How To Dress An Apple Body Type

Apple Body Type Styling Do’s & Don’ts

If you have an apple body type and you struggle with how to dress to feel your best, then this post is for you. I’ve been working with women for the last 16 years and these are some tips I have found to work for an apple body type. The things that define an apple body type are that your bust tends to be your largest measurement, and your waistline is wide, giving you an overall look of an apple shape. Your body tends to be curvy and softer. It’s harder to build muscle, and when you gain weight, you typically will gain weight in your midsection.

The strengths of an apple body type are your arms and legs. You want to think about highlighting those areas or showing those areas a bit more. You also want to avoid anything tight around your waist. Instead, you want to draw attention towards your collarbone by wearing a v-neck top, or a top that shows your collarbone to draw the eye up and away from the waistline.

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The first apple shaped celebrity is Drew Barrymore. In this first look, she’s wearing this billowy and oversized dress that is colorful and patterned. A style mistake for apple shaped bodies is wearing things that are boxy, oversized, or an overall print. When you’re wearing something with little or no shape like this dress, it makes you look bigger than you are. It also makes you look wider in the areas that you probably don’t want to appear wider.

Look 2: Drew Barrymore

In this next look again, she’s wearing oversized things that are boxy and have no shape. Her pants should have more structure to them and shouldn’t be as flowy, loose, or big because it’s making her look bigger than she is. Instead of having this tie-neck blouse, she would look more proportionate if she wore a blouse that showed her collarbone.

Wearing pleated pants as an apple shape will not be the most flattering. They’re adding more bulk to that area. Pleated pants are great for someone who has an inverted triangle shape with narrow hips, but on an apple shape, pleated pants add more bulk. Instead, look for something that is more simple, streamlined, and tailored to the body.

Look 3: Drew Barrymore

drew Barrymore, apple shape — Drew Barrymore

This next look doesn’t work for Drew’s apple body shape, but certain things are great in this outfit. She’s showing her legs, the dress is coming above the knee and it’s a fitted dress. However, there’s a puff on the sleeve area which widens that area on top. For somebody who already has a big bust, you want to avoid puffiness on the shoulders or the sleeve area. The detail along the collarbone overwhelms that area. This dress would be more flattering if it was a sleeveless dress which would show more of her arms.

Look 1: Reese Witherspoon

Compare that last look to Reese Witherspoon who is also an apple shape. She is in a similar style dress, but Reese has got her style and body shape down. In this black dress, everything is fitted, simple, and streamlined. She wears something that’s off the shoulder to show her collarbone. The tops of her shoulders are out and she’s showing that softness to soften her apple shape.

Look 4: Drew Barrymore

Again, this outfit that Drew is wearing is not necessarily the most flattering for her. All-over print, something that is oversized or boxy, all your arms or legs covered is not the best look on someone with an apple shape. It’s makes you look bigger than you are, and you’re getting lost and accentuating the apple shape.

Look 2: Reese Witherspoon

Compare the last Drew look to this one that Reese is wearing. Reese is also wearing a dress that is an all-over print, however she is showing her legs. Her dress is coming above the knee and she’s showing her arms. It’s something that’s tailored and fitted to her body. There’s no extra fabric, it’s not billowy or oversized or boxy, and this silhouette is more flattering for an apple shape.

Look 3: Reese Witherspoon

Here’s another look that works for an apple shape. Reese has a darker color on top and a print on the bottom. Instead of wearing print from head to toe, she’s wearing a solid on top. This helps define her body as two separate sections instead of getting lost in an “O” or apple shape.

Look 4: Reese Witherspoon

This next look from Reese Witherspoon is great and works incredibly well with this body shape. She’s in this beautiful red gown and her collarbone and shoulders are exposed to soften that whole area. Her dress is tailored to her body, and because this top area is exposed, it’s drawing attention up and away from her midsection. There is a long slit in the skirt of the dress to draw attention down to her legs. Try not to hide your legs and arms because those are some of your best assets when you’re an apple body shape.

Look 5: Reese Witherspoon

Here’s a more casual look that Reese is wearing. She has a white denim skirt on and a casual button-down blouse. You’ll see there are no pockets in the chest area. If you’re busty on top like an apple shape, you want to skip pockets because any extra fabric accentuates that area. Instead, you want things to be streamlined and simple.

She defines that she has an upper half and a lower half by dividing it by tucking in her top. With a wider midsection, an apple body type can get lost where there is no separation between your top and bottom half. Since her top and bottom are different colors, she’s breaking up an apple body shape to be more defined.

Look 1: Kate Winslet

Another famous apple shape is Kate Winslet. In this first look I’m sharing, it’s an overall print. There’s nothing to divide the top half of the body with the bottom half. She’s accentuating the apple shape. Her arms and legs are covered, so she’s hiding her best assets. I do love that she’s wearing a v-neck here and you can see her collarbone which softens the look. I wish that there was either no sleeve on the dress or that it came up a bit shorter.

Look 2: Kate Winslet

This is one of Kate’s red carpet-looks. This is the perfect gown for someone who’s an apple body shape. Everything is tailored to her body, she has a v-neck so she’s again showing her collarbone. She’s showing some cleavage, and her arms which again are the strengths of an apple body shape. A solid fitted dress can work beautifully with an apple shaped body. If you’re an apple shape, think about drawing attention up. Think about showing your collarbone, your arms, and legs. Those are your best assets as an apple body shape.

Look 1: Mindy Kaling

The next apple shaped body I’m sharing is Mindy Kaling. There are a lot of things here that look great. It’s fitted to her silhouette beautifully. You see the shape of her legs and arms even though they’re covered because it’s a streamlined silhouette. It accentuates her strengths, but I wish there were something that broke up her top and bottom half. This dress has a print on it and gives that overall “O” shape.

Look 2: Mindy Kaling

This dress also has an overall print, but I think this one works so much better. Her waist is defined by a belt, and she has more of a v-neck here so it’s softening her top half. The dress is a little bit shorter, so it shows off even more of her legs.

If you’re an apple shape and you’re struggling to find clothes that fit your body, avoid things that are boxy or oversized. Hiding your body only makes you look wider in those areas. Look for things that have clean lines, and are form-fitting to your body to showcase your arms and your legs. Find sleeveless pieces and skirts that come above the knee. Opt for v-necks, or tops that show the collarbone to draw the attention up and away from the wider waistline that you may be struggling with.

If you’re not an apple body shape or you’re not sure what your shape is, learn about the 5 main body shapes in this post, “What Body Shape Am I?”

How To Dress An Apple Shaped Body | Video

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How To Dress An Apple Body Type

Apple Body Type Styling Do’s & Don’ts

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