The skinny apple shape is overall thin but carries weight in the midsection. I know this from first-hand experience since I myself am a thin apple. Even though I am overall skinny, I still have muffin tops and always gain weight first in my midsection. In this detailed guide, I’ll share with you the best ways to dress your unique body shape and what to avoid, based on my years of trial and error!
Traits
- Your bust is fuller in size. It’s very rare for apple shapes to be flat-chested, even if you are skinny because you have a prominent bust size that’s usually quite noticeable in your upper body.
- You have round-shaped breasts and prominent cleavage. Due to the fuller size of your bust and its curved and rounded shape, you also have a gorgeous-looking cleavage which is one of your best assets.
- You flaunt slender and nicely shaped legs. Another great feature of apple body shapes with skinny frames is their legs, because of the fact that they never gain significant weight in this area.
- You may have less pronounced buttocks. Just as your legs don’t gain weight, it may be the same for your buttocks and so they may appear flatter in comparison to your midsection.
- Gaining weight in your midsection is your major weakness. Despite being skinny, the majority of the excess weight you gain tends to show in your stomach area, resulting in the appearance of a tummy bulge or muffin top.
- There’s very little to almost no definition in your waist. This is also due to the fact that you carry excess weight in your midsection and therefore the supposed indentation you have on your waist gets overshadowed by this bulge.
TOPS
Wrap Tops
Wrap tops are always easy to pull off as they feature a cut and silhouette that’s universally flattering for most body shapes – including skinny apple-shaped women. Wrap tops feature an overlapping design that creates a V-neckline that highlights the bust and shoulders, as well as a cinched waist to bring definition to your apple frame.
The wrap silhouette highlights the decolletage to draw attention upwards and detract it from the heavy midsection. The soft draping of the cotton blend is also a great way to showcase your slim limbs and lean figure while camouflaging the probable presence of your tummy bulge.
Peplum Tops
Peplum tops are designed to cinch at the waist and flare out just below where the overskirt is seamed. This structure effectively gives your skinny apple frame the illusion of a defined waistline. The peplum detail of the top can instantly create the appearance of a more hourglass-like figure.
Apple-shaped women are more prone to a muffin top or belly bulge even if they are skinny and the flared peplum detail addresses this by adding volume to the hips and lower abdomen to visually balance out the upper body. Moreover, its fitted bodice draws attention to the bust and shoulders as your upper half is one of your best features!
Peplum tops come in many different styles of neckline. So when choosing a tailored peplum top for yourself, go for open necklines that will show off enough portion of your decolletage to highlight your elongated neck and well-shaped cleavage.
Ruched Tops
Skinny apple body shapes could use a bit of texture to add volume and depth to your frame. This is why ruched tops are great for apple body shapes because of how they can add texture and dimension to the upper body.
Ruched seams feature a scrunched or gathered fabric detail that creates a layered appearance, which helps camouflage the bulge that you most likely have in your abdomen area. Apart from the fact that it subtly hides the extra weight you carry in your midsection, the fabric gathering also hugs your bust area in a more controlled manner, hence bringing out its prominence.
Additionally, ruched tops can provide structure and definition to the upper body. The gathered fabric adds visual interest and helps divert attention from the midsection while accentuating the shoulders, bust, and neckline.
JEANS
Dark Wash Jeans
The dark color of this type of jeans can help neutralize the heavy appearance of your midsection. Dark wash jeans can help give a more streamlined and elongated appearance to bring the focus on your legs and upper half, instead of your abdomen area.
Its slimming and camouflaging effect can be further enhanced if you go for a pair of dark-wash jeans in a high-rise style. The way that it sits above your natural waistline will cover the midsection while also creating an uninterrupted vertical visual line from the waist down.
High-rise Jeans
An apple-shaped woman should never settle for just one pair of high-rise jeans! Its flattering effect on your apple shape is amazing, and you should at least have 3 pairs there in your casual wardrobe.
High-rise jeans are almost a foolproof fashion choice for apple body shapes because this particular style instantly addresses one of the most obvious weaknesses of apple shapes – a bulging tummy.
High-rise jeans feature a waistband that sits higher on the waist, to help hold in the midsection and provide a gentle shaping effect. This particular style of jeans offers a level of tummy control and creates a smoother appearance around the abdominal area, which is usually a concern for skinny apple shapes.
Pull-on Jeans
Pull-on jeans typically feature an elastic waistband, which gives your heavier midsection a forgiving fit. This helps bring definition to your waist while also providing tummy control to help your upper body achieve a smoother and more streamlined appearance.
Since this type of jeans doesn’t really have enclosures such as buttons and zippers, you can significantly avoid the presence of extra bulk right on your abdomen area. Plus, it gives you a comfortable fit as they are specifically designed not to cling too close to your stomach.
PANTS
Gabardine Flared Trousers
If you’re feeling retro, then you are in luck because flared pants would look so good on your skinny apple-shaped frame! If you go for this leg shape and choose a nicely structured fabric such as gabardine, you will be able to bring out the best of your figure in style.
So why flared pants? They feature the right balance of fit by giving your hips and thighs a snug fit, while the flare at the bottom features an elaborate leg length that can balance out your heavier midsection.
The flare would draw attention downward and away from your tummy area, and lead the gaze towards the legs instead. This elongates the leg line and shifts the focus to the more slender area of your body.
Tailored Wide-Leg Pants
Wide-leg pants have a roomier fit through the hips and thighs, which can help balance out the proportions of your apple frame. Since the width of the legs is consistent from top to bottom, your frame will look more cohesive overall.
DRESSES
Soft Chiffon Empire Waist Dresses
Empire waist dresses are great for skinny apple shapes because they feature a silhouette that will blur out the bulky appearance of your abdomen area. This particular dress silhouette is a high-waisted style where the waistline is situated just right below the bust to conceal your heavy midsection and highlight your full, well-shaped bust.
In addition to its flattering silhouette, having your empire dress made from soft chiffon allows it to drape gracefully and draw an elongating line from shoulders to hem. Its airy nature also adds movement to the dress to soften the overall look and create a more feminine and elegant appearance.
Flowy Mini Dresses
This is your best chance to showcase your gorgeously slender and toned legs! Mini dresses feature just the right length to show off the length and shape of your legs, bringing out the beauty of one of your apple figure’s best assets.
Since you tend to carry weight in your midsection area, going for a flowy mini dress can help steer the eyes away from your midsection and focus solely on your legs instead. This will also bring your frame better proportions as your legs will look more elongated, hence making you appear taller.
Color Blocking Dresses
Dresses that feature a color-blocking design strategically reshape your figure for you to achieve more flattering proportions. For skinny apple shapes, you’d want to keep your lean frame as it is but get rid of the extra weight you have in your stomach area.
To work around these concerns, look for a color-blocking dress that has dark colors placed on the sides of the waist. This will create the illusion of a curved and defined waistline.
SKIRTS
Pleated Skirts
Electric pleats create vertical lines that run down the length of the skirt, which can be flattering in terms of elongating your figure and therefore minimizing the presence of your tummy bulge. They also add interest and texture to the skirt and these details help break up the visual monotony of your frame.
In addition, the pleats will also distract the eyes from fixating on your excess belly weight.
Skirts with a Slit
If you’re looking for something nice and sexy, go for skirts with a slit as they also go very well on apple-shaped women with skinny frames. Since your legs are lean and shapely, they sure deserve the spotlight!
Slits in skirts effectively create a vertical visual line that runs up the leg. These lines will elongate your legs and your frame overall, making you appear taller and creating the illusion of a longer, more balanced silhouette.
OUTERWEAR
Structured single-breasted Blazers
For someone who has a skinny frame, and small limbs, but a heavier midsection, you’ll need blazers that can hold shape and have prominent structure. To add to this, having your structured blazer in a single-breasted design can further enhance its visual benefits to really flatter your skinny apple figure.
Single-breasted blazers typically have a tapered and tailored waistline, which helps give the illusion of a defined waist, which apple shapes usually lack. By gently cinching at the waist, a structured single-breasted blazer can provide the appearance of curves for a more balanced silhouette.
One of its distinct features is the front closure and this forms a vertical line down the center of the body. This vertical line can visually elongate the body, which can also help draw the eye up and down to minimize attention to the midsection.
Swing Style Coats
A swing-style coat has a loose, voluminous, and A-line silhouette that flares out from the shoulders to the hem. This proper amount of volume can be very helpful for apple body shapes that have skinny frames as this will give more depth and balance to the entirety of the look.
In addition to this, the loose and flowing nature of the swing coat can effectively blur out that extra weight you carry in your midsection, which you most probably have despite being skinny! Also, this particular style allows you to move freely while also providing ample space around the midsection, ensuring comfort without clinging too tightly to any areas of the body.
Empire Waist Coats
The raised waistline of the empire coat that sits just right beneath the bust line can be quite visually appealing and helpful to work around your apple body shape features. This design draws attention away from the midsection by gently skimming over it without the tight fit.
Empire coats feature either an A-line or flared silhouette that goes over the midsection and hips with a natural and forgiving fit. This design helps effectively camouflage the fullness that is present around the abdomen in order to provide a smoother line from the bust down to the hem.
They also have enough structure to give your skinny frame a bit more depth and dimension. So when choosing an empire waistcoat for your skinny apple-shaped body, always look for the one that fits you perfectly.