ankles without excessive tapering, which makes them quite helpful in terms of tricking the eyes so that your figure is seamlessly balanced from head to toe.
Additionally, this particular style also helps draw attention away from the midsection and creates a more elongated and slimming effect. They elongate the legs in a subtle way to make your entire ensemble look more polished and put together.
DETAIL
Sailor
Sailor pants, which are also referred to as high-waisted wide-leg pants, are a classic and stylish choice that can be incredibly flattering for your apple figure. These pants are adorned with buttons that grace along the sides of the pockets which helps create more depth to your narrow hips.
It also features a high waistband that adds waist definition and provides support to hold your thicker midsection area. It gives your figure the illusion of curves to bring more shape to where it naturally lacks.
Wide Waistband
Wider waistbands can have tummy-control features that can efficiently hold your midsection in to avoid a muffin top from appearing. It provides support and stability around the midsection while also creating the illusion of a more defined waist by cinching it.
Since apple shapes lack a distinct waistline, going for pants with a wide waistband visually gives your figure the illusion of an hourglass shape.
RISE
Mid-rise
This particular rise sits between the natural waistline and the hips, which also typically feature a waistband that rests just below the belly button. This provides enough support to your heavier midsection without taking up too much space on your torso.
This is why I personally feel that going for mid-rise pants is more advisable compared to high-rise because of how it deals with the proportions of your apple shape. This is what we’ll cover in the next topic.
Take Caution: High-rise
High-rise pants are also very ideal when it comes to bringing waist definition and support for your tummy. It has a waistband that sits higher than the natural waist, which can help indent the waist and hold the tummy bulge in.
However, you need to take extra caution with high-rise pants if you’re an apple-shaped girl with a short torso. Since you tend to be top-heavy, having your pants sit higher than your natural waistline may take up too much space on your upper body and therefore overwhelm your upper half.
FABRIC
Flowy
Flowy fabrics that drape smoothly onto your figure give the illusion of a leaner and more balanced silhouette. These fabrics skim over the curves rather than clinging tightly, which can be more forgiving around the midsection while also gently softening the visual lines on your body.
The sense of movement that flowy fabrics can also help trick the eyes into creating the illusion of curves.
Structured
Additionally, structured pants offer a tailored and polished look as they have clean lines and crisp edges that contribute to a sophisticated ensemble.
Structured fabrics are constructed to be firm and therefore more stable in terms of holding shape. Pants made from such fabrics as twill, linen, or wool blend, can help smooth out and streamline the midsection.
STYLES TO AVOID
Leggings
One reason apple body shapes should be cautious with leggings is that they tend to cling too tightly and therefore accentuate your problem areas, specifically the midsection. They conform closely to your figure which may make your muffin top or tummy bulges more obvious.
Tapered
Tapered pants are designed to narrow towards the ankle, and this effect can only highlight the fact that your lower body is significantly smaller and less prominent than your torso. They don’t really work their magic in making you appear more balanced, which can be a bummer when you’re looking to bring more depth to your figure.
Paper Bag
Paper bag pants typically have a high-waisted design with the fabric gathering around the waistline, which creates a puffy or ruffled effect around the midsection. This additional volume can draw more attention to your midsection and make it look even heavier.
This can potentially accentuate the very feature that your apple-shaped figure may prefer to downplay.
Low-Rise
Low-rise pants can be quite unflattering because they tend to sit below the natural waistline, which draws attention to your thick midsection. Apart from the fact the low-rise pants are so outdated, this can also emphasize the roundness of the midsection and create a less defined waistline.
Drop Crotch/Harem
Just like low-rise pants, drop-crotch pants are not exactly the style that you want for your apple figure, and that’s not just because they look quite outdated.
Their loose and baggy fit, particularly in the crotch area gives so much unnecessary volume to your figure. To make things more unflattering, they taper down very narrowly towards the ankles, which highlights the narrowest part of your figure even more.
