How to Look 15 Pounds Thinner
A former style columnist offers tips on fat-camouflage underwear, shoes, tops and jeans
Get this. When it comes to disguising how fat you look in a bathing suit, women are better off in a string bikini than boy shorts and a bra top. Even certain perfumes (notes of cinnamon and lily of the valley) will make you smell thinner, plus-sized model Danica Lo writes in her tip-packed new book How Not to Look Fat. Lo's credentials on the subject are encouraging. At five foot six, she's never dipped below a size 10. On most days, she's a size 14. She understands the heartache of feeling fat. In high school, she bailed on her prom when she couldn't find anything to wear.
She describes herself as lazy and says she might see the inside of a gym twice a year. "I hate working out," she writes. "Think about it. What are fat people supposed to wear to the gym?" This is not a rhetorical question. Gym wear is given full consideration in chapter 14. Lo, a former style columnist for the New York Post, has ideas on how to instantly appear "five, ten even fifteen" pounds thinner in everything from photographs to the dreaded Halloween costume. A French maid costume "may look skimpy," she writes, but it "covers the upper arm and butt," and "adding an apron can cover up a tummy pouch." If a snap-happy friend at the party catches you off guard: "Hide your double chin in one second flat by pushing the back of your tongue up against the soft palate in the back of the roof of your mouth," she writes. "This tenses up the muscles of your jaw and minimizes chin flab hang-down."
Chapter one strikes at the essentials: underwear. If you feel fat, a thong isn't going to help. It's time to invest in a drawer of "good old granny panties," she writes. "There are lots of great bum-belly-blubber-cinching-underthings for every budget." And "just for you" she says, she's tried on dozens of pairs, giving special consideration to the must-have perky tush, and test-driving for lumpiness. Hanes Body Enhancer Maximum Control Underwear resembles pantyhose and will compress your waist and hips by 1.5 inches all around, she says. And JCPenney's firm control high-waisted thigh slimmer "left me looking like I had the best butt in town."
Chapter two covers the top half, which will "make or break your look," she writes. "As a rule, the most flattering top you can buy is a solid-coloured deep V-neck, three-quarter sleeve in slightly stretchy fine-gauge knit that skims your figure and ends right at the top of your hip." Lo continues with three pages of neckline illustrations. "Mock turtlenecks aren't flattering. Period."
Next up is back fat. "Busty? Good. Booty? Good. Back fat? Eh, not so good," she writes. "To camouflage back rolls, step away from the jersey and head straight for the knits. From cashmere to cotton to merino to viscose knits, because of their thicker texture they are more forgiving." And if you can't hide it, decorate it with a shawl.
As for jeans, you're pretty much on your own. "Shopping for jeans is like trying to find Mr. Right — a totally aggravating, exhausting and depressing experience." Nevertheless, Lo suggests avoiding "Mom jeans" — "those high-waisted, poofy-topped jeans that exacerbate all the problem parts. Avoid pleats, tapered legs and high-cinched waists." Blue Cult is the current favourite brand among Hollywood celebrities, she says. "The back pockets are slightly raised and there are magic seams above each cheek that make your rear look like two perfect, perky peaches."
Moving to dressier pants, Lo writes: "You already know that pleats are the work of the devil's spawn but creases are like an angel singing. A clean, knife-sharp crease straight down the front of each leg is terrific for elongating and slimming the leg." The pants chapter ends with a warning in purple capital letters: wear heels with pants.
Lo's shoe chapter also includes three pages of illustrations, so if you're not sure what the "universally flattering" d'Orsay pump looks like, you can refer to her "dictionary of shoes." Lo's rule is the chunkier the leg, the chunkier the heel. Steer clear of shoes with ankle straps, she says. They sever the leg from the foot and make legs look shorter and wider. For street sneakers, pick Converse. "They make your feet look tiny."
"Exercise if you must," writes Lo, but for instant slimming, she swears by a 45-minute spa treatment known as Electro Muscle Stimulation. "After one session, I lost two inches from my waist and lower abdomen …. Then I ate pizza every day for two weeks straight."
By Julia McKinnell
Get this. When it comes to disguising how fat you look in a bathing suit, women are better off in a string bikini than boy shorts and a bra top. Even certain perfumes (notes of cinnamon and lily of the valley) will make you smell thinner, plus-sized model Danica Lo writes in her tip-packed new book How Not to Look Fat. Lo's credentials on the subject are encouraging. At five foot six, she's never dipped below a size 10. On most days, she's a size 14. She understands the heartache of feeling fat. In high school, she bailed on her prom when she couldn't find anything to wear.
She describes herself as lazy and says she might see the inside of a gym twice a year. "I hate working out," she writes. "Think about it. What are fat people supposed to wear to the gym?" This is not a rhetorical question. Gym wear is given full consideration in chapter 14. Lo, a former style columnist for the New York Post, has ideas on how to instantly appear "five, ten even fifteen" pounds thinner in everything from photographs to the dreaded Halloween costume. A French maid costume "may look skimpy," she writes, but it "covers the upper arm and butt," and "adding an apron can cover up a tummy pouch." If a snap-happy friend at the party catches you off guard: "Hide your double chin in one second flat by pushing the back of your tongue up against the soft palate in the back of the roof of your mouth," she writes. "This tenses up the muscles of your jaw and minimizes chin flab hang-down."
Chapter one strikes at the essentials: underwear. If you feel fat, a thong isn't going to help. It's time to invest in a drawer of "good old granny panties," she writes. "There are lots of great bum-belly-blubber-cinching-underthings for every budget." And "just for you" she says, she's tried on dozens of pairs, giving special consideration to the must-have perky tush, and test-driving for lumpiness. Hanes Body Enhancer Maximum Control Underwear resembles pantyhose and will compress your waist and hips by 1.5 inches all around, she says. And JCPenney's firm control high-waisted thigh slimmer "left me looking like I had the best butt in town."
Chapter two covers the top half, which will "make or break your look," she writes. "As a rule, the most flattering top you can buy is a solid-coloured deep V-neck, three-quarter sleeve in slightly stretchy fine-gauge knit that skims your figure and ends right at the top of your hip." Lo continues with three pages of neckline illustrations. "Mock turtlenecks aren't flattering. Period."
Next up is back fat. "Busty? Good. Booty? Good. Back fat? Eh, not so good," she writes. "To camouflage back rolls, step away from the jersey and head straight for the knits. From cashmere to cotton to merino to viscose knits, because of their thicker texture they are more forgiving." And if you can't hide it, decorate it with a shawl.
As for jeans, you're pretty much on your own. "Shopping for jeans is like trying to find Mr. Right — a totally aggravating, exhausting and depressing experience." Nevertheless, Lo suggests avoiding "Mom jeans" — "those high-waisted, poofy-topped jeans that exacerbate all the problem parts. Avoid pleats, tapered legs and high-cinched waists." Blue Cult is the current favourite brand among Hollywood celebrities, she says. "The back pockets are slightly raised and there are magic seams above each cheek that make your rear look like two perfect, perky peaches."
Moving to dressier pants, Lo writes: "You already know that pleats are the work of the devil's spawn but creases are like an angel singing. A clean, knife-sharp crease straight down the front of each leg is terrific for elongating and slimming the leg." The pants chapter ends with a warning in purple capital letters: wear heels with pants.
Lo's shoe chapter also includes three pages of illustrations, so if you're not sure what the "universally flattering" d'Orsay pump looks like, you can refer to her "dictionary of shoes." Lo's rule is the chunkier the leg, the chunkier the heel. Steer clear of shoes with ankle straps, she says. They sever the leg from the foot and make legs look shorter and wider. For street sneakers, pick Converse. "They make your feet look tiny."
"Exercise if you must," writes Lo, but for instant slimming, she swears by a 45-minute spa treatment known as Electro Muscle Stimulation. "After one session, I lost two inches from my waist and lower abdomen …. Then I ate pizza every day for two weeks straight."
By Julia McKinnell
posted by James at 7:51 PM
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