You're a curvy APPLE body shape

You're a Curvy APPLE BODY SHAPE...  sometimes wrongly referred to as an Oval or a Round shape.

The benefit? Well if you're an Apple shape, even if you carry more weight in your upper body than you'd like to, it can usually be hidden, while your hips and thighs stay slender.

Look at the way that apple shapes in at the bottom. This gives you good proportions with a shapely bust, slender hips and good legs.

Additional weight will sit on your arms and around your midriff giving a thicker waist line.  

It's SHAPE not SIZE that dictates your body shape!

Do you find it a problem to dress an APPLE SHAPE and flatter your figure to best advantage? Although an Apple body shape has many plus points, it's the nature of the beast that your midriff/belly/upper abdomen and upper arms will store excess weight.

Body shape, of course, has little to do with your size or weight normally, it's just your bone structure that dictates your frame.

BUT it has been proved that refined sugar, found largely in processed food, has been proved to exacerbate fat in this area - two of the biggest offenders are fruit juices and alcohol.

Sculpt that Apple...

Some women have an apple body shape but only become conscious of it when they begin to gain weight as they approach middle age.     

If your midriff area makes you feel less than confident there are lots of ways you can visually balance your figure to create a more streamlined look.

Sculpt that Apple body shape to disguise the thickness around your middle and show off your fabulous legs.

And - if you're the Apple of someone's eye well you're kinda special!

Identify the formula 

Every body shape has pros and cons so let's major on the positives - you've got plenty of those - and ensure that you enjoy those womanly curves.

It's a bit like putting together a jigsaw to get the most pleasing effect.

With a careful choice of colors and shapes you can minimize the more generous aspects of your figure and visually bring your figure into balance.

Choose shapes that maximise your assets

What to avoid

Melissa getting it right

As a petite lady Melissa McCarthy has, in the past, found it difficult to cope with her apple shape. An early photograph (left) shows Melissa in a dress that does nothing but emphasize 'width' and the softness and roundness of the upper body. 

The dress pulls tightly across the sleeves and shoulder line, the neckline is wide and a limited amount of ruching pulls across her tummy. 

Yes she's lost a bit of weight but she has learned to use shape and streamline her figure. She now looks so much taller and slimmer. 

A structured shoulder line with a soft fabric allows plenty of movement in the sleeve and so that it skims over the bust drawing in neatly at her slimmest part.  The drape of the fabric, the pleats in the skirt and the tie under the bust all create a vertical line which slims and lengthens the figure overall.

More than any other the Apple Body Shape needs to be conscious of the overall silhouette. Slightly wider shoulders create a more slender waistline.

Who says Dolly Parton is an apple! 

Now let's not insult anyone's intelligence by suggesting that Dolly Parton and Liz Hurley are typical Apple shapes which is what most websites will say! But actress and model Queen Latifah most definitely is! 

Ruching at the neckline and below the bust keep the interest high on her body and define a waist.  

Being an APPLE BODY SHAPE with a protruding tummy can be a real worry to some women. But fortunately, some of the best modern lines are perfect for your shape.

Wrap dresses and/or tops are always amazing and create a waist. Fluidity in the lower dress will always help to balance the figure.