Continuing on the subject of checks and tartan – which are at the top of the trends this season – let’s see some practical hints to achieve a faultless result with these trendy yet timeless articles.
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Truth is that these prints, which – as explained in the previous post – can flatter your figure in a very stylish way, if not properly chosen and paired can indeed have the opposite outcome, enlarging your figure and making it look anything but chic.
The secret to getting an impeccable result is quite simple, and lies in the pattern of the chosen garment, which means that some tartan/check garments can look good on you whatever your body shape. And others just can’t.
The first thing to remember is that to achieve flattering results, the garment should preferably be straight and have a clean, simple cut, otherwise it would easily make you look shorter and bulkier (not to mention the “I’m-wearing-a-blanket” effect). This is particularly true when talking about trousers. Printed trousers are usually not the easier choice if you want to look taller or slimmer; nevertheless, surprisingly enough, tartan/checks are one of the most versatile and flattering prints, and can indeed be totally wearable – with entirely satisfying results – if you pay due attention to the choice of the piece itself.
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For instance, you can obtain an overall slimming effect with cigarette pants, as long as they are properly hemmed at the ankle and don’t have pleats of any kind. The trousers must be quite close-fitting around your upper leg (without being too tight) and quite straight around your lower leg.
This style, aside from being timeless, is perfect to slim your silhouette elongating your whole figure in a very fashionable way. The reason lies in the fact that when a tartan print is used for a straight garment, the eye perceives the thin, narrow vertical lines much more that the horizontal ones, thus making you look leaner while giving an extra boost to your style, as you can see in the pictures above and below.
The pants lengthen your legs and the result is a very flattering one, while being stylish and impeccable.
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Conversely, if you opt for too form-fitting trousers, or for pleated ones, the result is exactly the opposite. When the clothing is not straight, the print – instead of visually drawing a vertical line – draws a crooked line which highlights bulges (even if you don’t have any!), making your legs look anything but lean.
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Pants like the ones you can see above can make look crooked even absolutely straight legs, and for this reason are suitable only if you’re lucky enough to have tapered and perfectly proportioned legs, whereas a pleated pattern like the one below is very suitable for those who are very skinny and would like to make the figure look fuller.
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A nice alternative is to opt for smaller checks. This style is also suitable for curvy shapes, because here again – similarly to what happens with tartan straight pants – the vertical line visually prevails, which slims your figure enhancing it.
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Avoid pairing a tartan blazer to tartan pants. Aside from looking Queen Elizabeth II who goes pheasant hunting in LA, this ensemble is hardly suitable if you want to slim your figure as you can see in the picture below. Wear the same tartan trousers with a solid-color top, and the result will be entirely satisfying (as you can see in the second picture).
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The same goes for the sweaters: if the tartan/check print remains only on the front of your torso and the sleeves are solid-colored, you will get a chic and slimming outcome. The classic Ballantyne jerseys like the one in the picture below assure a polished, flattering look and are always trendy while being a real classic (the drawback is that they cost a fortune, but you can still use them as an inspiration to find similar articles at affordable prices).
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Conversely, if the print extends on the sleeves and the colors are very contrasted as in the picture below, this may have an enlarging effect.
If you love this style, play it safe and pick out articles with a dark background, pairing them with dark-wash, cigarette jeans and minimal accessories. You will achieve a nice style suitable for any informal settings.
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