The combination of an apple body type and a short frame can make it a challenge to find the right clothing. I know that from first hand, Since I’m 5’2″ and I am a skinny apple. i.e. overall thin but carry weight in the midsection, The good news is after decades of trial and error, I’ve figured out the most flattering ways to dress a petite apple body shape. In this detailed guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know.
Traits
- Slender legs and toned shape. It’s not common for apple shapes to gain weight in their legs so they are always slim and shapely.
- Short legs and petite frame. While your legs are quite slim and shapely, being short in height also means that you’ve got short legs.
- Voluptuously-shaped bust. Your breast shape is rounder and therefore you have a well-shaped cleavage as well.
- Larger breast size. You have a fuller bust size and you are at least a B or C-cup.
- Short-waisted. Apple body shapes tend to be short-waisted and this is more common and apparent in short apple body shapes.
- Tummy bulge or muffin top. You carry the excess weight you gain in your abdomen area so it’s quite common to have a bulging tummy, also known as a muffin top.
- Flat and less pronounced rear. Since you gain most of your excess weight in your midsection, your buttocks don’t really get much volume and therefore look flatter.
- No waist definition. Due to the fact that you gain all your weight in the stomach, your waist will have very little to almost no definition at all.
Celebrity examples
Below are examples of celebrities with short apple body shapes.
- Kristie Alley
- Kathy Bates
- Ricki Lake
- Lea Michele
- Mo’Nique
Below are the best clothes for short apple shapes.
Below are the best outfits for short apple shapes.
TOPS
Asymmetrical Hem Tops
Two of the key goals you should consider as a short apple-shaped beauty is to elongate your frame and camouflage your midsection. These two effects are definitely something tops with asymmetrical hemlines can do.
The uneven hemline and fabric draping of these particular top styles can help divert attention away from the tummy area by distracting the gaze and making this extra midsection waist look less noticeable. This asymmetry breaks up the horizontal visual line and instead leads the gaze diagonally past the tummy and creates a slimming effect.
In addition to this, asymmetrical hems effectively produce vertical visual lines in the outfit to make you appear taller. This can help give you a taller appearance by elongating your frame.
Tops with Vertical Patterns
Vertical patterns create the illusion of height which is why tops that feature such details can help bring more depth and elevation to your short height. Not only this, but vertical lines have a slimming effect because they guide the gaze along a single line to minimize the appearance of width, and therefore blur out the bulge in your midsection.
Vertical patterns, such as stripes, are also quite easy to style so you won’t go through so much hassle when it comes to mixing and matching your ensembles Vertical patterns come in a variety of designs such as pinstripes, thin lines, or even subtle texture changes so you can freely experiment with your style choices while benefiting from its elongating visual effect.
V-Neck Blouses
The open neckline of a V-neck blouse effectively creates more space between your shoulders and chin, fully showcasing your decolletage. This can give the appearance of a longer neck, which can contribute to the overall elongating effect of your frame.
Also, this is a simple and effective way to balance out your proportions, especially because you carry extra weight in your stomach. The cut of the V neckline draws attention upward toward your neckline and your face, which balances out the proportions by diverting attention away from the midsection.
JEANS
High-rise Straight Leg
High-rise jeans sit right at your natural waist, or at times slightly higher, and this can help create the illusion of a more defined waistline which apple shapes like ours significantly lack. This also helps control tummy spillage (muffin top) to give you a smoother, more streamlined appearance.
Meanwhile, the straight-leg silhouette features a consistent leg width from thighs to ankles which gives your frame an additional sense of verticality. This effect will help elevate your height and give your legs a longer appearance.
Bootcut Jeans
Short apple body shapes usually have a larger upper body, including a prominent bust and midsection and these prominent attributes may overpower your slimmer legs. Bootcut jeans have a slight flare at the bottom, which creates visual balance by adding width to the lower part of the body so this effectively counteracts the broader upper body to create a more proportionate silhouette.
PANTS
Pleated Dress Pants
This style of pants has pleats or folds of fabric that are sewn in at the waistband – usually on the front part of the pants, resulting in the extra fabric and depth in the upper part of the pants for a relaxed fit through the hips and thighs. The pleats in dress pants provide a roomier fit around the hips and thighs to accommodate the natural roundness and fullness of your midsection.
Also, its sophisticated and streamlined structure creates a smooth balance that’s consistent throughout the lower body. Pleated dress pants also usually have a higher rise, which visually elongates the appearance of your legs.
Pants with Elastic Waistband
Elastic waistbands offer a comfortable and flexible fit that accommodates the natural curves of your apple figure. This is quite advantageous for your heavier midsection as traditional waistbands with buttons or zippers can sometimes dig into the waist and create bulges, so this helps prevent the appearance of a muffin top.
For short apple shapes, you will also love how elastic waistbands eliminate the possibility of gaps or bunching that can sometimes occur in women with a tummy when they wear rigid waistbands. This contributes to a cleaner and more streamlined appearance overall.
Structured Flared Pants
A pair of structured flared pants is also a wise fashion choice for apple-shaped women with short height due to the design elements that they have to help create a balanced and flattering silhouette. The flare of the pants adds just the right amount of width to the lower part of the body to create a more even distribution of volume and make the body appear more proportionate.
The flared design of the pants, especially if they start to flare from the knee or mid-thigh, efficiently elongates your legs, resulting in a visually taller frame. Just remember to opt for a pair that has a higher waistband rise to provide tummy control.
DRESSES
Streamlined Shift Dresses
Thanks to the minimal design and neat seams of a shift dress, apple body shapes can showcase their best features effortlessly while camouflaging your thicker midsection. Shift dresses offer a more forgiving fit that drapes softly across the body, specifically over your belly bulge.
This design minimizes emphasis on your thicker midsection, while also providing you with superior comfort. They are also typically nipped in the waist through the strategic placement of their seams and darts.
A-Line Midi Dresses
The A-Line silhouette is a universally flattering design that beautifully fits pretty much any body shape. For short apple shapes, the combination of the A-Line silhouette as well as the length of the midi dress can give you a taller and leaner frame.
The gradual flare of the A-line dress, especially when paired with a midi length (which typically falls below the knee), can visually elongate the body. They also cinch snugly at the waist to give you more definition and indentation around your waist.
SKIRTS
Casual Mini Skirts
Mini skirts will always be an apple-shaped body fashion staple because of how their short length showcases one of your best features – your slim and shapely legs. Mini skirts naturally emphasize your beautiful legs, as this length draws attention away from the midsection while also helping create the illusion of longer legs.
The key to properly donning pretty much any style of mini skirts is to match it with tops that have visually elongating elements.
High-low Skirts
It’s important for short apple body shapes to keep the invisible vertical line unbroken to maintain an elongated silhouette. High-low skirts feature a hemline that draws the eyes up and down to help divert attention from the bulge present in your midsection, which is why this skirt style is a great option for your body shape.
Additionally, the front-to-back gradient of the hemline of this skirt creates a strong vertical line while the shorter front length helps showcase your slender legs. This sense of verticality will help you appear taller and more proportionate.
Button-down Maxi Skirts
Contrary to common belief, maxi skirts can definitely be a friendly fashion option for short ladies out there. If you’re short and you have an apple-shaped body, you will greatly benefit from the visually flattering effect of button-down maxi skirts because of how they work around your flaws and give you a taller stature.
Button-down skirts can give you the illusion of a defined waistline by drawing attention to the center of your body and cinching in the waist without clinging too tightly. To further enhance this slimming effect, look for button-down skirts that sit at your natural waist or just above it to allow the fabric to skim over your tummy bulge.
Additionally, maxi skirts create a continuous vertical line from the waistband to the hem, which further elongates your figure. Just remember to stick to maxi skirts that aren’t too long (such as floor-length skirts) to avoid overwhelming your short frame.
OUTERWEAR
Long Wrap Coats
Wrap coats that are around the knee or slightly above the knee in length are very flattering for short apple shapes because this particular structure ticks two style boxes – elongate your frame and cinch your waist. It brings a distinctive definition to your straight, uncurved waistline with the help of its adjustable tie belt.
Wrap coats can be cinched at the waist with a self-tie belt to allow you to customize the fit to your frame, especially because traditional tight belts are not exactly friendly for your Apple figure. Also, you have an open front option for this particular coat style and still get its elongating benefits for how the structure creates a continuous vertical visual line from shoulders to hem.
Schoolboy Blazers
Schoolboy blazers will always be a sophisticated choice for apple body shapes, most especially because they possess classic details that perfectly embrace your body’s best features. They are also designed to be slightly fitted at the waist to create a more defined waist shape while gently camouflaging your heavy midsection area.
In addition to its flattering fit, the structured design of a schoolboy blazer often includes vertical elements that can be very helpful for short apple shapes, such as wide lapels and buttons. These vertical lines can elongate your short frame and therefore make you appear taller and more balanced.
Peplum Blazers
A peplum style blazer features a flared or ruffled fabric overskirt that extends from the waistline, and this specific silhouette helps bring better balance between your upper and lower body for a more visually flattering frame ratio. Apple shapes usually lack waist definition, but with the peplum blazer’s silhouette, you can achieve the illusion of a well-defined waistline as it cinches at the waist.
By the way peplum blazers accentuate the waist, you’ll achieve proportions similar to the hourglass figure. Additionally, the flared peplum detail of the blazer falls seamlessly over the midsection to provide much-needed coverage and camouflage for any areas of concern around the belly.
