Never in a million years would I have thought that nipple control would be in my job description. I especially wouldn’t have thought it when I was a 17 year old virgin flipping through the pages of Elle, blushing every time I saw anything that resembled anything, wishing I had my own magazine to run.

Today, though, I was catching up on my Furies inbox. The first email was about some upcoming posts on Body Painting. I had to approve some pictures with nipples in them. I had to decide how much nipple was too much or if someone’s areolas were too distracting from the point of the article – the art.

Just some weird insight into my day that I thought I would share…

carry on.

Life’s A Garden…

Dig it in figure flattering clothes!

(I promise there is body image stuff if you scroll down past me blabbering about my garden.)

If you read my personal posts, too, you know that I’ve been doing some gardening. I’ve started to transform my front yard from this:

to this:

I’ve since weeded that rose bush to the left of the porch and found another rose bush hiding in some tall grass nearby that has also been weeded. The dirt is cleared up now, as well, but I’ve been too lazy to go back out and take another picture. Oh damn it. Fine, Liz. Do it now.

I just walked outside to take the last picture. Obviously, the hubs needs to get a weed eater out there around the bushes and we are waiting for the bushes to grow, but they only have a medium growth rate. And we want to paint the stupid cable cords to match the color of the house so they aren’t so disturbing. The next step for the front yard is deciding which flowering ground cover to go under the tree. Any suggestions? We also plan on building a pergola in my back yard. And I’ve recently decorated my nails to match my determination.

But this blog post isn’t just about me. It’s about you and how you can dress in a practical way for gardening while also dressing in a figure-flattering way.

Life’s A Garden by lizkzook featuring embroidered t shirts

Hourglass: A simple top with flattering jeans go a long way on an hourglass shape. Be careful not to wear cap sleeve tops that can make you look top-heavy.

Column: I like a flowy top on a column as long as you’re sure to tuck it in to accentuate your smaller waist. The bell-bottom shape of these jeans give the illusion of a curvier hip to balance out your top-heavy proportions. The close neckline of the shirt also helps.

Apple: These wide-leg jeans are going to help minimize the appearance of your tummy. They also have a higher rise, which acts the same way. This top is loose around the midsection, but accentuates your bust with knitting detail. It’s subtle, but it works. The cap sleeves also help to make the top half of your torso appear wide, which in turn minimizes the appearance of a larger stomach.

Boy: Normally I don’t recommend capris, however, the cut and shape of this denim can create the look of curves in the hips. This top is great for accentuating a smaller bust with the baby pleats and the wider set straps on the shoulders.

Pear: This simple cap sleeve tee is going to help to balance out your hips by giving you a wider shoulder. These wide leg jeans also help to minimize the hips by bringing the line straight down from widest part of your body.

Follow my How To Wear board on Pinterest for more info on dressing for your body type!

White Party

It’s MAY, y’all!!!! And white is back!

So I’ve decided to pick out a few dresses for every body type! And for an added challenge, I’m going to try to keep them all under $50!

White Party by lizkzook featuring a capped sleeve dress

Okay, I did it. One white party dress for each body type; all under $50. Plus, shoes to match! Also, all under $50!

Next will be gardening looks! Mainly because I love to garden.

Follow my How To Wear board on Pinterest!!!

Columns at the Pier

Here are my tips for picking swimsuits when you’re a little bigger on the top:

• Make sure you have enough support, but don’t overdo the coverage. I’m not telling you to wear the skimpiest bikini around; I’m telling you that too much material will pull more attention to the girls and make it a little harder to balance them out. 
• Solid tops with patterned bottoms will help to bring the eye down. Another trick on the same level is a darker pattern on top and a brighter pattern on the bottom.
• Horizontal stripes, ruffles around the hips, and symmetrical cut-outs are all things to look for on the bottom piece with picking your swimsuit.
• Tankinis are a good pick for bustier gals. See the tankini with the shorts that I found? It’ll give you an extra bit of help balancing out your shape with that scarf tied around the hips. (And though I said you should do solid colors on top and patterns on bottom, this swimsuit – with pattern on top – actually helps to camouflage a larger bust. That’s why not all rules work for every situation or every body type!)

Columns at the Pier by lizkzook featuring a tankini swimwear

Stay tuned for Apple and Hourglass swimwear tips!

If you have more specific body typing questions, I’m always willing to answer them. In fact, that’s my favorite thing. So just leave your question in the comments!

Swimwear for Pear!

When picking a swimsuit for a pear-shaped body follow these tips:

• Avoid tankinis - tankinis are bad for pears because the put a line directly across the hips. It pulls the attention to your hips and makes them look wider.
• Avoid V-necks. Deep v-necks literally point down bringing your eye down to your hips.
• If you’re going with patterns make sure the pattern on top is bolder or brighter than the pattern on the bottom. That way you’re bringing the eye up top.
• You can also put a pattern on top with a solid color on bottom.
• If you want to stick with solid colors you can use two tones. The darker goes on the bottom. If you’re going to stick with one solid color you can add ruffles or embellishments to the top.
• All of these also apply to a one piece! But if you’re just looking at the shape – straps that are farther apart than normal can help to balance out larger hips.
• The same goes for if your top covers more skin than your bottom. Eyes will be drawn to where there is more material.

Swimwear for Pear by lizkzook featuring seafolly

We’ll cover the rest of summer wear for pear in another post after we cover swimwear for all the other body types.

Other body types, expect swimwear for you to be posted soon!

If you have more specific body typing questions, I’m always willing to answer them. In fact, that’s my favorite thing. So just leave your question in the comments!