Apple shaped women have it tough in the clothing department and I’m sharing my true confessions today about how I shop for my apple shaped body plus my secrets!
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First things first, you guys: why do I feel like apple shaped women have it the worst when shopping and dressing their body shape? Well, I happen to be one, so I might be partial. However, it’s always a little bit more challenging to dress a rounder shape when clothing isn’t always made that way. But when the choice has been made to go up a size to accommodate, things don’t fit in other places.
Do you feel me on this?
Well, my apple shaped women, I’m going to try to help you today through all the experience I’ve had along the way. If you are new to dressing for your body shape, first check out my main guide to decoding your body shape.
RELATED: Denim Shopping Guide For Apple Shaped Women
Apple Shaped Women: A True Confession
Let me preface first by saying that every-body has a different story to tell–no matter which body shape category you are grouped into. Not every silhouette follows “the rules” and most certainly is not perfect. You will have your trials and tribulations no matter which shape you have. Mine happens to be the apple shaped, so I completely feel a camaraderie with all of you apple shaped women. My biggest hurdle though will always be that I carry extra weight in the middle – and this is my story.
For me, I struggle every single day with my body and probably always will. The biggest struggle was during high school, when I still really didn’t know how to dress for my body shape, was struggling with extra weight, and had friends and family all pointing me in the direction of buying a size up to “cover” the belly. (I still cringe whenever I see my senior prom pictures.) I was always active, but for some reason just could never drop that extra 15 pounds that I really needed to lose.
RELATED: The Bathing Suit Shopping Guide For Apple Shaped Women
I found out I was pregnant with Branden during the time in my early twenties whenever my body was just starting to agree with my efforts and I was losing some weight. Whenever Branden came along, I only gained 17 pounds during my pregnancy due to extreme sickness, and then somehow managed to drop that plus an extra twenty-five pounds after he was born. While this is not typical, I did have him while I was very young, so it was all part of my journey of learning how to dress for my apple shaped body and work with it instead of against it.
My biggest struggle today is that I feel that I am in that horrible “skinny-fat” category (Yes…it’s a thing!), where even though I am a small size 6 with skinny legs, I am short and my mid-section has that extra weight that makes me appear heavier than I actually am. It can be very frustrating and a great deal of the time I spend fearing that people looking at me are wondering “Is she pregnant or what?” Rather than admiring my style, which they may be, I just happen to be in a constant state of worry. One of my biggest tips is that I almost always wear a seamless cami (like this one from SPANX that doesn’t squish my boobs or this one from Maidenform) underneath all my clothes, which helps to smooth my midsection out.
Some of my favorite clothes for apple shaped women:
RELATED: Celebrities With Apple Shaped Bodies
So what is my apple shaped women confession?
I confess that I struggle to be confident in my apple shaped body every day of my life. I spend more time worrying than I should, and am by far my biggest critic. I think that almost all apple shaped women can relate to those feelings and it’s all about pushing through them on a daily basis to be the best versions of ourselves.
Tips for the apple shaped women:
While I worry about the way I am perceived in my apple shaped body, there are some things that I have learned since high school that have helped me overcome my lack of confidence and help me feel a bit better about my shape.
- Manage your weight. I’m sure you read that statement and thought “ouch,” but I’m not here to sugar coat things. Apple shaped bodies need to make sure they are always keeping an eye on their weight by eating healthy and being active. Obviously, this goes true for every body shape, but for us apple ladies, every single extra ounce all goes straight to the middle!
- Love your layers. I start every outfit with a seamless, spandex camisole–it doesn’t need to be SPANX, my favorites come from Victoria’s Secret. Then over that goes the shirt I’m wearing that day, then often a cardigan and a belt–it’s a very flattering look on us apple ladies!
- Shop with a friend you trust. It’s interesting because, while there are a lot of things that don’t look great on the apple shaped body, there are also a lot of clothing items that you wouldn’t think would be flattering that actually are. So, take a great friend shopping with you and plan out a chunk of your day for trying things on. Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zones from time to time. (I finally did with maxi dresses and now am obsessed!)
Looking for more apple shaped women goodness? I’ve got everything an apple body shape could want right here:
- Celebrities With Apple Shaped Bodies
- Finding The Right Denim For The Apple Shaped Body
- Blazers For The Apple Shaped Body
- The Best Skirts For The Apple Shaped Body
- Best Pants For The Apple Shaped Body
- Shopping For Bathing Suits For The Apple Shaped Body
Okay, are you one of us apple shaped women? What’s your confession? (Like I said, we all have issues, but here at Project Motherhood we understand these things!!!) I wish that I had a million tricks to pass on, but so much of it all just boils down to knowing how to dress for your body shape and using that information to your advantage.
Fashionably Yours,
Allison
Different issue for us older gals. Like my compatriots, I now have a “meno=pot”, a gift of menopause. This extra roll around the middle is kind of a shocker for an old dog learning new tricks on how to dress with excess. More to love ??? My solution is to wear brighter lipstick as a distraction. Keep laughing girls.
I feel like everything you just wrote describes me and my body to the “T”! One of my biggest frustrations is finding pants. Like you I am short, have skinny legs, and carry my weight in my mid section. I usually wear size 6 as well but it is frustrating because a size 6 will fit my legs and hips great, but is rather snug around the waist. In a size 8 the legs and hips are too big, but the waist fits. It’s a big challenge for me! Confession… I rubber band my jeans a lot!
I love your confession Sara! It’s so true, its hard whenever you are an apple and in that in between size! I’s the worst–but once we know how our bodies look in clothes, we are better able to navigate shopping!
Thank you so much for writing this article, I honestly thought I was alone in my constant struggles of insecurity with my body shape. I really struggle to loose weight from my tummy & I am finding it so difficult to except this is how I will always be. I do try to embrace body confidence but it just doesn’t seem to work. Is there any advice or guidance you can offer me to help me overcome this? I truly would be so grateful.
Hi Hannah! Thank you so much for your comment and I’ve stood in the same place as you before. Do you mind if I email you? I’m happy to share more about what I’ve done to overcome these issues. I do write quite a bit about it on the blog, too if you would like to scroll through the “health life” category” where I feature so many great tips, recipes and how I’ve finally lost the weight.
I recently gained a lot of weight and.. My stomach is bulging out. I am 27 and i can’t even go out for a date.. Or even take off my clothes.. I love this article.. I love its one step closer but i need to shed this stomach
You will get there, I promise! Believe me, I grew up always carrying the extra weight in my stomach and it took a while to figure out what worked best for me.
What I want to know is what type of exercises do you do for your apple shape bodies. I feel like I will never be rid of my love handles. And that roll under the bra.
I never feel confident and I always buy a size bigger
Hi Lizelle! Thank you for your comment! I can only speak for myself but what has worked for me has been the keto diet (search the blog I have a great deal of advice surrounding that) as well as a mix between cardio and weights.
Oh wow! I relate to this so much. Growing up Even at my most active I always had extra weight in my middle, I’ve never known what it was like to have a flat stomach and growing up at the beach added another whole layer to my insecurity. After college I did start focusing on eating healthier and became a little more confident, but now that I’m a year postpartum I seem to be having a hard time with the extra weight I gained. None of my old clothes fit and I honestly feel lost trying to balance my new mom/work life and keeping myself a priority. Thank you for sharing your struggle.
Hi! I thought this article had some great tips but was kind of soured by the mention that all Apple builds must “manage their weight” because “every ounce goes straight to the middle”. The internet is full of stigma about the apple body type already, and also we can improve our current condition with diet and exercise we cannot completely change the chemistry of our bodies, or shame ourselves for it. Rectangular builds aren’t constantly pressured by the media to “gain curves” and hourglass builds aren’t ostracised for the way *their* bodies distribute extra weight – why must an apple build be expected to have the perfect lifestyle due to factors they can’t even control, and get the rough end of everything? I’m also surprised considering how you yourself struggled to lose extra weight around your middle – you of all people should realize it isn’t so simple. I was really hoping to see positive tips on actually accepting this body type and not passive-aggressive weight stigma. Whatever, just my two cents.
Thank you so much for your input Hannah, I really appreciate it! This was just 100% me sharing my personal experience. I do understand that losing weight is definitely not simple (scroll through the whole blog, I talk about it quite a bit!) and accepting it is a big part of that. Again, I shared my own personal experience and I know that everyone’s is vastly different, mine, unfortunately, has had a lot to do with weight.
I completely agree. NO Body type should EVER be the TREND! The is a GLARING omission in the “fashionable shapes” of the last 2 or 3 decades. – Curves, to dangerously thin, back to curves – but only in the hip area. While only stigma for apple shapes. Scientific stigma, at that. No, there is never an excuse to exclude an entire population with clothin trends such as these awful high waist clothing type that are too tight around the waist and too baggy around the hip and thighs. It is disgusting to tell apple shapes to just “lose weight” especially because it’s known that PCOS and other issues blamed on being apple shaped SPECIFICALLY make is difficult, if not impossible to lose weight. Don’t even say the words “visceral fat” or hint at T2D unless we are willing to face the more prevalent problems of unhealthy food, antidepressants, workplace stress, and hormonal birth control that exacerbate the problem in populations that already have a genetic vulnerability. So, when apple shaped look to the only place online to feel better about themselves from all the targeted stigma, they fins a clothing fashion blog for comfort that SHOULD be a safe place – and …MORE STIGMA and BLAME. The only thing that should be shamed is shaming apple shapes.