As an image and style consultant, my goal is to make dressing well easier for my clients. While “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” mastering key style principles can transform how you look and feel. Let’s explore one often-overlooked aspect for dressing with confidence and making smart choices.
The Importance of Proportions
Understanding proportions – also referred to as vertical proportions & is essential for knowing where garments and hemlines should end. It also guides us in determining how much fabric or accessorizing to apply to any given area of the body for a harmonious look.
Leonardo da Vinci famously theorized that the ideal human body is 8 head lengths tall. While most women don’t align perfectly with this measurement, many clothing lines are designed with this assumption in mind. Here’s how the body is typically divided into these proportional measurements:
- Head length: Top of the head to the chin.
- Chin to mid-bust: From the bottom of the chin to the peak of the bust.
- Mid-bust to waist: From mid-bust to the narrowest part of the waist (the navel).
- Waist to leg break: From the navel to where the leg bends at the hip (just above the crotch, where trouser creasing is most noticeable).
- Leg break to mid-thigh.
- Mid-thigh to mid-knee.
- Mid-knee to mid-calf.
- Mid-calf to the sole of the foot.
Dressing in The Thirds
A balanced look is often achieved by following the ‘rule of thirds,’ which involves dressing in uneven proportions to create visual harmony. For example, elongating the legs relative to the torso creates a more flattering silhouette.
Let’s take a look at Kate Middleton, a style icon known for her impeccable dressing sense. However, in the example below (left), the horizontal stripes on her dress sit too low, elongating her already long torso. This imbalance disrupts the aesthetic flow. If the stripes were removed from the hemline or repositioned to align with her natural waist, the dress would look much more balanced. Additionally, opting for a midi-length dress (ending mid-calf) rather than above-the-knee would enhance the overall proportions, once again placing her perfectly within the rule of thirds.
Notice the striking difference in the two images to the right – Kate looks far more elegant and stylish with the waist detail properly placed at her natural waist, beautifully drawing attention to her face.
