Lose 10 Pounds without Going on a Diet

As a design consultant, I am asked by my clients if going on a diet is the only way they’ll be able to look good in their clothes.  In most cases, my answer is no.  Bodies come in different shapes and sizes and all have their own beauty.  Very few people have the type of figure found on runways or in fashion magazines.  Sometimes the difference between looking ten pounds heavier or ten pounds thinner is just how you dress.

The most commonly spread beauty tip to looking thinner is to dress in black.  As I’ve said before on my website, black is a formal neutral.  Unlike the colors in nature which help create a connection to others, black supports neutrality. On some people it works well as a basic, for others it creates distance rather than connection.  Black can even make some people look heavier.  My advice to you as a design consultant is to look at your natural contrast.  Only certain people can pull off black and have it work well.  These individuals usually have a natural high contrast.  What does this mean?  If you have dark hair and light skin and dark or medium eyes, you have a high contrast look.  If not, your natural beauty may fall into one of the other categories of contrast.  Medium-brown hair, medium-light skin and medium-dark eyes, generally makes a medium contrast person.  If you are a low-contrast look your hair, skin and eyes are softly blended, such as blonde hair, light blue eyes and light skin.  If your natural skin color is a darker pigment, a design consultant would advise you to compare your hair, skin and eye color to the whites of your eyes and teeth to judge your contrast.  If your teeth or eyes are bright white, it is high contrast with your complexion, soft bone to soft gray would be medium contrast and deeper gray or beige is low contrast.

As a design consultant, my advice to you is to be conscious of the amount of patterns you can wear.  If your dress is too busy in the wrong places, it may take the attention away from your natural beauty and make you appear heavier.  Look at your body shape and figure out where you carry most of your weight.  Avoid wearing eye-catching colors or prints over these areas.  Instead, use colors and patterns to accent your good features and try to use the neutral tones that work with your natural contrast to blend your problem areas away.    

This can also be applied to accessories.  As a design consultant, I advise my clients to be conscious of the amount of accessories they wear.  Too many can add weight and make you look heavier.  But the properly places accessory can make all the difference.  Let’s say you have a terrific bust-line but have a little extra weight around your middle.  Wear an eye-catching necklace which draws attention to your bust and away from your waist.

Another thing to keep in mind is the texture of your clothing.  Some textures will be flattering on you and others will not go well with your natural beauty.  Look at your skin and hair.  If you find that your hair is straight with minimal highlights, you can wear clothes with a smooth texture like satin and velour.  If your hair is more of a wave, you will look best in a light corduroy or suede.  For those with more of a tight curl, a heavy corduroy or herringbone would look great on you.  Conversely, wearing too much or too little of a texture for your natural beauty may make you appear heavier than you really are.

 Everyone needs to be conscious about the styles of clothing we choose to wear.  Just as in too much pattern or texture, the wrong cut may take away from you natural beauty.  Any design consultant will tell you, one style does not fit all.  Sometimes the latest fashion trend may draw attention where you do not want it.  An example is low-rise jeans or hip huggers.  If you have excess weight around your hips, it will not flatter you, no matter how stylish the look may be in the magazines.  Wearing looser, more flowing clothing around the hips will flatter you.  No matter what design consultant you talk to, he or she will tell you that beauty is different for everyone. 

As a design consultant, I want to remind you to always remember that your natural beauty may be different than what is in the fashion magazines.  Clothing is not a one-style-fits-all situation.  You may not be able to wear the latest trends and that is okay.  If you wear what looks good on you and you will always be in style.