A Cocktail Dress For Every Body Type Part 2

Another option available for a woman with a bottom-heavy figure is a cocktail dress that sports an empire-style waistline.  A cocktail dress with an empire-style waistline has the waist placed higher, thereby pulling the eyes towards the shoulders, the neck and the face.  It also drapes and skims over the lower body.  The only risk with wearing an empire-style cocktail dress, however, is that the empire-style cut is often used on maternity dresses, and so a woman wearing such a dress may be mistaken to be pregnant.

And yet another choice open for a woman with a bottom-heavy figure is a cocktail dress that is either sleeveless or strapless, also with a flaring skirt.  Again, baring the arms and the shoulders is effective in drawing attention away from the hips.

As for women with top-heavy figures, she could either emphasize her cleavage or her legs, as mentioned above.  If she wants to put focus on her legs rather than her cleavage, she can wear a cocktail dress with a solid-colored top paired with a patterned skirt.  She can hike the hem of her skirt up to make it shorter and really draw the eyes to her legs.

If she wants to attract attention to her ample cleavage rather than her legs, she can cover up her legs in a long-skirted cocktail dress but reveal a little skin on her upper body with a low V-neck or plunging neckline.  In fact, she can draw the eyes to both her top and her legs by wearing a short cocktail dress with a low neckline if she wants to.  What she should not do is to wear a cocktail dress with an overly busy top because it will make her upper body appear larger and skew the balance of her figure.

Accessories also help to keep the illusion of balance on a woman’s figure aside from wearing the right kind of cocktail dress.  Bottom-heavy women can wear flashy earrings, necklaces or chokers, while top-heavy women can forego the necklace and opt for a bracelet instead.  However, she should buy her cocktail dress first before figuring out what accessories, bag and shoes to wear.

Cocktail dresses are versatile dresses that can be worn on any occasion that requires some degree of formality without being a full black-tie event.  A woman should be able to choose the right cocktail dress that can really flatter her body type.