Separates tip #1: make sure they all fit

This week, I’m running a series on how to wear separates well. Today: tip #1.

Tip: To look great in separates, you need to be aware of how every garment fits your body and how they all fit one another.

Here’s what you need to know about making sure separates fit well, so you always look great in them.

Separates are a lot trickier to fit correctly than a dress. Generally, a dress either fits or it doesn’t. Some styles have very exacting fits — and end up on the sale rack because no one matches the dress’ exact proportions. Sensible designers don’t make those dresses. Instead, they make dresses that will accommodate a variety of body shapes, so that if it fits reasonably well in two or three crucial points, you’ll look great in it.

Separates pose a much bigger range of problems. Each garment has two or three crucial fit points (e.g. shoulder and bust for a top), and to look good, each piece has to fit correctly at each of its own fit points.

On top of that, the pieces all have to fit with one another as well. To illustrate what I mean by pieces fitting together, I’ll give you some examples:

1. If the hem of your top ends above the waistband of your pants, your tummy shows. Adorable on teens, but completely inappropriate in business settings.
2. A jacket sleeve that’s far shorter than the sleeve of the shirt beneath it can look really strange. For casual wear, you can just roll up the shirt-sleeve and you’re fine. For business, you need to get changed.
3. A beaded, ruffled or unusually shaped t-shirt cannot be layered underneath anything else without distorting the shape of the garment on top of it.

There’s definitely some effort involved in checking the fit of each piece on you, then checking how all the pieces fit together. It’s worth some time though, because when you get it right, you can look as good as these Wardrobe Remixers:

On the left, LunchBoxGirl shows a great, simple outfit that fits together perfectly. Each item looks great on her, and they’re all the right length and proportion to suit each other piece.

On the right, we see cigarettesandspeed in a much girlier outfit. Again, each piece fits her body perfectly — plus the top’s just the right length to wear with the skirt, and the belt’s exactly the right length to pull the top in. (She even gets away with the tights… wish I could do that!)

The advanced version:

In this picture, persephassa shows a more advanced take on fitting separates together well.

Believe it or not, in this picture she’s wearing three tops and two skirts… and she manages to do it without looking remotely lumpy.

The key to layering the tops is that they’re all quite fine knits that skim her body. The two inner layers fill in the neckline of the outer layer nicely, but are otherwise completely hidden.

As for the skirts, the blue one gives the pink one some body, and peaks out like a very funky petticoat.

It’s a unique and fun look, but definitely a tricky one to pull off!