Sea & Be Seen

Minimizing a full hip and/or butt

1. Say it with me: find a cut that covers you butt. Curve-friendly suits with a “vintage” or “retro” feel to it (thinks 1950s Bettie Page era) are usually a good place to start. It gives you that smallness in the waist but also cuts lower on the leg, defining your shape at the curviest part of your hip area. No worries about the pant riding up on you, either!
2. A high-waist pant is a flattering option for these same reasons—you could even put them in the retro/vintage family—but be sure that the pant is not cutting you in half if you have a shorter torso or are petite.
3. Again, as with a tummy, if you’re interested more in concealing those hips, the Draped Flounce swimdress offers an extra layer of draping just over the hip area. You can also look for cover-up dresses.
4. If you have a pear shape you’ll want to emphasize the smallest part of your waist while looking for tops w/ extra volume (embellishments, ruffles etc. see small bust post last week) to balance out/create the illusion of an hourglass shape.

Putting emphasis on a flat butt or small hip

1. Look for pants that cut lower at the hip and with details like belts, buckles, bands, ruffles, or side ties. These extra details will add some extra volume and horizontal length to the hip/butt area and will help to disguise the flatness. You may want to avoid high waists as they will just make you look like a column; however, a skirted bottom can counter this by added draping and/or texture to the hip/butt area.
2. String-tie bikini bottoms won’t really help a flat butt look less flat, but it does show off a bit more skin in the back. Nothing says “no butt” like a bunch of excess sagging fabric in the rear view.
3. A monokini is great (especially if you’re flatter on top, too) because the side cut-outs give the illusion of a small waist, vertical length in your torso, but is still balanced out with the horizontal emphasis of a low hip-cut pant.

Next week >> Week #4: the right proportions for your body!