Celebrity fit club
March 3, 2006 | 12:00am
If only all our shopping expeditions included a stylist – instead of the backstabbers we like to call friends. When we ask our so-called friends "Do I look fat in this?", instead of giving us a matter-of-fact yes or no, they go all "hmmm…" and start heehawing about the objective and subjective. Before you can get a straight answer, they’re out the dressing room faster than you can say back fat.
While makeover shows make it seem so easy, telling you things that seem so common sense (like, don’t wear horizontal stripes if you’re even half a pound heavier than Jessica Alba), things start to get iffy when it’s down to you, the dressing room mirror, and a top that you really love but aren’t so sure about.
Enter ForMe, a shop that eliminates hours off shopping time (less crouching in front of the mirror, muttering, "Do these shorts make my thighs look like Britney’s?" and more fist-pumping in the air, shouting "Yesss!" once you find those perfectly-fitted trousers).
The first store to classify clothing according to body type, the label believes that no two women are created equal. "Each person should be able to define her individual curves," reads their propaganda, "and find the best style to flatter them." Fair enough.
The classifications are simple enough: hourglass, inverted triangle, rectangle and triangle. The clothes on their own aren’t spellbindingly beautiful, but they do solve many women’s primary woes: how to find the right pair of pants that won’t make them look like stumpy, or the right top that flatters their dimensions. And though a visit to one store revealed that many of the styles lacked extra-large sizes (which is ironic, particularly for those in the hourglass figure department), ForMe allows women to celebrate their own individual styles and shapes. And it’s about time.
Shape: Inverted triangle
Shop talk: Less politically-correct inclined people would call this figure top-heavy. But what it really refers to is a figure with wide shoulders and a tapered bottom. Many consider the shape very sexy – as sitcoms based in LA always seem to favor busty girls with tiny hips. But for practical women who need to dress for work, the petite-sized pieces available here don’t flatter women with ample chests.
Who has it:
Lil’ Kim and Pam Anderson
Fit for:
Model mom Antoinette de Ocampo
What to wear:
Tops that flatter your figure, like blouses with sashes that wrap around your waist. The wrap dress, made famous by sophisticated working woman Diane Von Furstenburg, is the ideal outfit. It gives your body a defined shape and shows off your assets.
SHAPE: Rectangle
Shop talk: In the disarmingly charming book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, the pubescent protagonist comes up with a revolutionary method to increase her size boobage-wise. Her solution? Some cross-arm action and a little prayer that goes something like, "I must/ I must increase my bust." Adolescence may be trying for flat-chested girls, but come adulthood, with gorgeous frothy blouses and looks inspired by Edie Sedgewick, those with the skinny on this figure always come out on top.
Who has it:
Mischa Barton, Paris Hilton and Mary-Kate Olsen
Fit for:
Angel Jacob
What to wear:
Skinny sweaters, anything with horizontal stripes, frothy tops, skirts with volume and, one of this year’s biggest trends, drainpipe jeans.
Shape: Triangle
Shop talk: The style refers to those with the widest of hips and the narrowest of shoulders. While many fit stylists claim that this limits your selections, stars like Beyonce, who’s got bootylicious assets herself, forgoes the old school formulas of hiding what you’ve got. Instead the star, who’s starring in the ad campaign for her mother’s clothing line, has been known to flaunt her butt, wearing skin-tight jeans and sky-high heels to more than a few events.
Who has it:
Beyonce, Kimora Lee Simmons and Kelly Clarkson
Fit for:
Unang Hirit host Lyn Ching Pascual
What to wear:
For those who want less high-watt outfits than divas like Baby Phat designer Kimora Lee, pieces like flowing empire-cut blouses conceal wide hips and enhance the top.
Shape: Hourglass
Shop talk: Bombshells, so named after the image of Rita Hayworth soldiers drew on bombs during World War II, found their hero in Marilyn Monroe. It was the allure of Hollywood goddesses during the glamorous ‘50s that had everyone clamoring for anything that could make them look pinup-worthy. A large bosom and inviting hips were what typified traditionally hourglass figures. But what many people don’t know is that hourglass only refers to proportion and not to size.
Who has it:
Elizabeth Taylor (during her heyday), Sophia Loren, and J.Lo
Fit for:
A petite Pia Guanio is ForMe’s hourglass endorser. Her proportioned shoulders and hips, along with her curved waist, make her the ideal model.
What to wear:
Styles that emphasize your lovely waist. Since you’re blessed with fantastic proportions, practically anything goes for you. Lucky girl.
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