Remember last week when I told you a dress has to fit three body parts at once with one size number?

Well, today's topic only has to fit ONE. Your waist. That's it.

We're closing out the series today: tops, pants, dresses... and now, the easiest one of all: skirts.

But first, a quick correction from last week 🙋🏻‍♀️

Jenilee, a former wardrobe stylist in this community (she's styled 9,000 people, how cool is that?!), replied to the dresses email with a great catch for my pears: sleeveless dresses usually don't work on you unless the cut widens the shoulder line. Think spaghetti straps, halter, off the shoulder, wide necklines, capped or short sleeves.

My sleeveless recommendation came from my travel brain. Thank you, Jenilee! 💛

Okay, back to skirts.

The catch with skirts is that they're never judged alone. They're judged with the top you wear over them. So today you're getting two answers per shape: which skirt to buy, and what top to pair it with.

How to use this email: find your shape below, read your section, skip the rest.

🔎This emoji has the keywords for your body type listed. You don't have to shop at the stores I recommend all the time. I truly want you to be able to do this all on your own!

Pear (hips wider than shoulders)

✅ Your skirt: an A line or fit and flare that starts at your natural waist and skims over the hips. The shape does the smoothing for you. Skip bulky or clingy fabrics that grip right at the hip, they undo all that work.

👚 Your top: same principle as the dress correction above. Wide necklines, short sleeves, or spaghetti straps. Fitted, tucked in.

🏆 My picks: this Talbots linen fit and flare skirt (linen has just enough body to hold the flare), or this J.Jill button front maxi skirt if you love a longer line. Bonus: the vertical button row draws the eye up and down.

🔎 Search for: A line midi skirt, fit and flare skirt, linen midi skirt, high waist A line skirt.

Apple (more fullness in the middle)

The waistband is the whole battle, right?

✅ Your skirt: Stiff waistbands dig in exactly where you don't want attention. What you need is a soft, FLAT waistband (not bunchy) and fabric with enough body to fall straight from the waist instead of tracing what's underneath.

👚 Your top: something that skims and ends just below the waistband. No tight tucks needed. A half tuck with a flowy top works beautifully. This pairing matters most for you, because the top does a lot of the smoothing over the middle.

🏆 My picks: the Danube Ponte skirt (flat elastic waist, smoothing mid weight Ponte that holds its shape, and it pulls on), the Tessa liquid jersey skirt if you'd rather have flow than structure (liquid jersey is a heavy, fluid knit, nothing like the thin jersey we avoid), or this high rise skort for casual days.

🔎 Search for: elastic waist skirt, pull on skirt, flat waistband skirt, Ponte skirt.

Rectangle (balanced, less waist definition)

✅ Your skirt: anything with a wrap, tie, or waist detail, because your job is to create the waist the skirt alone won't.

👚 Your top: tucked in, plus a belt. That one move gives you more shape than any specific skirt cut ever will.

🏆 My picks: this faux wrap front midi skirt (the diagonal wrap line carves out a waist all by itself), or this paper bag miniskirt where the gathered waist IS the detail. You can also add a leather belt to certain skirt styles, it does the same job every time.

🔎 Search for: wrap skirt, tie waist skirt, belted skirt, paper bag skirt.

Hourglass (defined waist)

I'm in this group, so real talk: the style here depends on what YOU want to show.

The classic advice is a pencil skirt, because it follows every curve. But I stay away from pencil skirts myself, I never want to highlight my butt in public 😜 so I gravitate toward A lines and fit and flare styles that highlight my waist but "hide" my butt.

Both are correct. It's your body and your style, you get to pick what gets the spotlight.

✅ Your skirt: Whatever you choose: high waisted, always. Low rise ignores the waist completely, and the waist is the whole point.

👚 Your top: fitted or tucked, so the waist stays visible.

🏆 My picks: the ultra stretch Ponte pencil skirt if you're team pencil, my silk midi skirt (I own it in size S, the bias cut follows the waist then flows), or the lightweight crepe slip skirt for the same silhouette in a budget friendly fabric with an elastic waist. (also check out the styles for pear shapes)

🔎 Search for: high waist pencil skirt, bias cut midi skirt, slip skirt, fit and flare skirt.

Inverted triangle (shoulders wider than hips)

✅ Your skirt: this is where you get to have ALL the fun. Pleats, prints, ruffles, tiers, fuller shapes. Volume below balances your shoulders.

👚 Your top: keep it simple. Skip shoulder details, they add extra width.

🏆 My picks: the pleated matte midi skirt (those sunburst pleats move beautifully), the cotton gauze smocked maxi skirt with its tiered ruffle hem, or this Ann Taylor pleated midi skirt for a dressier version.

🔎 Search for: pleated midi skirt, tiered skirt, smocked maxi skirt, printed maxi skirt.

By now you might be thinking... WTF are all these names??

Smocked, paper bag, bias cut, A-line, fit and flare?!

That's ok. Nobody teaches us this stuff.

That's exactly why I give you the actual names: so the next time you're standing in a store or typing into a search bar, you know what to ask for. This is a vocabulary you get to keep forever. (I'm working on putting all of this together nicely for you to keep and have handy)

✈️ For my travel girlies: the skort exception

Midi skirts are the most comfortable for traveling (in my humble opinion), but skorts are the one exception I make.

• ​My linen skorts are what I wear on long sightseeing days, all the breeze of a skirt, none of the bike seat anxiety 😅 (these are short just FYI). Talbots has GREAT skorts on sale right now if you prefer a longer hem.
• The linen utility skort has pockets that actually hold things.
• Even better if they're part of a matching set, LOFT has great ones.

🛍️ Where to shop (and what each store does best)

Find the search bar, type in your shape's terms from above (🔎), and start at the store that matches your style:

• ​Talbots for classic cuts and a true petite line.
• ​J.Jill for soft elastic waists and relaxed fits.
• ​Ann Taylor for polished pleats and workwear. (also good for petites)
• ​Nordstrom for the widest selection under one roof.
• ​Quince for silk and linen quality at prices that make no sense (in a good way).
• ​Universal Standard if sizing has ever made you feel like an afterthought: they design on a size 18 body first and make every piece in sizes 00 to 40.

​Pro tip if you shop at Nordstrom 💡​

I noticed Nordstrom added AI shopping assistant (look for "Shop with AI" next to the search bar).

Instead of typing keywords, you can literally ask it things like "show me A line midi skirts that skim the hips."

It's in beta, so it won't nail it every time, and one warning from me: it will happily recommend whatever's in stock with a compliment attached. It's a brilliant shortcut for FINDING options, but you now know your shape's rules, so you get to overrule it. You're the stylist. (the Nordstrom sale is still happening BTW)

So, that's a wrap on the series: tops, pants, dresses, and skirts, all matched to your shape.

None of this is a rulebook, by the way. It's a toolbox. The only goal is that you put something on and feel GOOD in it 🔥

Hit reply and tell me your shape and which email in the series helped you most. Or if you have any other questions, I'm here too. I truly love to hear from you! (just know it'll take me 3-4 days to reply)

Thanks for being here!

XO,

Aimara

>>> If you love Quince and we have similar personal style, I put together everything I own from them on this page!​