Capped Sleeves and Ruffles
For pears, bring attention to your top. Dresses with capped or puffy sleeves do the trick beautifully. If you're not such a fan of details around your arms, ruffles anywhere up top draw the eyes where you want them. Look for flower-style ruffles around the bodice, decorative ties or bows.
V-Necks and A-Lines
As if you needed an excuse, being pear-shaped gives you the perfect reason to don a dress with a plunging neckline. V-necks and even deeper cuts draw attention to your top and keep your behind from overpowering your frame. For the perfect combo, look for a dress with a V-neck top and an A-line skirt. The skirt skims your hips just enough to create hourglass lines, but not so much that you have to worry about showing off too much.
Empire Waists and Tunic Dresses
The key to dressing slim is cinching yourself where you're tiny. Pears are slim right below the bust, so empire cut dresses will flatter you remarkably well. Find a dress with glitzy details on top. "Red Carpet Styles for Less" at InStyle.com advises that a well-fitted bra is important for pulling off the look flawlessly. Empire-style dresses with long, flowing bottoms make an elegant choice for pears, and mask any of the problem zones below the waist that you're uncomfortable with. Tunic dresses are great too, as long as they fit properly. If it's tight around your tummy or hip region, leave it behind in the dressing room. When the fit's right, this style creates lean and clean lines for pear-shaped figures.
Go Dark and Simple on the Bottom
We all know that black is slimming, but that doesn't mean you have to wear black dresses and skirts all the time. Instead wear pants and skirts that are dark and simple in relation to your shirts and blouses. In other words, if you're buying a two-toned dress, make sure the darker hue is at the bottom. Prints are eye-catching too, so choose dresses with prints on the bodice and one-toned skirts.
