Thank you for writing! Francesca is not afraid to be disagreed with!

Your comment is a reminder that, as always, a woman must dress in a way that suits HER, and there are always exceptions to the rule.

Also, Francesca believes that this may depend on just how Appley one is. A woman who is a little poochy may do better with an empire waist than the woman who, like Francesca, already looks many months pregnant!

A well cut Empire dress, on the other hand, can be very flattering. The only problem is that it’s near impossible to find one. The skirt portion needs to be a drapey fabric, like rayon or a knit, not something with body. The best cut is an A-line or flared skirt with few or no gathers to the bodice. The bodice should be cut long enough to come all the way to the bottom of the bust area, where a well fitted bra band sits. A dress like this will skim over the body and gently conceal the lack of waistline.

She is also a pronounced Apple, and thanks the Francesca for the refresher course in how to dress oneself attractively. Personally she never, *ever* goes sleeveless except when she wears the bathing suit. For the rest she favors the deep V neck (she has enough of a bust to justify this) and the wrap front which gives at least the illusion of a waist.

Just FYI, when I was making medieval costumes, I discovered that I could get the same graceful curve effect with a seam down the middle front (also: a zillion times more authentic than princess seams). So it doesn’t seem to matter whether there are one or two or presumably three seams in the front, as long as there are any!

Oh Francesca I do love you. I am soft and round but I have awful scars on my arms and am an apple. I love that by reading your advice there is finally something that advises me it is OKAY to cover up my arms and how to do it. (I am ‘doing it right’- but GOD it is awful to try to go to the bar and look pretty and not overly conservative)

That is why I like the goth/industrial. Sleeves? Fishnets? You can be covered head to toe and still look like a bombshell. However that is something that normal clothes don’t do so much. What to wear to a normal club that looks awesome and is not skin left right and center?

No, I do not believe they are “bad” for anyone. But Francesca is thinking that the itty-bitty girl who wears a Size 2 does not NEED the princess seams. Of course she can wear them if she wants, and will look just fine.

The girls for whom princess seams are life savers are the apples and the women of large chests. The structured, hourglass shape of the shirts and dresses with princess seams make a tremendous difference and turn what could be a circle or a rectangle silhouette into something akin to the hourglass.

xoxo!