Shh! This Is the Secret to Finding Your Perfect-Fit Dress

Fashion truth-bomb time: If you've ever found a perfectly fitting dress (you know, the one that hugs you in all the right places and leaves the lesser parts well alone), you'll feel like you've just won the compliment lottery. Not only that, this holy grail of style finds will deliver over and over. By that we mean you can wear it anywhere, with any type of shoe, and you'll still feel extra special. Personally, I recently discovered a Warehouse wrap dress was my ideal frock. But that won't suit everyone. So where should you start on this quest?

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(Image credit: Style du Monde)

First things first: If you don’t know your body type, then try our body shape calculator. Ideally, you want to know your silhouette before you start delving into the shopping part (although that bit is super fun). Once you've done that, however, we suggest you keep scrolling for the different body shapes and which dresses suit them the most.

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Style Notes: Show off your curvy figure by sporting a dress with a belted waist. Adjustable ties will let you highlight just how tiny your waist is. Wrap dresses are ideal, but you can also try adding your own belt too. Try to avoid shapeless dresses that don't give you any definition. 

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Style Notes: Apples usually have thin legs and tend to carry weight around their middle. A swing or empire dress will flow over your midsection for a flattering effect.

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Style Notes: For broader shoulders, you want to cast the illusion that you've got wider hips. Dresses that flare out slightly, such as A-lines, are ideal for balancing out broad shoulders and giving you a more feminine silhouette.

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Style Notes: Look for dresses with draping and ruching to play up the curves you do have. A cinched midsection is also ideal for giving the illusion of more feminine shape.

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Style Notes: A fit-and-flare dress will play up your thin waist and small upper body while minimising the hips and thighs.

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Next up: autumn/winter fashion trends and the 11 looks you need to know.

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Editor in Chief

Kat Collings has over 15 years of experience in the editorial fashion space, largely in digital publishing. She currently leads the vision for editorial content at WhoWhatWear.com as the site's editor in chief, having risen through the editorial ranks after joining the company in 2012. Collings is a Digiday Future Leader Awards nominee, was named Buzzfeed's best fashion Instagram accounts of the year, and is a member of the CFDA Awards Fashion Guild. Prior to Who What Wear, Collings worked on styling projects for brands such as Vogue, Teen Vogue, Lucky, and Oliver Peoples. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in communications and calls Los Angeles home.