Preamble
For your convenience I have listed other posts in this series:
The Effect of Fabric Designs
The Effects of Color on Your Appearance
Introduction[1]
Fabrics, like lines, can also influence your apparent size. Often a person can select just the right style and lines for figure flattery and then ruin the effect by selecting the wrong fabric. Whether a fabric reflects or absorbs light, is rough or is smooth, stiff or clings to you, will account to some degree for its effect on your appearance.
Remember: Never be ashamed of your body shape! Clothes are there not only to keep you warm and to complement your figure, but more importantly they advertise to the world your personality!
New Arrival: Burgundy long-sleeve lace chiffon celebrity dress. Oprah Winfrey at 2014 BAFTAs Red Carpet Gown plus size Evening Gowns
Light reflection
Shiny fabrics which reflect a great deal of light will make your figure appear larger, while dull surfaces with tend to minimise your size. The illusion created is the same as when an object is placed in a bright clear light, then in a dim diffuse light. Naturally the more light it receives and reflects, the larger the body appears. So, the heavy person who selects a design with long, tall vertical lines and then makes the dress shiny satin is defeating the original purpose. She may wonder why she looks so large, yet if she had used a dull silk broadcloth, the gown would have been just as dressy and vastly more flattering.
Some fabrics both reflect and absorb light. Valvet is a good example of this type in which the pile catches light and also casts shadows. As long as the fabric is not a bulky one, it will not noticeably affect the apparent size of the figure.
A bulky velvet dress can add weight to your figure.
Rough nd Smooth Textures[1]
Rough-textured fabrics tend to appear bulkier than they are, and will increase the size of the figure in proportion to their roughness and bulkiness.
Even on this this figure a rough textured fabric has made her look heavier.
Naturally pebbly crepes will not noticeably add kilos, but a very rough nubbly wool tweed may have the decided effect.
Badgley Mischka Pebble Crepe Dress
Smooth textures will not affect the appearance of the figure as long as they are not shiny.
Stiff Textures[1]
Stiff materials tend to conceal the outline of a figure because they do not follow it. However, although they can hide some figure flaws, they usually make the body seem somewhat larger. For example, a person with heavy hips, but with a waistline and bustling in proportion to her height, could wear a stiff fabric to advantage, whereas a person who is heavy all over should avoid it.
Clinging Textures
Fabrics of this type have a double personality. When used for straight, tubular designs, clinging materials outline the figure so completely that they often make it seem larger or thinner than it actually is. However, when they are draped into soft silhouettes, they can be very flattering.
Transparent Textures[1]
Although see-through materials can often be draped in soft, graceful folds, they also reveal the outline of the figure. It is not wise to use transparent fabrics if you wish to hide aspects of your body (e.g. folds of flesh or a thin boney structure).
Reference:
[1] McCall's Sewing in Color, Paul Hamlin, London (1968).
For your convenience I have listed other posts in this series:
The Effect of Fabric Designs
The Effects of Color on Your Appearance
Introduction[1]
Fabrics, like lines, can also influence your apparent size. Often a person can select just the right style and lines for figure flattery and then ruin the effect by selecting the wrong fabric. Whether a fabric reflects or absorbs light, is rough or is smooth, stiff or clings to you, will account to some degree for its effect on your appearance.
Remember: Never be ashamed of your body shape! Clothes are there not only to keep you warm and to complement your figure, but more importantly they advertise to the world your personality!
Light reflection
Shiny fabrics which reflect a great deal of light will make your figure appear larger, while dull surfaces with tend to minimise your size. The illusion created is the same as when an object is placed in a bright clear light, then in a dim diffuse light. Naturally the more light it receives and reflects, the larger the body appears. So, the heavy person who selects a design with long, tall vertical lines and then makes the dress shiny satin is defeating the original purpose. She may wonder why she looks so large, yet if she had used a dull silk broadcloth, the gown would have been just as dressy and vastly more flattering.
Some fabrics both reflect and absorb light. Valvet is a good example of this type in which the pile catches light and also casts shadows. As long as the fabric is not a bulky one, it will not noticeably affect the apparent size of the figure.
Rough nd Smooth Textures[1]
Rough-textured fabrics tend to appear bulkier than they are, and will increase the size of the figure in proportion to their roughness and bulkiness.
Naturally pebbly crepes will not noticeably add kilos, but a very rough nubbly wool tweed may have the decided effect.
Smooth textures will not affect the appearance of the figure as long as they are not shiny.
Stiff Textures[1]
Stiff materials tend to conceal the outline of a figure because they do not follow it. However, although they can hide some figure flaws, they usually make the body seem somewhat larger. For example, a person with heavy hips, but with a waistline and bustling in proportion to her height, could wear a stiff fabric to advantage, whereas a person who is heavy all over should avoid it.
Clinging Textures
Fabrics of this type have a double personality. When used for straight, tubular designs, clinging materials outline the figure so completely that they often make it seem larger or thinner than it actually is. However, when they are draped into soft silhouettes, they can be very flattering.
Transparent Textures[1]
Although see-through materials can often be draped in soft, graceful folds, they also reveal the outline of the figure. It is not wise to use transparent fabrics if you wish to hide aspects of your body (e.g. folds of flesh or a thin boney structure).
Reference:
[1] McCall's Sewing in Color, Paul Hamlin, London (1968).
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