Last summer I wrote an article about dressing my petite (4’10”) pear shaped body and it put this little tiny blog of mine on the map! Not only did it quadruple my blog traffic over the last year (let’s not get crazy it’s still not a ton), I started getting messages and e-mails from women just like me expressing their gratitude and love of my blog. Turns out, I’m not the only under 5 foot woman in this world who struggles to feel good in her clothes. After five years of writing and creating for Pumps & Push-Ups, I feel like I sort of just fell into what my readers wanted to see (from a post I wrote on a whim) and I’ve been running with it ever since.
So, today I’m highlighting part of that post, wearing an eye catching top to take the attention up, instead of down on a pear shape frame.
Pear Shape Style Tips: Wear an Eye Catching Top
In case you’re not familiar with body types, the pear shape tends to have wider hips and a larger bottom. Pear shapes often have smaller waistlines, so it’s best to draw the attention to the smallest part of you with your top! Some of that can come with styling and how the top fits, but it can also just come from wearing bright and bold colors and prints. For me, that just comes natural – I’m always gravitating to colorful tops.
Rainbow Stripes
Attention grabbing, can be bright, printed, or detailed (think textures). In this post I went for bright stripes! Or as my boss calls it “the easter egg sweater.” When I first saw this sweater, I thought back to the sweater that landed in everyone’s cart during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, know which one I’m talking about? The Topshop colorblock knit. It was cute as a button on pretty much everyone, but it was very blah on me. Although the balloon sleeves were attention grabbing, they were just too much for my frame, and it wasn’t cheap, even on sale. So, I didn’t keep that sweater, despite my love for its bright colors. This sweater, however, has the pretty colors, without the big puffy sleeves, and it’s only $20!
How To Style Your Top: Pear Shape Style Tips
Of course, how you wear your top also makes a difference in whether or not it will be flatting on your frame. By itself, this sweater is eye catching, but it’s oversized and has a boxy fit, so I tuck it in!
Tuck It In
I have two fit issues to combat – my height and my hips, and tucking my top in not only elongates my legs, it also brings attention to my waistline. Which brings me to my next point.
Bring Attention to Your Waistline
Pear shapes tend to have a smaller waist, so highlight it girl! In this outfit in particular, the button detail on my pants brings attention to my waist. You can also highlight your waist with a more form fitted top, or by adding a belt to your outfit.
Bonus tidbit about these white jeans, the pockets are perfectly placed for a pear shape. High rise denim can often have pockets that are placed too high, which in my opinion is not a friend to the pear shape body type. This pair, places them just right and to the outside a little, which slims the hips.
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Shop More Attention Grabbing Tops
What I’ve loved most about that post and the conversations it sparked, is the overlying theme of women learning to love their body, even if it didn’t fit into what they thought they should look like. Some women just had a baby, and didn’t love their new set of hips. Some women were short, and hated that even the petites didn’t fit them. GIRL I FEEL YOU! The post also inspired me to own who I am and let me tell you, it has felt good!
-Brooke
Read other posts about dressing a petite pear shape here, here, here, and here.
