Fashion
Find the right jeans to make your butt look great
Fashion
Find the right jeans to make your butt look great
How to flatter your rear
The booty elicits more negativity than almost any other body part – and we can't even see it without doing contortions in front of the mirror. Luckily, there are so many ways to make your derriere look good that you'll wish it were front and centre.
Butt first …
When we try on a pair of pants or jeans, the first question that many of us ask is, "Do these make my butt look big?" Pants or jeans certainly don't have to. Like a great bra, great jeans can lift, separate, and hold you in place. All the aesthetics of what we wear on the bottom – the seam work, the pockets, the colours – can make your fanny look fantastic.
Whether you have a flat, wide, narrow, or booty-licious butt, jeans and pants can look amazing on your bottom if you follow some of our fashion tips to accentuate your body.
If you feel you have a flat butt, do wear:
• Back pockets with a flap: The best way to enhance a flatter butt is to wear back pockets with flaps. The additional bulk of the flap adds shape to your behind, while the height of the flap draws the eye upward, making your butt appear perkier. The same rule applies for pants, jeans, or skirts.
• Mermaid skirts with bell- or tulip-shaped bottoms: When choosing skirts, try to find one that has shape in the back to give you some extra curves.
• Bustles: Don't relegate skirt bustles to the late nineteenth century. Bustles add punch to your trunk, especially when you wear long skirts or dresses. Paige says: A bustle is extra padding or framework added to the back of a dress or skirt to create a more rounded or fuller appearance.
• Belted sweaters: Long sweaters worn with a belt around the waist pump up the volume on your backside. The cinching in of the belt and the extra thickness of its width create more shape on your back end. Paige’s tip: Pair a belted sweater with skinny jeans for maximum butt shaping.
• Peacoats: Classic wool coats that hit mid-thigh mask a flat butt because of their A-line shape – always a classic winner.
If you have a flat butt, don't wear:
• Pants or skirts without back pockets: Your backside will look like a flat, blank canvas.
• Sheath dress: These shapeless garments don't add any shape to your rear and are best left alone. Paige says: Sheath dresses are narrow and straight, made popular in the 1950s and 1960s. They may be slightly fitted through the waist.
• Loose, trouser-style pants: Pants in thin or wimpy fabrics that fall straight from the waist will hang off your frame and do nothing for you. Look for pants with denser fabrics and more structure to enhance your butt.
• Small pockets without detail or embroidery: Avoid plain pockets, which add nothing to your trunk.
Page 1 of 4
Excerpted from
Your Perfect Fit, copyright 2008 by Paige Adams-Geller and Ashley Borden. Excerpted with permission from McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
If you think you have a well-rounded booty, do wear:
• Higher rises: Pants, jeans, or skirts with higher rises give you ample rear coverage – a must!
• A-line or bell skirts: The looser fit of these skirts look great on your booty-licious bottom and can downplay the junk in your trunk if you so choose.
• Besom or flapped besom pockets: These slit-shaped pockets look amazing on you because of their high placement and thin construction. Since the pocket is only a slit, it doesn't add any bulk to your backside. Paige says: A besom pocket is a flapless pocket that usually graces the front of a man's suit jacket. This pocket is inset and trimmed with a welt that can be anywhere from one-eighth- to one-inch wide.
• Medium-sized pockets with subtle embroidery: Look for embroidery in a rounded shape in the same colour as your pants to camouflage your bum. Pocket placement here is key. Look for pockets that end where your cheek meets your thigh.
• Tops that hit the top of your pockets: Put your best butt forward, and pair it with a top that hits your hip bone or just graces the top of your jeans. If you feel you need a little more coverage, then opt for a longer tunic top.
If you think you have a well-rounded booty, don't wear:
• Large, busy pockets: You don't want your pockets to have so much action that they attract more attention than a Broadway marquee! Subtle embroidery and minimal decorations are optimal. Likewise, steer clear of large pockets, which accentuate the size of your behind.
• Tiny pockets: Itsy-bitsy back pockets leave too much blank space on your backside and can look too disproportionate. Paige's tip: Back pockets come in all shapes, sizes and positions, but the most universally flattering placement is when the bottom of the pocket hits where the thigh and butt cheek meet. The pocket shouldn't hit any lower than this or the butt appears droopy.
• Mermaid-style skirts or skirts with bustles: The silhouettes of these skirts only amplify your derriere.
• Wide-wale corduroys: These and other heavy fabrics pad your tush with more thickness, adding bulk to your booty. Stick to thinner, less bulky fabrics, and thin-wale corduroys.
Page 2 of 4
Excerpted from
Your Perfect Fit, copyright 2008 by Paige Adams-Geller and Ashley Borden. Excerpted with permission from McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
If you think you have a wide butt, do wear:
• Wide-leg or boot-cut pants or jeans: The wider bottoms help even out your middle and bottom proportions.
• Rounded, flapless back pockets: These give your rear a nice cherry or apple shape.
• Back pockets with embroidery or details: Look for embroidery that is high and not too wide. You want the eye to look vertically up and down, not across horizontally. The shape of the embroidery can focus the eye inward.
• Skirts with ruching or seams: Ruching in the middle of the butt or skirts with centre back seams narrow your backside.
• Vertical stripes: Pinstripes or other vertical patterns on skirts, pants, or longer tunic tops help elongate the look of the butt.
• High-rise pants and jeans: The higher rise emphasizes the waist, not just the booty, and elongates that area instead of widening it.
• Long, narrow skirts and dresses: These longer bottoms help lengthen the body and detract the focus from your backside.
• Bermuda and capri shorts: Longer shorts help lengthen your look, bringing less attention to the bum area.
If you think you have a wide butt, don't wear:
• Short, wide back pockets: These only make your butt look wider, instead or narrowing it. Wide backside + wide pockets = fashion don't.
• Wide back-pocket embroidery: The horizontal designs accentuate the width of your derriere. Look for narrower, vertical embroidery instead.
• Low rises: Pants or skirts with lower rises can make you look compact and wide since there's no focus on your smaller waist. Remember to accentuate your best assets.
• Miniskirts and short shorts: Short skirts, especially minis, and very short shorts can make you look boxy from the back.
• Horizontal stripes: Wearing these only emphasize your width.
If you feel you have a narrow butt, do wear:
• Lower-rise jeans, pants, and skirts: The lower rise gives the illusion of a wider derriere.
• Belted jackets or blouses: Longer jackets and blouses that hit below the butt cheeks can add more width and shape to your lower half. Paige's tip: These look particularly good when belted, giving you an A-line shape on the bottom.
• Back pockets with horizontal detailing: Look for embroidery or insignias that are more horizontal in design to broaden your booty.
• Miniskirts and short shorts: The shorter, boxier lines help broaden the backside.
If you feel you have a narrow butt, don't wear:
• Vertical stripes: Try to stay away from vertical stripes, like pinstripes, across your booty, because the verticality makes you look narrower.
• Long pockets: Pockets that are too long and skinny on your backside just lend a narrower, not fuller, look in general.
Page 3 of 4
Excerpted from
Your Perfect Fit, copyright 2008 by Paige Adams-Geller and Ashley Borden. Excerpted with permission from McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
Butt what about me?
There's more to the bum than shape alone. Other pesky conditions, such as sagging and cellulite, can rear their ugly heads. We've got fashion solutions for those too.
If you have a sagging butt, do wear:
• Jeans with colour highlights on top: Wearing lighter shades close to your waistband above your pocket draws the eye up so your butt actually looks higher. Paige's tip: Watch out for highlights that are too extreme – they'll make you look like you sat on some white paint!
• Jeans that are 2 percent Lycra and 98 percent cotton: This mixture of cotton and Lycra, especially in a nice tight-weave fabric that's more fitted through the hip and thigh area, helps lift and separate your bum as if it were a butt bra. Paige's tip: Be careful that there isn't too much Lycra (more that 2 percent) or the texture can be too spongy and won't hold you up at all. The fabric may start to ripple like a pair of leggings. Also, if there isn't ample cotton (at least 98 percent), then there won't be enough structure to hold you up.
• Trousers with flap pockets: Look for trousers in nice woven fabrics that have back-flap pockets. The pockets draw the eye up, giving you more bulk where you need it, while the characteristic of the fabric help boost your booty.
If you have a sagging butt, don't wear:
• Low pockets: Make sure the bottoms of the back pockets don't extend lower than you butt cheeks. The lower pockets only make your butt look saggier.
The c word
Chances are, you have butt dimples. Most of us have them. Even supermodels have cellulite – they just have a team of fabulous photographers who airbrush every photo. Wouldn't that be nice! But magically erasing our flaws isn't realistic. Even if you feel like you have more cottage cheese than a grocery store, try to remember that the way you store fat is genetic. Woman tend to store fat in their butt and thighs, resulting in larger fat cells in those areas, which push up against the connective tissue and cause dimpling. Here are some tips that give the illusion of instant airbrushing.
If you have a dimply butt, do wear:
• Jeans that are 2 percent Lycra and 98 percent cotton or jeans with polyester blends: The composition of the fabric is a plus for you and holds your butt in. Paige's tip: Look for heavier denim. The thicker, tighter weave sucks and holds you in, masking any ripples. Don't be fooled by magic fixes such as "anticellulite jeans" that claim to reduce cellulite the longer you wear them. If that were true, we'd eat, sleep, and shower in them.
• Undies with Lycra or spandex: These undergarments hold in your rear much more effectively than a G-string or thong.
If you have a dimply butt, don't wear:
• Sheer fabrics: Avoid these at all costs, unless you want every bump, dot, and dimple on display. Nude, beige, or white sheer fabrics are particularly revealing. You might feel overexposed.
Page 4 of 4
Read more:
9 ways to look good in photos
The worst fashion don'ts and how to avoid them
10 sexy pieces every woman needs in her wardrobe
Excerpted from
Your Perfect Fit, copyright 2008 by Paige Adams-Geller and Ashley Borden. Excerpted with permission from McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
The booty elicits more negativity than almost any other body part – and we can't even see it without doing contortions in front of the mirror. Luckily, there are so many ways to make your derriere look good that you'll wish it were front and centre.
Butt first …
When we try on a pair of pants or jeans, the first question that many of us ask is, "Do these make my butt look big?" Pants or jeans certainly don't have to. Like a great bra, great jeans can lift, separate, and hold you in place. All the aesthetics of what we wear on the bottom – the seam work, the pockets, the colours – can make your fanny look fantastic.
Whether you have a flat, wide, narrow, or booty-licious butt, jeans and pants can look amazing on your bottom if you follow some of our fashion tips to accentuate your body.
If you feel you have a flat butt, do wear:
• Back pockets with a flap: The best way to enhance a flatter butt is to wear back pockets with flaps. The additional bulk of the flap adds shape to your behind, while the height of the flap draws the eye upward, making your butt appear perkier. The same rule applies for pants, jeans, or skirts.
• Mermaid skirts with bell- or tulip-shaped bottoms: When choosing skirts, try to find one that has shape in the back to give you some extra curves.
• Bustles: Don't relegate skirt bustles to the late nineteenth century. Bustles add punch to your trunk, especially when you wear long skirts or dresses. Paige says: A bustle is extra padding or framework added to the back of a dress or skirt to create a more rounded or fuller appearance.
• Belted sweaters: Long sweaters worn with a belt around the waist pump up the volume on your backside. The cinching in of the belt and the extra thickness of its width create more shape on your back end. Paige’s tip: Pair a belted sweater with skinny jeans for maximum butt shaping.
• Peacoats: Classic wool coats that hit mid-thigh mask a flat butt because of their A-line shape – always a classic winner.
If you have a flat butt, don't wear:
• Pants or skirts without back pockets: Your backside will look like a flat, blank canvas.
• Sheath dress: These shapeless garments don't add any shape to your rear and are best left alone. Paige says: Sheath dresses are narrow and straight, made popular in the 1950s and 1960s. They may be slightly fitted through the waist.
• Loose, trouser-style pants: Pants in thin or wimpy fabrics that fall straight from the waist will hang off your frame and do nothing for you. Look for pants with denser fabrics and more structure to enhance your butt.
• Small pockets without detail or embroidery: Avoid plain pockets, which add nothing to your trunk.
Page 1 of 4
Excerpted from
Your Perfect Fit, copyright 2008 by Paige Adams-Geller and Ashley Borden. Excerpted with permission from McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
If you think you have a well-rounded booty, do wear:
• Higher rises: Pants, jeans, or skirts with higher rises give you ample rear coverage – a must!
• A-line or bell skirts: The looser fit of these skirts look great on your booty-licious bottom and can downplay the junk in your trunk if you so choose.
• Besom or flapped besom pockets: These slit-shaped pockets look amazing on you because of their high placement and thin construction. Since the pocket is only a slit, it doesn't add any bulk to your backside. Paige says: A besom pocket is a flapless pocket that usually graces the front of a man's suit jacket. This pocket is inset and trimmed with a welt that can be anywhere from one-eighth- to one-inch wide.
• Medium-sized pockets with subtle embroidery: Look for embroidery in a rounded shape in the same colour as your pants to camouflage your bum. Pocket placement here is key. Look for pockets that end where your cheek meets your thigh.
• Tops that hit the top of your pockets: Put your best butt forward, and pair it with a top that hits your hip bone or just graces the top of your jeans. If you feel you need a little more coverage, then opt for a longer tunic top.
If you think you have a well-rounded booty, don't wear:
• Large, busy pockets: You don't want your pockets to have so much action that they attract more attention than a Broadway marquee! Subtle embroidery and minimal decorations are optimal. Likewise, steer clear of large pockets, which accentuate the size of your behind.
• Tiny pockets: Itsy-bitsy back pockets leave too much blank space on your backside and can look too disproportionate. Paige's tip: Back pockets come in all shapes, sizes and positions, but the most universally flattering placement is when the bottom of the pocket hits where the thigh and butt cheek meet. The pocket shouldn't hit any lower than this or the butt appears droopy.
• Mermaid-style skirts or skirts with bustles: The silhouettes of these skirts only amplify your derriere.
• Wide-wale corduroys: These and other heavy fabrics pad your tush with more thickness, adding bulk to your booty. Stick to thinner, less bulky fabrics, and thin-wale corduroys.
Page 2 of 4
Excerpted from
Your Perfect Fit, copyright 2008 by Paige Adams-Geller and Ashley Borden. Excerpted with permission from McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
If you think you have a wide butt, do wear:
• Wide-leg or boot-cut pants or jeans: The wider bottoms help even out your middle and bottom proportions.
• Rounded, flapless back pockets: These give your rear a nice cherry or apple shape.
• Back pockets with embroidery or details: Look for embroidery that is high and not too wide. You want the eye to look vertically up and down, not across horizontally. The shape of the embroidery can focus the eye inward.
• Skirts with ruching or seams: Ruching in the middle of the butt or skirts with centre back seams narrow your backside.
• Vertical stripes: Pinstripes or other vertical patterns on skirts, pants, or longer tunic tops help elongate the look of the butt.
• High-rise pants and jeans: The higher rise emphasizes the waist, not just the booty, and elongates that area instead of widening it.
• Long, narrow skirts and dresses: These longer bottoms help lengthen the body and detract the focus from your backside.
• Bermuda and capri shorts: Longer shorts help lengthen your look, bringing less attention to the bum area.
If you think you have a wide butt, don't wear:
• Short, wide back pockets: These only make your butt look wider, instead or narrowing it. Wide backside + wide pockets = fashion don't.
• Wide back-pocket embroidery: The horizontal designs accentuate the width of your derriere. Look for narrower, vertical embroidery instead.
• Low rises: Pants or skirts with lower rises can make you look compact and wide since there's no focus on your smaller waist. Remember to accentuate your best assets.
• Miniskirts and short shorts: Short skirts, especially minis, and very short shorts can make you look boxy from the back.
• Horizontal stripes: Wearing these only emphasize your width.
If you feel you have a narrow butt, do wear:
• Lower-rise jeans, pants, and skirts: The lower rise gives the illusion of a wider derriere.
• Belted jackets or blouses: Longer jackets and blouses that hit below the butt cheeks can add more width and shape to your lower half. Paige's tip: These look particularly good when belted, giving you an A-line shape on the bottom.
• Back pockets with horizontal detailing: Look for embroidery or insignias that are more horizontal in design to broaden your booty.
• Miniskirts and short shorts: The shorter, boxier lines help broaden the backside.
If you feel you have a narrow butt, don't wear:
• Vertical stripes: Try to stay away from vertical stripes, like pinstripes, across your booty, because the verticality makes you look narrower.
• Long pockets: Pockets that are too long and skinny on your backside just lend a narrower, not fuller, look in general.
Page 3 of 4
Excerpted from
Your Perfect Fit, copyright 2008 by Paige Adams-Geller and Ashley Borden. Excerpted with permission from McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
Butt what about me?
There's more to the bum than shape alone. Other pesky conditions, such as sagging and cellulite, can rear their ugly heads. We've got fashion solutions for those too.
If you have a sagging butt, do wear:
• Jeans with colour highlights on top: Wearing lighter shades close to your waistband above your pocket draws the eye up so your butt actually looks higher. Paige's tip: Watch out for highlights that are too extreme – they'll make you look like you sat on some white paint!
• Jeans that are 2 percent Lycra and 98 percent cotton: This mixture of cotton and Lycra, especially in a nice tight-weave fabric that's more fitted through the hip and thigh area, helps lift and separate your bum as if it were a butt bra. Paige's tip: Be careful that there isn't too much Lycra (more that 2 percent) or the texture can be too spongy and won't hold you up at all. The fabric may start to ripple like a pair of leggings. Also, if there isn't ample cotton (at least 98 percent), then there won't be enough structure to hold you up.
• Trousers with flap pockets: Look for trousers in nice woven fabrics that have back-flap pockets. The pockets draw the eye up, giving you more bulk where you need it, while the characteristic of the fabric help boost your booty.
If you have a sagging butt, don't wear:
• Low pockets: Make sure the bottoms of the back pockets don't extend lower than you butt cheeks. The lower pockets only make your butt look saggier.
The c word
Chances are, you have butt dimples. Most of us have them. Even supermodels have cellulite – they just have a team of fabulous photographers who airbrush every photo. Wouldn't that be nice! But magically erasing our flaws isn't realistic. Even if you feel like you have more cottage cheese than a grocery store, try to remember that the way you store fat is genetic. Woman tend to store fat in their butt and thighs, resulting in larger fat cells in those areas, which push up against the connective tissue and cause dimpling. Here are some tips that give the illusion of instant airbrushing.
If you have a dimply butt, do wear:
• Jeans that are 2 percent Lycra and 98 percent cotton or jeans with polyester blends: The composition of the fabric is a plus for you and holds your butt in. Paige's tip: Look for heavier denim. The thicker, tighter weave sucks and holds you in, masking any ripples. Don't be fooled by magic fixes such as "anticellulite jeans" that claim to reduce cellulite the longer you wear them. If that were true, we'd eat, sleep, and shower in them.
• Undies with Lycra or spandex: These undergarments hold in your rear much more effectively than a G-string or thong.
If you have a dimply butt, don't wear:
• Sheer fabrics: Avoid these at all costs, unless you want every bump, dot, and dimple on display. Nude, beige, or white sheer fabrics are particularly revealing. You might feel overexposed.
Page 4 of 4
Read more:
9 ways to look good in photos
The worst fashion don'ts and how to avoid them
10 sexy pieces every woman needs in her wardrobe
Excerpted from
Your Perfect Fit, copyright 2008 by Paige Adams-Geller and Ashley Borden. Excerpted with permission from McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
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