Earn your stripes

How to wear
Choose thin over bold stripes and go for vertical or diagonal. Concentrate the stripes on the top, collarbones are your best assets, opt for wider necklines. A striped scarf on the neck also helps in shifting focus on the upper half of the body.

Pear-Shaped (Bottom heavy)

What not to wear
Horizontal is a big no-no, especially on the bottoms - be it skirts or trousers. Instead opt for vertical pinstripes in a straight cut or palazzos.

How to wear
Wear horizontal lines below the bust, opting for dark solid colours to fall on the bust. Choose diagonal over vertical stripes. Highlight your waist by opting for high-waisted trousers, skirts or shorts. Keep the blouson above the waist and structure below it. Striped leggings will shift focus on leaner legs.

Apple-Shaped (Top heavy)

What not to wear
Horizontal stripes on the bust. Tube tops should be avoided completely. Bold graphic-striped mitered (where stripes join to form an angle pattern) tops.

How to wear
Horizontal lines are your best bets. If vertical, choose extremely bold stripes. One can also wear loose silhouettes on the top with structured striped layering done with the help of jackets and waistcoats. Caplets with diagonally mitered striped leggings also work.

Extremely Skinny. Illustrations/Dhara Vora

What not to wear
Vertical Stripes and Pinstripes, specially on overall suits or jumpsuits.

An outfit from designer Shivan and Narresh's Spring Summer 2013 collection

A design showcased at the Gen Next show at Fashion Week last month. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

For men:
Men have been wearing striped shirts to office since forever, but if you are lean, experiment by wearing horizontal stripes with a solid-coloured blazer on top.

Men's wear designer Arjun Khanna

Men's wear designer Arjun Khanna advises, "Stripes are tricky but normally vertical stripes work well if it's monotoned, textured or dual-toned. Be careful not to go too wide or you could land up looking like bed linen!"

Accessorising >>
Off set the graphicness of stripes with even bolder statement neckpieces, oversized solid iPad cases or pochettes.

Designers Shivan and Narresh. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Avoid mixing any floral accessories with striped outfits. Pinstripes ask for more classic accessories such as pearls and long chained pendants. Solid or colour blocked shoes work really well with stripes.