As so many of us tend to gain a little extra weight around our hips and thighs especially as we get older, finding flattering clothes is key to looking and feeling great. There are a few basic rules that can be applied to choosing clothes that will help or hide or minimise the lower part of the body whilst balancing out with and drawing attention to the upper part of the body. Trousers with wide bottoms are also great for pear shapes as they also have a balancing effect making the width of the hips and thighs less noticable. Pear shaped women should also avoid bright colours, patterns or details on their lower halves and tops that finish on the widest part of the body. Scoop necks, wide shoulders horizontal lines and detailed necklines are all great options though.

Striped Neck T Shirt

Haines Tasty Boat Neck Top

Portfolio pure cotton boat neck jumper

After a winter of stodgey warming food and lots of thick woolley jumpers for hiding under, we could all be forgiven for perhaps not being in top shape. Never mind there is plenty of time to get down the gym before the hot weather arrives and get yourself in perfect shape for wearing shorts and lots of lovely summer dresses. If we do have the good fortune to be hit by a heat wave of unexpected tropical weather in the meantime, you can always resort to what I call ‘power pants’.

My favourites are the Spanx higher power, they hold it all in without any bulging over the top. They do wonders for my figure (sometimes I think more than exercise could ever do). They are the next step on from the very popular power panties. They extend right up to your bust so that you have a smooth and streamlined waist and torso. Most importantly they are very comfortable with no tight leg band to dig in.

We all have some parts of our body that we dislike and would rather not show to the world. For many of us, it is big arms. The shops are full of vest tops and sleeveless clothes that really don’t flatter many of us. Here are some great ways to diguise and draw attention away from big arms, if this is your least favourite part of your body.

• Three Quarter Length Sleeves - These hide the top (widest part) of your arm by just showing the wrists and bottoms of your arms they give a much neater look.
• Floaty sleeves with a flared cuff - the loose fit of this type of sleeve will disguise the tops of your arms and the wider cuff will balance out the heavier tops of your arms.
• Bracelets - these are a great way to draw attention to your wrists rather than the tops of your arms. Generally more delicate bracelets look better as they do not cover the narrowest part of your arm.

Key things to avoid when you have larger arms include capped sleeves, spaghetti straps, halter neck tops, puff sleeves and anything too tight around the tops of your arms. Generally, you should wear tops with sleeves and you will look gorgeous.

This Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Shirt is perfect for covering and minimising large arms.

Do you ever get fed up with the sight of your tummy bulging out from under  a tight fitting top. You  are certainly not alone, there are so many women that are not happy with parts of their body and a bulging tummy is one of the most common complaints. Ideally hours of sit ups may help but in reality most of us don’t have the time or just never get around to it.

The twin set or non surgical tummy tuck is one of the best ways to make the most of your figure and disguise your tummy. I love the old fashioned elegance of a twin set worn with a pencil skirt but there are also some great new style twin sets which will do the job equally well. The magic of the twin set is both in its double layers which skim rather than cling creating a streamlined silhouette and the vertical line created by the opening of the cardigan that cuts the width of your body into pieces making it apear narrower. The jumper and cardigan of a twin set should be the same colour for maximum flattering effect. Here are some of my favourites:

For a really up to date version of the twinset, I love this set from Dolce & Gabbana.

This black twinset from Jucca knitwear is a really flattering colour and has a lovely scarf tie collar.

This round necked cardigan forms part of a classic   2 piece twinset. Grea for keeping warm without adding any bulk.

With Christmas all done and dusted, it is time for me to start thinking about 2009 and what my new years resolutions will be. Apart from the usual, to eat more healthily, do more exercise, be more organised, keep in touch with my friends more often and de clutter the house, this year I will be having a few additional style resolutions to help me look and feel better.

I have found that if I feel good in the clothes that I am wearing I feel  more confident and it generally has a  positive impact on other areas of my life. For 2009, my main style resolution will be to only buy clothes that really suit me and not matter how much I love the latest trend and fashions only to follow them, if they suit me.

I will also continue to develop my own sense of style and individuality by seeking out clothes that I really like and that say something about me rather than just wearing the same old stuff over and over again.

Finally, In 2009, I will be more adventurous with my dress sense (whilst still choosing flattering clothes) I will try and more styles of clothes, colours and combinations.

This T bag dress will be a great addition to my 2009 wardrobe. A really adventurous colour and pattern and a very flattering style.

Unfortunately I am suffering from the effects of too much food and drink this Christmas. When it came to eating and drinking, I took the view, ’so what it’s Christmas’. The Christmas nibbles, glasses of mulled wine, a huge meal on Christmas day and more chocolates than you can imagine have had a devastating effect on my waist line. Yesterday whilst slumped in front of the TV I had to loosen my belt and undo my top button - not good.

Of course I know that come new year with my new years resolution to give up drinking completely and only eat healthy food and walk every where, the Christmas bloat will disappear in no time. But what about in the mean time?

I will be employing a few tricks to help make myself look slimmer. Did you know that you can take pounds off your weight and inches off your waist by wearing the right clothes.

• Head to toe black - this is a great way to get a streamlined silhouette and look slimmer. You can always brighten the look up with some colurful accessories.
• A long scarf or necklace. This will make your torso look longer and slimmer.
• Wrap tops and dresses - These just look great and are very flattering.
• Long trousers that cover your shoes - again these will make you look longer and slimmer.

This retro chiffon circles and stripes scarf will look great worn around the neck with plain black top.

Are you pear shaped? If you are, you are in good company. Research shows that pear shaped are actually in the majority in the UK. This may well suprise you, if you find that the UK high street does not really cater for your shape. Pear shape describes those that have wider hips and thighs and than bust. The key to looking great if you are pear shaped is balancing out the top and bottom  half of your body.

If you love wearing jeans, the best options for pears are either boot cut or wide legged both will help to create a balanced silhouette. Another good trick to use when getting dressed is to wear dark colours on your bottom half and brighter colours on top to draw the eyes upwards and away from your hips and thighs. Tops should fall at your waist as it draws attention to your narrowest part. There are many other tricks that you can try scoop neck tops widen your top half create balance as do horizontal stripes, ruffles and patterns.

These Seven For All Man Kind Boot Cut Jeans will look amazing on pear shaped ladies.

No matter what your size, when it comes to finding clothes that suit you and look great, you need to look at your shape and find the best figure fixers for those parts you are not completely happy with. So key tricks used by stylists to disguise these areas is to cover with ruffles or balance and make look smaller using more volume in another area.

For those that are top heavy, wide bottom trousers will balance out your top half.  A v necked top over a round neck top will also minimise your bust (thats if you want to). A good bra to give you the support and shape that you need is essential. These wide boot leg jeans are a great way to balance out your proportions.

If you are pear shaped or have a wider lower half you can diguise it using an a line shaped skirt. You can also divert attention away from your bottom half with detail, patterns and volume on the top. This organic coral cotton dress will flatter and hide any concerns that you have in the hip and thigh area.

Finally if you want to hide your tummy, empire line dresses are great, as are low waisted dresses and dresses with ruched or draped fabric across the tummy area. This wrap over style dress is perfect if you want to hide your tummy.