Page:A complete course in dressmaking, (Vol. 1, Introduction) (IA completecoursein01cono).pdf/36

 Would You Be Classed as a Stout Younger Woman?—Perhaps you, too, are in your twenties or early thirties but are frankly stout and have oh, so much difficulty finding suitable clothes—clothes that don’t make you look like a dowager. You will have to take some of the advice that I gave the stout young girl.

Watch out for the fit. Don’t fit your clothes too much. An easy fit, soft folds and a little fullness will do more than anything else in the world to give you the youthful look.

The waistline is especially important. Ease it up a little. Let out your inside grosgrain dress belt an inch or so and get a straight silhouette.

Then, it is possible you know, to make yourself look taller and slighter than you really are. It’s just the same sort of a trick that is shown in Figs. (14) and (15). Of course, the vase with the up and down lines looks the taller. That’s what you want to do with your clothes. Keep the lines running up and down. I am thinking of tunics and panels and coat dresses that give height to the figure.

However, up and down lines won’t do everything. There’s broad stripes, for instance, the contrast in color makes you conspicuous and adds to your size. A decided contrast