Thread: Pale skin and curvy - what colour/design suits me?

Hi everyone!

I am thinking about making or buying a costume, but I have no idea whatsoever which colour and design that suits me.

I am very pale - white actually - and curvy like an hourglass. And this combined with a bad choice of costume can be very unfortunate.
I am not overweight but I do have small "lovehandles", and I would like it if they weren't showing that much.

Btw. my hair has a light shade of brown and my eyes are blue-green-gray-ish.

Hoping for advice :)

- Julie

I'd stay away from earth tones, and pastels and opt for clear jewel tones (sapphire, emerald, amethyst) or warm metallics (copper, bronze, gold). I have little love handles too, and prefer Bra and Belt sets, rather than egyptian Bra and embellished skirt sets. I feel that the belt gives me more options on NOT squishing my squishy bits as much, while still maintaining a snug fit. Also, they give you more options on combining with different skirts. For skirts, my personal taste is chiffon. I like who it drapes and moves. For reference, I'm 5'2.5" tall, and wear an American size 8 dress. I'm not a true hourglass, as my waist is only 7" smaller than my bust. But I'm a very very nipped in pear : )

Im pale and hourglass shaped also! As far as colors go black and red are fantastic on pale skin. Jewel tones are also great, really anything bright that will be a contrast to your skin.

Make sure you have a bra that fits well, not too big or too small. Especially if you dont like your love handles dont wear bra and belt sets, they draw too much attention to the hips and will make them look bigger than your bust. This is bad because it throws off the hour glass effect. I would go for an Egyptian costume like the hollywood costume by Eman Zaki (you can check it out on Dahlal.com). You can wear skirts like that higher on the hips and it would be easy to cover the love handles. Something else I do that helps with the muffin top effect is put extra wide elastic in the top of my skirts, its about 2" wide and really smoothes out the waist of the skirt.

Same here! Curvy, hourglass shaped and pale! I tend to look good in red! ;)
Do go for pastel colours....
I am having my very first costume made by Eshta (she is on the Retail Swap Meet). I told what I did and did not want and she was very easy in understanding that. ;)
To diverse the attention from my hips, I have chosen a bra with some fringe underneath, to cover my belly also...

Me too - I'm 5'3", curvy and almost luminescent white.

I stick with jewel tones and favor the greens, blues, teals, purples - but am known to jazz it up with some red/oranges.

I have to watch dark colors on my skin - and certain pastels wash me out, same with pretty earth tones or beiges - they make me look ill. Yellow+me=

One thing to check as well is what is your underlying base skin color - you're pale - but is it a more yellow or pinkish base? That can affect how you wear colors as well. You've seen people who can carry off silver - and others who look great in golds...

That's a fun trip to a favorite Mac Store (our your fave make-up counter) to see what your base colors are, and what makeup works best for you to further accentuate your costumes.

*** Also, a V-belt will help create illusion and sit nicely. Muffin top, love handles or any variant is combated with a well fitting costume. Know your upper hip size without squeezing, or have it made custom for you.

A body stocking can smooth out the love handles and make you look 5 lbs. thinner.

I'd say a lot of it depends on your coloring (pale can mean many things). I am very fair and blond and I can't wear black and some dark colors (teal and dark red) make me look dead. I'm ok in pastels...but I can wear jewel tones the best.

Well, now I have a tan from being in Florida for 3 weeks. LOL. But I'm normally very fair with near-black hair and blue eyes, and I LOVE jewel tones like true red, fuchsia, royal blue, turquoise, kelly green and royal purple. Even deep, saturated pastels like candy pink, robin's egg blue and periwinkle can be beautiful against fair skin.

Of course, I recommend a trip to the fabric store, where you can hold bolts of fabric in various colors up to your face and see what makes you glow. Sometimes, you might surprise yourself - like I recently found out that I can wear certain shades of yellow. Go figure!