Teach a woman to fish and she can buy her own wardrobe

I get a lot of e-mail from women who have a specific event to go to, or who are shopping for a specific article of clothing, and who want suggestions about what to buy. I love those posts, because it's fun to shop for dresses (even if it's not actually for me) but recently I've been thinking that we really need to talk less about occasion dressing and more about dressing specific body types. Because once you know what flatters YOUR body, you will know what to buy when you get invited to that wedding or christening or office party.

I'm only one woman, you know, and I can't take every single one of you shopping (although god knows I would love to, really--how fun would that be?).

The plan is this: for the next few weeks, twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) I will talk about specific body types (curvy on top, curvy on the bottom, a little extra in the middle, flat on top, etc). We'll look at what to wear to create a long, lean line, and at how to play up your assets, and at where to shop for all sorts of events, from everyday to dress up. If this works out the way I am hoping, you will go away with some very specific ideas about what cuts and styles will flatter your body the most, and a good idea about where to go to shop for those pieces.

Keep in mind that you may be more than one body type--you may be an apple (slim arms and legs, but carrying your weigh through your mid-section) with curves (an hourglass apple, if you will--broader through the middle but with curves, of course).

Styles change at the speed of light, but your body's basic shape will most likely stay the same, even if you lose or gain weight. Learning to dress the body you have is the first step to looking terrific all the time. We'll start on Thursday with the apple shape, so get ready.

Susan Wagner writes about fashion at Friday Style and about everything else at Friday Playdate. She is a pear, or triangle, shape, and is always trying to balance her top and bottom halves.