It pays to remember in good time.
It takes both willpower and work to shed those surplus kilos, and while you are gathering yourself for this work, you ought to sew yourself a dress that makes the best of your figure just as it now happens to be. Stick to discreet colors, avoid large checks, wide stripes, and boldly patterned fabrics. Study your figure and bear in mind that you must emphasize the most successful aspects of your appearance in order to make those around you forget the less fortunate ones.
For the great majority of full-figured ladies, the width of the hips is the dangerous point. In this case the thing is to emphasize the shoulder width and to make the shoulders appear straight and square. But if your neck is short and thick, then you must be careful not to overdo the squareness either, for then the neck looks even shorter. Particularly slimming lines are those that begin at the very edge of the shoulders and taper together toward the middle as they go down. Lengthwise lines in general make an overly full figure look slimmer than it is. Crosswise lines up top increase the shoulder width, and a high yoke can therefore often be flattering for the full-figured. If you are really thick across the shoulders, so that you have no shoulder cap but only an even curve from the neck over the shoulder and upper arm, then I would advise you to make false padded shoulders. There is no reason why «tailor's padding» shouldn't be used on dresses and blouses too.
Don't choose a dress style where the neckline goes right up close to the neck. A really deep pointed or square-cut neckline will generally be the most flattering. To make the line of the neckline look even deeper, you can of course make a light-colored vest with a little collar of the same material. If for one reason or another it is absolutely necessary for the dress to be closed at the neck, then finish the neckline with a light-colored vest or a jabot.
Those ladies who have acquired an «age supplement» at the waist should preferably wear dresses that fall straight down without a belt. A belt across the middle will only emphasize that the waist measurement is …