Book Spotlight: Your Body, Your Style by Rani St. Pucchi

Rani St. Pucchi, a trend-setting designer whose designs have been recognized in Entertainment Tonight, Harper’s Bazaar, WWD, Town and Country, Bride’s, Cosmopolitan Bride, Martha Stewart Weddings and The Knot, can help define the style that flatters you most — no matter what age or stage of life you are in or what your body type is.

Women from all over the world have clamored to have a private consultation with Rani so they may benefit from her expertise and regain their self-confidence and shine.

In Your Body, Your Style, Rani shares with you her knowledge of the female form and guides you to find simple solutions to your most pressing body concerns. The focus is on you — and how you can make yourself more confident and appealing in almost every situation — simply by making a few changes and different choices in planning your wardrobe.

Once you embrace your unique attributes and dissolve your bad relationship with your body, you’ll be amazed to find how irresistible you are to others!

This simple and friendly guide reveals:

* What clothes and silhouettes are best for your specific body type
* Simple techniques to determine which colors flatter you most
* Solutions to common lingerie issues and the importance of fit
* The one dress that is a chameleon, and how to transform it into different looks
* How to travel stress free by planning your wardrobe well
* 101 styling secrets, professional tricks and fashion tips

RANI ST. PUCCHI is an award-winning fashion designer, an author and relationship expert. She is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post.

Book Excerpt:

When choosing your clothes remember that clothes are meant to flatter your body, not your body to flatter your clothes. Work with your body instead of critiquing and judging it.
Now that you’ve assessed your body type, let’s delve into what would look most flattering and what you would be smart to avoid.

Hourglass
DO: Focus on your waist when choosing your wardrobe. Dress to flatter your beautiful curves by wearing clothes and accessories that emphasize the thinnest part of your waist. Draw attention to your waistline by wearing belts that cinch the waist. V-neck dresses and tops are typically quite flattering.

DON’T: Avoid ‘boxy’ clothes and those that are shapeless or drape-y since they tend to add bulk and make you look heavy. Don’t go braless when wearing a V-neck dress or top. Wear a supportive bra instead so that your chest is lifted and perky instead of droopy and sagging. You have admirable curves so embrace them and show them off.

Apple
DO: Direct attention away from your waist by wearing clothes that accentuate your bust and hips instead. Shirts, blouses and dresses with slight V-necks are flattering. Long sleeves or dresses with sleeves help draw attention from your waist, shoulders and arms. V-necks draw attention to your neck and bust. Tops that drape over any curves work well. Wear bottoms just below your hipbone to help draw attention away from your mid-riff. Dark colors help camouflage the heavy areas.

DON’T: Avoid dresses and belts that cinch the waist. Stay away from skinny and straight leg pants as they emphasize the hips. Choose slightly flared pants instead. These help balance wide shoulders and a heavy upper body.

Pear
DO: Wear clothes that emphasize the upper body, that add to your shoulder and bust area and that make your hips and butt look slimmer. Tops that accentuate shoulders such as the current trendy off-shoulder blouses are perfect. Wear straight-leg pants with heels. Wearing a bra that adds to or enhances your bust is recommended.

DON’T: To minimize the lower half avoid pants or tights that narrow your legs. Flared pants can make your legs look thick, even bow-legged.

Ruler
DO: Wear clothes that create curves, by focusing on the upper and lower part of your body. Cinch your waist to exaggerate curves by wearing belts, flared skirts with fitted belted waistbands. Dresses or tops with embellishment at the bust, or with frills and ruffles at the top, will add some volume to make your chest look bigger. Skinny jeans, mini skirts and bright tights that show off your great legs and add more shape to a straight body are recommended. A bra that adds a cup size will help balance your angular feature as well.

DON’T: Avoid boyish/manly clothes. Baggy jeans, flared pants and track clothes will make you look like ‘one of the boys’. For working out, wear feminine track clothes that accentuate your waist but are not too snug on the top and bottom halves.


Inverted Triangle
DO: Keep your attention on the waist and hip area by wearing clothes that are flared on the bottom but snug on the top. Strapless tops and dresses with sleeves are perfect. Flared pants and pleated skirts are flattering.

DON’T: Avoid skinny pants and too tight skirts. Dresses or tops with ruffles and flounces, or that are off-the-shoulder, will make you look top heavy.


Many women are a mix of two body types and don't necessarily fall into one category or another. In which case try incorporating tips for each body type and see what looks best on you. When you fall between two types, compare the type you seem closest to and pick styles that lean towards that. Ultimately you will know what feels good and what flatters you the most. After all, there is no right or wrong way to dress. Your comfort and your confidence is what matters most.

Self-confidence is the best outfit, rock it and own it.


PURCHASING LINKS: Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Thirty years ago, Rani St. Pucchi took the bridal world by storm, despite having no formal training in fashion. She is an award winning couture fashion designer and founder of the world-renowned bridal house St. Pucchi. A passionate and dynamic entrepreneur who launched her global empire in the United States in 1985, Rani’s vision was to create an avant-garde bridal and evening couture line with modern styling and classic details. That vision has been realized today.

Renowned for infusing her creations with touches of magnificently colored jewels, exquisite hand embroidery, delicate beading and sparkling crystals on the finest silks and laces, these inspired designs with innovative draping evoke the timeless elegance every woman desires. As one of the foremost designers to introduce exotic silk fabrics and hand embroidery, Rani is applauded for being a pioneer in bringing color to the United States bridal scene, having learned that white does not flatter everyone.

Rani has been recognized and nominated on multiple occasions for her design talent and won numerous awards as a Style Innovator. In addition, she has been honored with the Best Bridal Designer Award at the prestigious Chicago Apparel Center’s DEBI Awards (Distinctive Excellence in Bridal Industry).

Rani is famous for designing the wedding dress worn by “Phoebe” as she captured the hearts of millions when she said “I Do” in a unique St. Pucchi Lilac corset bodice A-line gown on the finale of the hit television show Friends.

Her range of avant-garde designs are worn by the world’s most discerning brides, including celebrities and style icons such as New York Giants’ player Aaron Ross’ wife, Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards; Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo’s wife Candice Crawford; Actress Tara Reid; Jason Priestley’s wife Naomi Lowde; actress Candice Cameron and Grammy Award winning country music singer Alison Krauss, who donned a specially designed Chantilly lace and silk gown at the Country Music Awards.

Rani has enjoyed much media attention. Her signature designs have been recognized in high profile media such as Entertainment Tonight, Harper’s Bazaar, WWD, Town and Country, Bride’s, Cosmopolitan Brides, Inside Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings and The Knot.

Rani’s real passion other than the world of design is to help women who have suffered abuse and those who are struggling to find themselves. On her quest to empower women to be their best selves, she is passionate about helping them find their voice through building their self-confidence. She believes that confidence must start with a woman’s love and acceptance of her body.

Renowned for her savvy knowledge of a woman’s form and fit, Rani is eager to share her knowledge of more than three decades with all women so they can make better styling choices. In addition to the book you are reading now, Rani is the author of four upcoming books: The SoulMate Checklist: Key Questions To help You Choose Your Perfect Partner; Seven Types of Men To Avoid: Recognizing Relationship Red Flags; Designing with Heart: A to Z Guide to Bridal Designing; and Unveiling: A Celebrity Fashion Designer’s Story, a Memoir of her Life Journey.

Born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, Rani now happily lives in Los Angeles, California.

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Review Coming Soon!