Tag Archives: pear shaped

Dressing for a warm summer day

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Yesterday was warm and sunny.  While I love these precious and few days here, it can be difficult to find things that are comfortable when you’re outside in the heat and also warm enough in the frigid air conditioning of the office.  I decided to pair a patterned sleeveless blouse with an old linen skirt and a white cardigan.  When I was outside, it was comfortable and cool, and inside the cardigan helped keep me warm.  I love the skirt because it’s drawstring and allowed me to get a size that fit my bottom half comfortably but I can easily tie the drawstring to fit my waist.

I also wore my new necklace from Piperlime.  I love it because it’s large and chunky, but has a nice matte metallic finish.  I think it will work well in the fall with my military style jacket.  I’m also sporting a fresh pedicure.  🙂

Orange Blouse and Linen Skirt
Orange Blouse and Linen Skirt

Where to get the accessories:

Hive & Honey Two Layer Collar Necklace – Piperlime $27.99 (on sale)

Aerosoles Alphabyet – Aerosoles $49.99

Shopping Saturday

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Today I hit the Nordstrom Anniversary sale and got a few pretty good items.  The store was extremely crowded and felt a little “Bargain basement-y” but overall, there were some great pre-fall items I’m excited to wear.

In order to feel stylish and ready for my shopping trip, I threw on these white capris, a red blouse from New York and Company, and my favorite Franco Sarto sandals.  (Comfy shoes are a must for the mall.)  I’m also wearing my new necklace from Tiffany & Co from the Gatsby collection.  It was a present I got last night from my husband for our anniversary.

White jean capris and red blouse
White jean capris, and a red blouse.

 

Tiffany and Co Gatsby collection necklace
My new necklace

 

Patterned Tunic top

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Another style I’m fond of for disguising my pear shape is a tunic top paired with skinny jeans.  I got this one at Anthropologie and love the pattern and fabric.  There clothing is somewhat on the pricier side, but I try to find thing I truly love there and therefore can justify the price.  I once bought a pair of $80 lounge pants there which seems ridiculous, but they are my favorite pants in my closet.  I paired them with a simple white tee and a layered necklace for a summer concert.  I’m sure they’ll be one of my go-to items in hot weather.

Patterened tunic from anthropologie
Patterned tunic from Anthropologie

Where to get the look:

Skinny ankle jeans – Ann Taylor Loft $69.50 (50% off right now)

Swizzle Stripe Tunic – Anthropologie $98.00

Franco Sarto Gracy Sandals – Piperlime $54.99

Necklace – Anthropologie in store (trio of elephants)

Patio Skirt

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A few months back I started to get into the whole maxi skirt/maxi dress trend.  I love the maxi because it is cool and comfortable on hot days, but also keeps me warm in the air conditioning.  It works well for my pear shape, because it drapes nicely from my hips giving me a nice clean silhouette.  I can easily pair this one with my usual jean jacket, a chambray shirt, or cardigan.

Patio Skirt Banana Republic
Patio Skirt

Where to get this look:

Skirt – Banana Republic, no longer available on their website

Timeless Tank – Banana Republic $20.00

Navy Cardigan – (Similar) Gap $31.99

Classic layer necklace – Banana Republic $29.50

Shorts for a Pear Shaped Woman

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Shorts.  I think they have been the single most difficult thing for me to find for my body.  If they are roomy enough in the rear and thighs, then they gape so much at the waist that you could fit another entire person in there.  I’m not sure what it is about shorts, or why they seem to be made so different from pants, but this has been my experience consistently across almost every brand I have tried.  Most summers I just try to avoid them by wearing skirts and sometimes capris (which are almost as difficult to find), but this summer I decided I was going to search until I found something that worked without needing a ton of homemade alterations.

What I found is that shorts with a partial elastic waist band, or a “tummy control” feature, tended to nip in more at the waist and were more likely to fit the way I needed them to.  Some of the brands advertised things like “slightly curvy” which I found to be not at all and not even close to working.

Unfortunately, it seems that you must shop for shorts sometime in the month of June, because when I looked in May the inventory was not there yet, and now in July it’s almost non-existent.  Next year I’ll have to target June as the month to shop for shorts if I want a decent color in my size.

The pair I’m wearing in the picture below are classic Bermudas by Lee and I found them at Kohls.  Here are links to a few others that I found that worked:

Lee Blitz Knit Waist Easy Fit Walk Short – Boscovs $19.99

Gloria Vanderbilt Mara Cuffed Short (the only colors left are blue and pink) – Kohls $21.99

Shorts, Jacket, and Espadrilles
How to put together an outfit with shorts.

Where to get the look:

Lee Classic Fit Jackie Bermuda Shorts (only colors left seem to be yellow and white) – Amazon $26.99

Sunwashed Tee – Ann Taylor Loft $12.00

White Mountain Mandarin Wedge Pump in Beige – DSW $29.94

Striped swing skirt

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We had a lovely warm end to the week and after a morning out on the boat, I grabbed this striped swing skirt from the closet and paired it with a simple white tee and an old flower cardigan from Old Navy.  I also threw on my favorite flip flops from Crocs so I could comfortably run some errands.  I find that skirts are a great way to even out my proportions and are so easy to throw on for a summer weekend.

striped swing skirt from Ann Taylor Loft, white Tee and Cardigan
Striped swing skirt, tee and cardigan.

Where to get it:

Striped swing skirt – Ann Taylor Loft $49.50 (watch for sales)

Grey cardigan (similar, but no flower.  I bought that years ago) – Old Navy $22.94

Crocs Kadee flip flops  – Amazon $18.74