November 29, 2011

The Ectomorph Male Body Type

As promised, some dress tips for the Ectomorph male body type.

To recap: The Ectomorph is naturally very thin, has little shape & muscle, has quite a linear body & have seemingly longer limbs, aka your typical "skinny guy".

It's important to remember that a slim frame is much easier to dress than a large frame for two main reasons: 1. Clothes generally hang better on you and 2. designers design with you in mind, therefor high fashion and trendy garments seem to look extra good on you.

For your build, smaller retail stores like Hilton Weiner, Vertigo, Aca Joe, YDE, Country Road, Trenery, etc are better shopping options than the larger retailers like Edgars and Woolworths as they seem to have graded their sizes up (sizes going up to 3XL) to accommodate our overweight population in South Africa. (You might recall the results of a recent study putting SA right up there in spot nr 3 regarding countries with the most obese residents.)

Never wear over sized clothes in an effort to bulk up - this will have the opposite effect and place emphasis on your narrow frame.

When out shopping, look for "slim fit" as opposed to "regular fit" styles, especially in dress shirts (aka button shirts).

Avoid skinny jeans; unless the look you are going for is skater/ rocker. Straight leg or slim-fit, boot cut jeans are the better options. The taller you are, the more of a boot cut you may wear. Being short and wearing a wide boot cut will make you appear even shorter. If you want to wear jeans to work, for a business casual look, opt for darker shades in denims as they tend to look neater.

Vertical lines on dress shirts do not have a "slimming" effect, as previously believed. Choose shirts with a pinstripe rather than plain.

Avoid wearing dark colours from head to toe as this WILL have a slimming effect. Break up your outfit by wearing lighter coloured shirts like white, shades of light grey and shades of light blue. By wearing a lighter colour up top, your upper torso will appear larger and that will create the illusion of the ideal "Mesomorph" male body type.

Wear jackets with 1 or 2 buttons only. The more buttons you try and "cram" into a shorter space, the more of your length will be lost.

Also choose crew necks over V-necks for the same reasons as mentioned above.

Happy dressing or happy dressing your Ectomorph man! x

November 1, 2011

Skin Talk - Update #3, 3.5 and 4!

I've skipped update #3 - and then I missed to update you on that update, so I've decided to skip right to my final update (#4), aka the conclusion to my skin make-over:

+ I've managed to up my daily water intake - which seems to be a healthy habit now.
- On most days I couldn't cut down on my coffee intake to JUST 2 cups.
+ My overall eating habits have improved!
+++ I've managed to re-introduce exercise to my daily routine and am enjoying my new source of energy as well as better skin.
- I've discovered that the Age Loc gels that I use with my NuSkin Galvanic Spa makes my skin break out. -1
+ I've discovered that all facial products have either a negative or positive current, and by identifying which of my skincare products has + and - currents, I can now use the products that I know work with my skin with my Galvanic Spa for optimum results in anti-aging and skincare.
+++ I've discovered the wonders of coconut oil for my skin. It has anti-bacterial properties and is an excellent source of the perfect moisture balance to be used on my face and entire body. PLUS it's organic and natural, no bad stuff, scoring extra points!

With that being said, my skin is almost back to how I like it. Another month like the last, and I might just sport supermodel skin! ;) Might. Will keep you posted.