Most flattering

After many trial and error, this ASOS navy dress was my first revelation to what "looks good" on me.

Since this dress has no zippers or buttons, every time I squeeze into it, I feel like I gained weight and have outgrown the dress. But when I snap photos of myself in it, it looks just perfect. So these are the things I have learned from this dress:

1. If it's tighter, it looks better in photographs. My biggest problem in fashion, is that I have a habit of wearing loose clothing. When I was a kid, my parents purposely bought one size larger for all our clothing so that they would last longer "to grow into," which never seems to happen for me though. Then when I was a teenager with major self-conscious issues, I hid in baggy clothing. As an adult with a petite body, most women clothing on the market are loose on me by default. Thus when something fits perfectly, I find it too constricting and avoid it, which led to many complaints of my sloppy attire. But now I learned. If it's more fitted, it looks good. I suppose this is why the uncomfortable corset or spanx were invented. Although tall lanky ladies can get away with loose clothing, so I'm thinking it has something to do with proportions too.

2. Dark colors accentuates my skin tone. My favorite color is lavender and when I think of dressing up, I naturally take out my favorite color, which is lavender. But turns out, my favorite color washes me out. When I wear a dark shade like navy or black, I always seem to get more compliments how nice and luminous my skin looks. For Asians, I'm on the more pale peachy spectrum, so wearing something dark, brings out my paleness, which must correlate to being naked, which is more sensual, I suppose. The key is, if the color brings out your nakedness, eyes, or hair color, guys dig it, haha.

(There are tons of articles on choosing flattering colors for your skin tone, but I found this one from Fashion Beans to be fun to read and on the dot! I know, it's a men's fashion site, but I find stylish men are the best at picking pleasing colors for their attire.)

3. Bring out the curves. I'm flat as a board with a thin torso, so the dress above gives me the illusion of more bust with the folds and gathering at the top, and the waist cinching helps to create that contrast. Thus nowadays, when I shop for dresses, I try to find ones that have pleats or ruffles on top and a cinched waist.

4. Head and shoulders. This one is kind of weird, but head and face proportions also play a role in looking good. I noticed that majority of fashion models have tiny faces compared to the rest of their bodies. Or they have huge hair covering parts of their faces. Well, I have a round shape face (and my head is larger compared to my small body), so I find v-shape neckline helps the face look less round and more elongated and slimmer. Also, I have sloping shoulders, so skinny straps always slip off, and some halters and strapless dresses makes my shoulders look more sloping. Thus, the sleeveless or wider strap dresses look and feel more comfortable on me. In general, being comfortable and confident always looks better!

5. The leg proportions. Skirt hemline 0-3 inches above the knee is the safest and most flattering for all ages and body types. The higher waist placement of my dress above also gives the illusion of longer legs. And neutral heels are a must for shorties.

Lastly, a fun tip I learned recently is "wearing a jacket as a cape." My dad bought this black velvet blazer for me when I was in high school. He found it at a thrift store. It has sentimental value to me, but I realize the fit isn't great (too boxy and long for my frame), but I cannot part with it and too cheap to take it to the tailors, so draping it on my shoulders as a cape gives it new life!

What are your most flattering styles/tips?