Dressing Svelte Tips

1. Stand up straight.
2. Wear darker colors to slim.
3. Check yourself out in full-length mirror.
4. Buy a great bra.
5. Light or bright colors, worn monochromatically give the longest, leanest line.
6. Match your hosiery to hemline and shoe color to elongate your silhouette.  Common sense please.  No red, purple or white hosiery, EVER!  If matching is out wear sheer taupe hosiery.
7. Whenever appropriate, wear heels.
8. Buy clothes that skim the body comfortably...not too big and not too small.
9. Rethink hair.  A shorter simpler cut with a little height on top makes your neck and you seem longer and slimmer.
10. Don't add unnecessary bulk.  Look for flat knits and material that drape in an easy, fluid way without clinging.
11. Avoid dropped-shoulder styles.  This creates horizontal line that widens and shortens the upper body and adds pounds.
12. Wear thin shoulder pads whenever possible.  Pads make clothes drape better and help hide any little bulges around bra straps in back and create visual balance that minimizes hips and waist.
13. The shorter your jacket, the longer the skirt or vice versa.
14. Long sleeves are always more slimming than short.
15. Pantsuits create height.
16. Avoid excess details, they add pounds.
17. Think twice before you tuck.  When in doubt, leave it out!
18. Control-top pantyhose really work even under slacks.  You get a slimmer, smoother line in seconds.
19. Footless control-top pantyhose!!!
20. If label creates bulge.  Cut it out.
21. Buy natural fabrics that breathe.  Being comfortable in your clothing, especially in hot weather, is a must.

book source: "The Thrifty Girl's Guide to Glamour" by Susie Galvez