Help me dress my sister

[IndiaInk]

My younger sister has asked me to go shopping with her tomorrow and give her some style advice.  She says she's been dealing with body image issues lately and would like to dress better.  She's 26 and works as a pro wedding/family photographer so needs to dress somewhat well.  Her style is very casual - jeans/t-shirt/flip flops when she can get away with it, so anything we shop for needs to not be overly fussy or she probably won't wear it.  I think she wants some ideas for dresses/skirts for wearing to bridal shows, work clothes, and also casual wear.

We have very different body shapes.  I am about 4 inches taller and much smaller breasted.  I am okay at dressing myself, but could use some advice for helping her shop for her shape/style, if anyone wants to pitch in some ideas!

(She's the one in the middle of the pic, for reference) 
 

[aak0517]

I think for work functions/events if she's into dresses that a flows wrap dress just below the knee would be cute with some accessories. Also- I think a pretty skirt (LOFT/Limited have cute ones) with a shell and cardigan and a low heel would be pretty with some dainty accessories since she's more comfortable dressing down.

As for pants- everyone can use a great pair of dark wash jeans in a style that she comfortable with (skinny or boot cut maybe) she could do that with a solid tee and a blazer thrown on so she's dressed it up a bit.

Also- love your outfit in the photo!

[IndiaInk]

Jan 8, 2014 14:36:46 GMT -5 aak0517 said:

I think for work functions/events if she's into dresses that a flows wrap dress just below the knee would be cute with some accessories. Also- I think a pretty skirt (LOFT/Limited have cute ones) with a shell and cardigan and a low heel would be pretty with some dainty accessories since she's more comfortable dressing down.

As for pants- everyone can use a great pair of dark wash jeans in a style that she comfortable with (skinny or boot cut maybe) she could do that with a solid tee and a blazer thrown on so she's dressed it up a bit.

Also- love your outfit in the photo!

Blazer - great idea. 

These are all helping.  Thanks!

[IndiaInk]

Where should the skirt/dress hit so that it makes the leg look longer/leaner on a shorter person?

[bimbi284]

Jan 8, 2014 14:57:08 GMT -5 IndiaInk said:

Where should the skirt/dress hit so that it makes the leg look longer/leaner on a shorter person?

Just above the knee is usually best.

[berrysweet]

As a fellow photog, I'd definitely recommend trying on this dress from JCrew (or something like the JCrew Keyhole dress) for more formal events:

www.jcrew.com/womens_category/dresses/weartowork/PRDOVR~04948/04948.jsp

It's nice because (a) it's knee length, which is key for the crouching/bending/photog craziness, (b) it is structured, so it won't blow like crazy in the wind, and (c) it has pockets, which is awesome for tossing in a lens cap or extra memory card.

I also agree that ponte pants are great--I wore ponte skinnies from Target with boots for 98% of my fall sessions this year. With a cute cardigan and scarf, I think it looked pulled together and more dressed up than jeans, while also being really easy to move around, even crawling on the ground!