THE EPIDEMIC OF THE STRIPE!

Do stripes make you look thinner or heavier? 

They're popping everywhere, and represent one of the trendiest looks for the 2012 spring/summer season!

Whether or not stripes make you look thinner or heavier would depend particularly on the design in which the stripe is placed since fashion has so many different formats of the aforementioned:  from horizontal, diagonal, to vertical, etc.  One would be surprised at how vastly different the countless textiles of stripes each appear on the human body, and at how transformed a look can become from their use. 

Woohoo to being able to change how you look with what you wear!  

This is why fashion is a billion dollar industry.  Successful & very creative designers are able to bring back previously used textiles and magically reinvent them.

Brilliant 19th Century German physicist Helmholtz discovered that horizontal stripes give off the illusion that one is taller, and conversely that the vertical stripe provides a widening affect.  Helmholtz spread his theory of his revelation of the stripe to as many audiences as he could, especially the female population.  As a result, he emphatically encouraged women to wear horizontal stripes in his book entitled Handbook of Physiological Optics. 

Not only are horizontal stripes super trendy and spunky, but its illusion elongates the body, making it appear to be more three-dimensional.  Vertical stripes will accentuate your girth, therefore you will not find them on many magazines this coming year in 2012. 

All the top designer's made sure that stripes were well represented in the spring/summer line up. From dresses, shirts, skirts, and even slacks, not to mention shoes and handbags stripes made a splash on this seasons runway.

Do yourself an incredible justice and quickly add horizontal stripes to your wardrobe.  It's a classic item that will never go out of style, and it will elongate your figure by naturally accentuating your shape, both ladies and gentlemen.  If you shop around wisely, you can find articles of clothing that follow this unstoppable trend at very affordable prices from stores like Macy's, Ross, TJ Maxx, and Forever XXI just to name a few.  Your more higher priced brands like Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton, Diesel, Guess by Marciano, and Christian Louboutin are following this trend almost religiously and horizontal stripes are available right now on their shelves! 

Happy Holidays everyone!  Put your best foot forward and sport stripes for summer/spring 2012!