Men’s Fashion – What Suits Your Body Type

When you hear the words fashion and body types, you immediately think about women’s fashion and different body shapes of women. That’s because men, in general, give far less thought to fashion or their body type.

Unlike men, women are more attentive to their looks. They discuss weight loss, trends in fashion, and which clothes are prettier or more comfortable, topics from which men, too, can take pointers!

Your Shape Determines Your Best Look!

To decide which clothes suit you the most, you need to first determine your body type.

Men generally fall under five categories depending on their shape, the inverted triangle, the oval, the rectangle, the triangle, and the trapezoid or Rhomboid. The important thing to remember is that the clothes you wear should fit just right to compliment your physique. Remember, It’s all about striking the right balance.

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The Inverted Triangle Body Type

This is what most call the muscular hunk with broad shoulders, well-developed chest, narrow waist and hips, and muscular arms and legs. This is the kind of man who spends hours at the gym every day and loves the feeling of pain as the exertion strains his muscles. Men with this kind of shape are also called heavy lifters. If you belong to this category, your upper body draws all the attention, so your attire must balance out the lower part.

Belts and double-breasted jackets will ensure attention to the lower body.
Avoid scoop necks; go for V-neck jumpers and t-shirts to get a slimming effect for your upper body.
Go for slim-fit shirts to emphasise the clean, sharp lines of your torso.
No skinny or slim-fit pants; go for straight-fit ones.
Avoid jackets with extreme shoulder padding. A loose sports jacket looks fine.
Stripe-printed shirts are good additions to your wardrobe.

Since you have one of the most enviable bodies, it will be more challenging to find the right fit for you. Athletes often don’t find pants that are roomy enough for comfort. Look for larger drop measurement between the waistband and the crotch seam.

The Oval Body Type

Do people call you a cuddly teddy bear? Then you must be having a round shape, are particularly round around the belly, have narrower shoulders, and under-developed chest muscles and slim leg bones. To balance this out, you need to focus on broadening the shoulders and lengthening the torso for a more defined look.

Avoid large prints; go for textured, solid dark shades. Vertical stripes and pinstripes are good but are the only options for you.
Ensure your bottom wear is well-fitted; an unnecessary length of fabric adds bulk, making you look shorter. The same logic applies for your shirt sleeves.
Don’t wear polo shirts, cowl necks, or crew necks.
Discard your double-breasted jackets and instead get dark, single-breasted jackets that are only slightly tapered around the waist.
You should preferably go for tailored pants with pleats to allow more room around the crotch and bottoms.
Bright-coloured or statement belts are an absolute no-no; choose a classic, brown or black leather belt.
Shoes: No boots, no white trims or white soles

The Rectangle Body Type or The Block Man

Men with this body shape are tall, with a thin frame and have little to no difference between the width of their chest/shoulders and their waist/hips. Due to such proportions, you need to create an illusion of structure by making the upper body look larger with a nipped-in silhouette around the middle.

Horizontally striped tees, both long and short-sleeved, are good for giving your slight frame a bit of breadth.
Jackets and blazers with padded shoulders and wider lapels are good. Ask your tailor to take them in slightly at the back to give an illusion of structure.
Bright coloured shirts are good, too.
A fine-gauge crew neck jumper over a button-down shirt will instantly add volume to your upper body.
Avoid shapeless clothes. Go for more tapered ones, those fitted around your waist and hip.
Opt for single-breasted jackets. Double-breasted ones do little to compliment your structure.

The Triangle Body Type

This is just the opposite of the heavy lifter in more ways than one. Men of this shape have a larger lower body, with a narrower, weaker upper body. This is usually the result of their imbalanced dietary habits or sedentary lifestyle. No wonder they are also called ‘The Happy Eater’.

Tailored, patterned blazers and solid-coloured pants and trousers are a good combination.
Single-breasted, shoulder-padded jackets will provide a structured shape.
Vertical stripes will add length to your body, while bright-coloured patterns around your chest will add volume to your upper torso. Pair them with darker shades like grey, navy, or black around the mid-section.
Avoid statement belts. They draw unnecessary attention to your midriff.
Skinny fits for bottom wear are disastrous. Replace them with straight fits.
Avoid polo shirts and tapered crew necks, and never wear shirts with horizontal stripes around the stomach.

The Trapezoid or Rhomboid Body Type

Also called as ‘The Athlete’, this is the most desirable body type among men. Men having such a body type are broad across the chest and shoulders, and narrower around the waist and hips, but perfectly balanced. As long as men with these proportions remain in shape, they would never have to worry about what to wear.

When it comes to clothing style, there are hardly any Do(s) and Don’t(s) for this body type. In fact, men with such physique are often preferred as models to showcase emerging fashion trends.

The only thing they must remember is to avoid baggy clothes; they should wear clothes that fit them well.

The Trick

The trick is to drape each body type in a way that emphasises the desirable aspects of the build and diverts attention away from the undesirable ones. Explore different fashions for both men and women with the help of design courses from the JD Institute of Fashion Technology. Enroll for a degree at a reputed institute for BSc. in Fashion and Apparel Design to create fashion that fits the body shape!