Are there any universally flattering clothes?

[JimmyJabs]

I don't think there are, and yet every year I seem to see the latest trend in jean shape or skirt length being touted as suiting everyone. Then, a couple of years later, everyone suddenly notices that e.g. skinny jeans or midi skirts actually don't work on the majority of bodies, and on it goes with another trend.

I think the styles I most often see being described as universally flattering are:

White shirt (not if you have large boobs or a bit of a tummy)
Little black dress (black isn't very forgiving to some skin tones)
Skinny jeans (terrible on pear shapes like me)
Maxi skirts (I think they're best on tall people - I just look like a pepper pot)
Voluminous prairie style dresses like that spotty Zara one from last year (they might be comfortable but they make most people look about three sizes bigger than they are)

I would like to be proved wrong though!

No one style or garment can be universally flattering by those standards, and if a style, such as those mentioned in the OP are routed as such , it's just marketing. Get us to buy more stuff.
I suppose my earlier question about what we mean by flattering was promoted, in part by thinking about how my own view of what 'looks good' can change. For example, when skinny jeans came first came back in I thought there's no way most people will wear them. Likewise cropped trousers.

Does a blazer suit everyone?

I thought that about skinny jeans too. I expected them to be worn only by the very slim and long of leg for maybe a couple of seasons - and then it became disagreeably hard to buy any other jeans style for the next 15 years!

I don't see how there can be universally flattering garments when women have so many different shapes. You can have versions though. I was looking at a Justine Lecontr video about 10 French wardrobe staples (yea white shirt , black dress) etc and everyone could do a version but the shirt might be loose or fitted or off white or a drapey blouse, depending.

@Chosennone I knew someone would say wrap dresses - you are so WRONG

They look utterly SHIT on Apple shapes!

@askinfforfriend

Does a blazer suit everyone?

I think everyone has a blazer to suit but the exact style and fit would vary. I was thinking, nearly all men look great in black tie, is there a female equivalent?

I think boot cut looks flattering on any shape?

@JimmyJabs

OK, I suppose I meant fat pear shapes, like me! No idea what princess seams are - better go and look.

I am a pear shaped and can confirm there’s nothing really designed in fashion to suit us. If you’re fat it’s even worse. You just have to buy things you feel most comfortable / powerful in - forget about whether it suits you or what others think.

@Smellbellina

I think boot cut looks flattering on any shape?

Nope. Boot cut and wide leg makes pear shaped women look stumpy. For us a slim-straight leg or even a slim line mom jean looks a lot bettet.

Wrap dresses look shit on me. They should work as I have the shape that they are meant for, but they are like "hello, here are my boobs" on me. I can´t inflict them on the general public.

Wide leg or flares do, I don't agree that boot cut do as they are slim on the legs and slightly wider on the ankle without going ott, so balance out the hips without adding extra... heft? I don't think that's the word I want to use but too tired to think of the right one!

Nothing is flattering if you have small boobs and a bit of a tummy. I look pregnant in everything.

GrumpyHoonMain too true. I've gone into mom jeans at the moment because they seem to offer a compromise between skinny and wide leg - but they would still look better on someone five inches taller and several stone lighter.

Re wide legs, I think the weight of the fabric can make a difference. I can't wear very stiff denim etc in that style because it makes me look like my legs are that width all the way down, and I am probably cosplaying as Treebeard. Something lighter and more drapey works a lot better though.

I think probably a figure hugging top half with a big skirt as everyone wore before around 1920 probably suits everyone but no 20th or 21st century fashion. For example people above have raved about bootcut but I find them incredibly dated and unflattering. I have a pair of bootcut jeans I keep trying on whenever they are suppose to be back in fashion but they still look awful and make me look about 2 sizes bigger than I am because they hide my ankles and emphasise my bum and thighs. Whereas skinnies or wide legged or cropped always look OK (I can tell skinnies are looking dated but they don't look dreadful). I've even got wide legged cropped that looks better than bootcut. I'm a short hourglass.

I have big boobs and a bit of a tummy, I also look pregnant in everything. I don't think there is really anyway of waking a belly looked good, and a big one is never going to be in fashion.
You're right OP, boot cut isn't flattering on everyone, I would still look like a toffee apple on a stick, just one with a slightly wider tip at bottom sigh

I like princess seams. But I'm forever being told that they are not stylish. Not that I care

Princess seams are flattering because they can be used to enhance what you want to enhance and to skim over what you want to disguise.

CountFosco do you mean this sort of thing? I do actually think this would be nice on most people (in the right colours), so long as the skirt was the right length and not swamping them.

Diamond studs?

Victorian style corset dresses.

Thats about it.

I know princess seams from Indian ethnic wear - they’re used to enhance the bust but I can categorically say they require a lot of adjustment for big low busts.

Flattering clothes, are clothes that you buy for your body shape. and look and feel good on you, So lots of flattering clothes everywhere for personal body shapes. If you like all those nice styles that Kate Middleton wears, which show off her very slim figure, and flatter her body, then they won't be any use for someone bigger or overweight. But some nicer clothes around these days, that are flattering when you are maybe a larger size.

Just been to the Kimono exhibition at the V&A - now that's a style that would suit loads of different heights, body shapes and boob sizes. I'm all out for getting one for me!

Princess seams work very well on large busts actually- I sew my own stuff a lot and they are more able to accomodate the large size difference between underbust and overbust. Getting the equivalent change in a darted top is much harder and tends to require several darts for me which then just looks messy.

If you have a look at bravissimo they use them a lot in their clothes as they allow you to nip the fabric back in under the best which is flattering as it shows off the slimmer waist. It basically creates side panels to match the desired profile of the torso rather than just fall off the boobs. Drawings tend to show it with round high necks for clarity but they look great with scoop, v, basically any neckline so not monoboob. Darts have a tendency to point straight at the nipple and be a bit pointy ended if you are busty...

I'm a jcup...they're a nightmare to fit in clothes!

In the closing years of the last century, a pashmina scarf was the very thing. It was a very long large strip of high lustre and incredibly soft cashmere which you bought in a colour that really flattered you, and then draped around your neck or shoulders. It didn’t much matter what else you wore - you just looked soft and attractive.

Were ubiquitous and worn by men and women for a few years, then disappeared never to be seen again. Now, if we wear scarves at all, they’re shades of porridge which are supposed to make us look “expensive” but actually make us look ill.

@JimmyJabs

I thought that about skinny jeans too. I expected them to be worn only by the very slim and long of leg for maybe a couple of seasons - and then it became disagreeably hard to buy any other jeans style for the next 15 years!

Oh my goodness...I agree! 15 years of every jean being skinny. Even for the kids. Christ. I’m not overweight but my legs are short and skinny jeans have to be styled very specifically if I am to wear them. I’m glad they’re on the way out and other styles have become available again. Never known such a dominant fashion as the skinny jean.