Many women know this problem: In the morning you look helplessly in your wardrobe to get ready for the office and nothing fits properly, pinches and ends up in an outfit in which you do not feel comfortable. Certainly not of help on a day with a busy schedule. With other women, however, styling seems to be completely effortless and uncomplicated. Consequently, you ask yourself why? Well, it could be that these women know their body types and choose their styles accordingly…

Every woman sooner or later realizes that she has a certain predominant body shape. The common types of figures are A, H, X, O or V. Each person is born with a specific type of figure. Sports and diets can optimize the body shape, but this does not change the basic body structure.
However, the trick now is not to ignore this body shape – a V will not become an A – but to analyse it. And finally, follow the Styles4Work tips for each body shape. A great thing is, there are tips and tricks for office styling for each body shape, and each type has chocolate sides to emphasize. Then you will be able to do your morning office styling a lot better.
Today we present the figure type A, also known as “pear” or “meerkat”.
Whoever has called “please everything below” when distributing the figure types has usually become a wonderful A or so called “meerkat”. “Everything below”, that means a body shape with distinctive hips and thighs and often a round bottom. If you have narrow shoulders, few to relatively few breasts and a slender back, but in relation more pronounced hips, buttocks and thighs, here you are in the right place.
In case you are not sure whether you are really a type A, just measure it: Measure the strongest parts of your shoulders and hips with a measuring tape. You can be pretty sure to be a sweet “meerkat”, when your hips are at least 5% wider than your shoulder part. However, no reason to despair.
We have loads of business styling tips for the A-type, learn more here.
This dark blue dress by ALEXANDRA ZANDERS has the perfect A-cut for body shape type A.
Dresses and skirts
On the dress front, the best cuts are those that accentuate your upper body. That means the upper part of the dress should be tight and have a special neckline. From the waist down, movement and momentum should prevail.
So wrap-around dresses are a good choice, as they focus on the waist and the upper body and also optimally surround the hip area. This is also valid for dresses with a classic A-cut. Empire variants with a high waist also achieve the same effect.
Body type A should opt for beautiful cut-outs or wide shoulder necklines. An ideal alternative is a dress that is elaborately decorated in the upper part of the body, is cut close to the figure and has a moving A-line skirt.
The same applies to skirts. A slightly swinging A-line in knee length is particularly flattering for body shape type A. At best in darker, muted colours, but in principle all colours work if the skirt is swinging enough. Straight cut pencil skirts are another option but by no mans too tight, please.
Trousers
No question, trousers are an essential part of your business wardrobe. For figure type A, these should be cut straight to wide. Trousers in boot cut also work well.
To hide the wider hips and firmer thighs, you should use plain and more subtle colours for trousers, as they stretch the legs visually. High-cut trousers, which also can cover a bit of love handles around your belly and hips, can also help. The best trouser cut for the A-type is tight around your hips and thighs and continues with the legs slightly flared downwards.
Dark blue trousers, like on the picture, have a high-cut waistband and a straight leg cut, in addition dark blue shoes, a striking blouse. As a result, nobody pays any attention to wider hips any more.
Speaking about, this is another tip for you: always choose the shoes with at least 3 cm heel and in the same colour as the trousers, this lengthens the legs additionally and looks very chic in the office.
These pants by Windsor are very suitable for the A-type, because they are a little wider around the hips and have a high waistband.
This blouse in purple with the exceptional collar draws attention to your upper body, a smart choice for body shape A.
Tops and cut-outs
For body shape type A it is always a good idea to highlight the upper part of the body. That is why you should grab extraordinary tops. They can be in strong colours or slightly shiny. Also light colours, like pale pink, draw attention to the upper body. The more eye-catching your tops are, the more you accentuate your chocolate side. There are literally no limits as long as it remains suitable for business, of course.
Large patterns, such as, for example, in the amazing jacket by j.jackman shown in the picture below, work well. Further, all eye-catching details or striking necklines are good ways to cleverly draw the attention to your upper body. Thus you create an optical counterweight to the stronger lower body.
Shoulder areas can be highlighted with submarine necklines, V-necklines, frills, flounces or wide collars. Striking sleeve cuts, such as trumpet sleeves, are also good aids. You should make sure that the tops are slightly waisted and not too constricted.
For the office, longer, slightly waisted jackets or coats that extend over the hips and thighs also work well.
Materials and colours
The key to business-suitable outfits with the A-type lies in the clear distinction between top and bottom. This also applies to the choice of fabric and colour.
Below the waist, flowing and light, soft and smooth materials are suitable to distract from the thighs and hips. Fabrics such as fine cotton, silk blend or viscose are well suited. Your colours for the lower parts should be dark, discreet and plain.
However, from the waist up, you are welcome to use heavy fabrics such as stiffer cotton or heavier silk, wool or mixed fabrics. Here it is also important to conjure up volume in the upper body. That is why patterns and eye-catching colours are suitable for your tops, blouses, shirts and jackets, such as in the great jacket below by j.jackman.
It is very fortunate for type A to be versatile in the choice of tops, because it brings easily variety to business outfits.
The shirt by ByMi in light blue has an extraordinary collar, an ideal choice for body shape A.
This beautiful jacket by j.jackman highlights your shoulders.
What you should avoid at best
Here once again the absolute No-Go’s for body shape A-types:
- No skinny pants
- Also, no balloon or tulip shape required
- Avoid heavy and stiff fabrics in the lower body
- Disregard wild patterns for skirts and trousers
- Skip straight cuts, like e.g., shirt dresses
- and additionally, no long and wide tops, such as tunics
Prominent A-types
Yes, it’s true, lovely Blake Lively is also an A-figure type. Also, not to forget Beyoncé, Shakira and Alicia Keys. You might not see that at first glance, because these prominent A-types are cleverly styled. In other words, they put their chocolate side smartly in the centre. In our picture, Blake wears a long, patterned jacket to draw attention to her upper body. Beyoncé uses the same trick with her extraordinary dress which clearly sets focus on the shoulder part. Just try out our tips, we are sure that you can do that too!

Check out our tips for body shape A, you will see how the right styling can work wonders for you!
We look forward to hear your from you – tell us your experiences and questions about office styling at info@styles4Work.com – we are happy to give you personal advice! And we welcome your ideas and inspirations.