If you have an apple body shape but are overall slim, you have unique body features. I am a thin apple myself, so I know at times it can be tricky to dress someone who is a skinny apple. Even though you have slender limbs, you still carry extra weight in your midsection and can have a noticeable muffin top. In this article, I will walk you through the best ways to dress to flatter your shape, based on many years of my own trial and error!
Characteristics
The slim apple body shape typically has broader shoulders compared to the width of the hips. However, this is accompanied by slimmer legs and hips, without a well-defined waist.
Therefore, despite being slender, there’s still a huge tendency to gain weight first around the tummy area while also carrying extra weight around the midsection. This means that there’s more volume on the upper part of the body compared to the lower half.
It’s not surprising that many women with this body type find it difficult to find clothing styles that complement both halves of the body without drawing attention to the extra weight around the midsection.
Luckily, there’s a way around this, starting with this detailed guide on how to dress the slim apple body shape.
Celebrity examples
Below are examples of celebrities with slim apple body shapes.
- Eva Longoria
- Jessica Simpson
- Lisa Rinna
- Lindsay Lohan
- Kate Upton
Below are the best clothes for slim apple shapes.
Below are the best outfits for slim apple shapes.
Swing dresses
The swing dress is an amazing style that takes on a flowy A-line shape in a subtle way. For swing dresses, the top part of the A-shape doesn’t hug your waist. Instead, it hugs your chest and flows outwards from her, allowing the dress to swing more when you walk around.
The beautiful thing about swing dresses is that they are specifically designed to skim over your stomach before flaring out at the hemline. This is perfect for drawing focus more towards your elegantly slender legs with less attention on your tummy area.
This works wonders for your figure as a slim apple shape woman. If you’re one of many women that are not fans of shapewear, especially during summertime, swing dresses are a worthy alternative that are extremely flattering for your body type.
Your choice of fabric will make the switch from formal to casual, showing their versatility. So, you can opt for cotton if your target is a more casual outing.
Skater dresses
This is another style of A-line dress that’s great for the slim apple shape. As expected, it starts with a snug fit around the waist and then flows outwards to form the silhouette of the letter A. However, there’s a major difference in the cut style.
For skater dresses, the cut is right above the knee, which gives your legs more freedom to move around while retaining a key sense of elegance.
One of the best things to love about this style of dresses is that it’s perfect for creating the most amazing illusion for your slim apple shape. Thanks to the flattering flare design, skater dresses create a nipped-in waist that emphasizes the illusion of a classic hourglass look.
This is the perfect dress for your next summer party or even to a fun date. You can accessorize this with thigh-high boots, sneakers or a denim jacket. There’s no limit to how much you can make this style truly yours.
Flared dresses with a full skirt
One of the secrets to balancing your slim apple shape figure is to add as much volume to your lower half as possible to ensure a more proportionate silhouette. Here’s an elegant way to do it: wearing flared dresses with a full skirt.
Of course, this draws a lot of attention to the lower half of your body without overwhelming your slim figure. That’s what you want to achieve with this style. Wearing dresses with an exaggerated flared skirt helps to balance out your shoulders, so your apple shape can take on a more hourglass-like look.
Just as with other styles, you have the freedom to modify this to suit your unique taste. Meanwhile, this can be on a short dress that gives room for your legs to breathe without shrinking your overall outlook.
Wrap dresses
Wrap dresses, especially those with a v-neckline, accentuate the bust elegantly. I could fall in love with wrap dresses over and over again as I consider them a superstar in the fashion world.
Wrap dresses are incredibly flattering for a wide variety of body types, including the slim apple body shape. One feature that works well for wrap dresses is its versatility. You have the freedom to adjust this until you have a comfortable fit.
However, what I’ll like to focus on more here is how wrap dresses help to balance your overall body silhouette. They do this by drawing more attention to your décolletage and neck area. That’s where the v-neck style comes in.
By drawing the eyes upwards around this flattering aspect of your body, wrap dresses easily hide any bulges around your waistline and accentuate your bust. This perfectly complements your slender legs, highlighting your best assets.
Structured shift dresses
Let’s take it back to the classic 60s with structured shift dresses that transform your look into something you will always love. Shift dresses are great for skimming past your waistline and highlighting your slender legs without overwhelming your body silhouette.
It might seem like such a vintage style that’s not in tune with the modern fashion age, but that’s so far from the truth. This is exactly what you need if you want to give your lower body more volume and ensure that people can notice your beautiful legs.
Meanwhile, I emphasized the structured style of the dress because shift dresses work better on your slim apple shape when the material is not clinging around your midsection.
So, your best bet are structured materials like cotton and natural linen, that flow over your body freely without highlighting any unflattering sections. You can wear this in a monochromatic style and include a few elegant accessories.
V-neck tops
Of course, this list is incomplete without the super flattering v-neck top that makes the upper body of most slim apple-shaped women to look more amazing. The best tops for this body type are those that draw more attention to your elegant collarbones and neck, and that’s exactly what you get with a v-neck top.
V-neck tops help to elongate the neck, which reflects in the width of your shoulders as it makes them look more streamlined. The v-neckline is a plunging neckline style that also flatters your bust as it makes this area appear fuller.
So, if you want to pull off a more proportionate silhouette by streamlining your broad shoulders and creating the illusion of a fuller chest, you should definitely consider rocking a v-neck top.
Wrap tops
Wrap tops are another flattering style for the slim apple shape as they highlight the body at the slimmest part. For this body type, this refers to the area directly underneath your bust.
Highlighting the slimmest point on your body is great for creating the illusion of an hourglass silhouette, as it accentuates your curves and skims over those parts you want to conceal.
Wrap tops have a similar effect as wrap dresses, especially as most of them also have the flattering v-neckline.
Tops with ruched front
Rather than wearing chunky necklaces as accessories to draw more attention towards your neck area, you should lean more towards details on your tops, like a ruched front. Ruching on your top, especially around the midsection, works wonders for hiding tummy bulges.
This comes in handy because the slim apple body shape naturally gains more weight around the midsection. If you don’t style around this elegantly, you will easily create an unflattering silhouette.
However, wearing tops with a ruched front can add more details to your outfit and easily minimize attention on your tummy bulge. Of course, you shouldn’t forget how stylish and sophisticated this looks.
Stand out elegantly with a ruched top by pairing with straight-leg pants that show off your slender legs.
High elastic skinny jeans
While some people might suggest that women with a slim apple body shape should stay away from skinny jeans, I think they are flattering enough to deserve a place in your wardrobe.
However, the way you style your skinny jeans will determine how they look on your body frame. Usually, this style of jeans is designed with a cut that hugs your legs, showing off your narrower hips and slender legs.
These are your best assets and it’s okay to play them up. However, so as to reduce the attention on your midsection, you should choose skinny jeans with a high elastic mix. Apart from being super comfortable around your middle, it can also help to conceal any tummy bulges, thereby emphasizing your lovely figure.
The high elastic waistband of your skinny jeans ensures that it’s not too tight on your frame which draws attention to concerned areas.
Mid-rise jeans
As a woman with a slim apple body shape, you need to pay extra attention to the rise of your jeans and ensure it hits your body at a flattering point. The perfect balance here is the mid-rise jeans as this smoothens your waistline and is snug enough to give a curvier outlook.
Low-rise jeans, on the other hand, will draw focus to your stomach area and make your bigger midsection visible. This is similar to the effect that high-rise jeans have on the slim apple figure as it also accentuates the tummy area instead of concealing it.
Therefore, it’s best to stick to mid-rise jeans which don’t squeeze your body too tightly or dig into your body uncomfortably when you sit. An elastic waistband on mid-rise jeans also works for that extra dose of comfort, and a lot of confidence when you attend any event.
Avoid loose dresses
As tempted as you are to attempt to cover up more inches of your body with loose dresses, you should completely resist this. Choosing the right dress that fits and flatters your slim apple body shape is important and that starts with picking styles with the right cut.
Loose dresses will not hide your bumps and lumps in a way that you expect. Instead, they can make you look absolutely bigger and shapeless, a very unflattering look to imagine. You’ll feel more confident with fitted styles that flare downwards to add more volume to this aspect of your body.
Also, you don’t have to hide your beautiful legs as they are one of your best assets. Highlighting them will do your figure more good and ensure that your silhouette appears proportionate on both halves of your body.
Avoid jersey fabrics
Avoiding loose dresses doesn’t mean you can wear clingy styles either. Finding balance with your clothing styles is important as you don’t want to squeeze your body in all the wrong places or blow up your body size with loose styles.
Therefore, it’s best to avoid jersey fabric as these can cling on the body in a very unflattering manner. If you can take a few seconds to picture how you would look in an extremely tight top, that should give you an idea of how awful it is on your slim apple silhouette.
Rather than jersey fabrics, stick with more structured materials like linen. These are billowy and breathable, ensuring that you’re always comfortable in these clothing styles without highlighting concerned areas.
