Consider emotional comfort when designing. If you have a large bust, for example, do you want to show it off or hide it?
Choose accessories wisely. With a short skirt, select hose and shoes in the same color to create a visually longer line.
Consider scale. Bigger women look better in proportionally larger motifs; tiny prints and delicate trims can get lost.
Use bright colors and textures, especially as accents; the way clothes make you feel is as important as the way they make you look.
Choose wisely among fashion fads if you choose to follow them; only some will flatter you.
Recognize and accept that if you're large, you take up more space than a smaller person and you are more visually prominent. It's human nature for everyone to notice a larger woman more than a smaller one. Use this to your advantage, and work it.
Break all the rules when you design; that's the fun and creative part.
Wear your clothes too tight. Too-tight clothes have horizontal pull lines, which make the area they cover look wider. Clothing should skim the figure.
Chop yourself in half. Consider the overall proportions of your design. Even proportions, like a hip-length jacket and knee-length skirt, will make you look shorter and wider; uneven proportions, such as 1/3 and 2/3 (think of an Empire-waist, knee-length dress) will make you look taller and slimmer.
Place horizontal design lines across the widest parts of your body. Tops should have hemlines above or below the full hip. Sleeve hems should fall above or below the fullest part of the arm. Skirt or dress hemlines should fall above or below the fullest part of the calf.
Think that dressing tricks will make you look thin. At most, dressing tricks will appear to take off only about five pounds. The goal of plus-size design is a garment that fits and makes you look and feel wonderful.
