What Are the Best Work-Wear Ideas for Pear-Shaped Body Type?

kritika asked

Hello Shilpa,

I’m Kritika. I fit in pear-shaped body category. Plz help me about Indian & Western fashion which i can wear in office.

Shilpa Ahuja answered

Formal office wear doesn’t have to be that difficult for all you curvy girls! Here are the best work wear ideas for pear shaped body type…

Hi Kritika,

With a bit of thought and practice, you’ll start finding it easier to dress for pear-shaped body type. Office-wear mostly depends on what part of the country you’re in and what your office dress code is. For most corporate work environments, trousers and button-down shirts are a great idea.

For pear-shaped body, you need to focus on cinching your waist in, and slimming down your hips to mimic the hourglass body type. So here are some tips:

Work-Wear for the Pear-Shaped Body Type

1. Try to wear darker trousers and lighter colored shirts. This will give the illusion of a slimmer bottom, balancing out the top half and bottom-half of the body. Try navy, chocolate-brown and black straight-fit or boot-cut trousers with white, sky-blue, beige or peach shirts.

2. Pay attention to your lingerie. The most common fashion faux-pas is visible panty-lines under trousers or skirts, which is even more common amongst women with fuller hips. So choose thongs or seamless panties. Also match the bras with your shirts, especially when you’re wearing lighter-colored shirts.
3. It’s a common misconception that pear-shaped women shouldn’t tuck their shirts in so as to make their hips less prominent. However, tucking the shirts into trousers and wearing a medium-sized belt is always a great idea. It makes you look more polished, and removes the extra volume around the hip-area.

4. You can also try layering. Add a long sleeveless cardigan or a formal cropped jacket. Layering adds vertical lines and elongates the figure.

6. Choose a solid-colored sheath dress and add contrasting accessories to it for some interest. For example, adding pale-orange belt and bag to a grey dress.
7. You can also pair a dark-colored pencil skirt with a white or neutral-colored buttoned shirt. Pair with a medium or skinny belt.
8. Play with your accessories. Wear pearl necklaces, long chains or multi-strand pendant-chains. They will add interest to your neckline, while diverting focus from the hip-area.
9. Winters are even easier to dress for pear-shaped bodies because of all the opportunities you get for layering. Pair knee-length pencil dresses with a belt and half-buttoned cardigan and semi-transparent black tights.
10. You can also pair knee-length pencil skirts and shirts with a long, knee-length jacket in the winters.

A common misconception is that pear-shaped women have to only wear dark colors. But you can even wear a well-tailored monochromatic light-colored suit.

 11. For Indian wear, long kurtis with slim-fit trousers are a good idea.
12. If you’re tall, solid and neutral-colored palazzo pants can work well with collared, short kurti-jackets. You can also add a long skinny scarf to elongate the frame.
13. Shoes also play a great role in slimming down the whole look. Wear flats or heels, but avoid platform-heels at all costs. The best idea is to wear nude pumps or closed-toe flats. You can also match your shoes to your outfit.

14. You can play with prints and colors, but avoid mixing more than two colors. Monochromatic outfits always look more slimming. Too many colors are too distracting for workplaces anyway.

15. Geometric prints and thin, vertical stripes are a good idea for work-wear.

Here are some more styles that would translate well for pear-shaped bodies:

You may also like:

How to Dress for Pear Shaped Body Type
What Should I Wear to My Birthday Party? I’m Curvy!
10 Latest Indian Suits You’ll Actually Want to Wear!

The Guy

The Guy is very handsome, and loves being misunderstood. He loves sports, cars, sports cars and women. He’s an expert on men’s fashion and lifestyle, but frankly, he’s also an expert on women’s fashion, particularly when it comes to looking sexy. Follow him on Twitter @slubguy where he posts the hot photo-shoots he does for Shilpa Ahuja, and writes his opinions on sports and politics. For feedback and questions and any advice, email [email protected].