Wrap Dresses

For the plus-size woman, the advice has always been the same: dress in dark monochromatic colors to "lengthen" the body and dress in layers to "disguise" bulges. Sounds logical. Except in July and August when you just might spontaneously combust.Here are some tips for curvaceous women on looking stylishly cool when it is super hot:

- Pick the right fabric. Linen is always right and is great this time of year Or, if you're stuck at your desk all day and don't want to be all wrinkled, then maybe a nice lightweight jersey dress. Everyone is wearing jersey now.

- Try shorts and camisoles. The city short can be treated just like pants by pairing them with fashionable heels and professional tops. If you wear a skirt and camisole while in transit to the office, you can add a little jacket once you are safely in the air conditioning.

- Dress in a dress. Loose, flowing dresses and tunics that flatter plus-size figures will keep you cool when temperatures rise. A few tips ... if the dress is too small in your hip area, it won't fit properly. If the dress is too big, it will look like a housecoat, not a fashion trend. Look for wrap and empire styles that flatter fuller figures. Dresses are especially meant for fun frolics in the summer sun, and there are so many options with sundresses, wrap dresses, shirtdresses. Also, sundresses are synonymous with spring and summer.

Oddly enough, dresses have become the simpler fashion choice. Rely on prints or embellishments like hardware, side ties, and belts to draw the eye where you want it.

For one thing, any dress in summer--or this winter, for that matter--can be paired with flats or ballet shoes. Chunkier, mid-height heels also are fine--stilettos and painful pointy-toed shoes no longer are part of the must-have fashion cycle. Midcalf dresses over jeans or slacks are the very now way to hip up a dress. But all women must, of course, look for dresses that flatter their figures.

- Don't be afraid of color. It's an outdated attitude for a larger customer to wear black or darker colors. You can wear any color imaginable.

- Stay age-appropriate. Don't go into a contemporary store and they try to get yourself into so called contemporary clothes. They usually don't fit and it makes you look worse. Go for unconstructed clothes instead. They look better in this weather anyway. You don't want jackets in August.

But if you really desire young and hip, try plus-size empire-waist dresses, wide-legged pants and mini-dresses with bat-wing sleeves.

Below the knee for career wear. Hemlines that fall just above the calves are very flattering for full-figured women. A pencil skirt actually looks fabulous on plus sizes. It falls below the knee, and that line and that shape accentuate a plus-size woman's curves.