The 22 Most Flattering Versions Of Everything You Constantly Wear
by The Candidly Team
If you ever puzzle over the fact that you can barely contain the avalanche that is your closet and yet you somehow wind up wearing the same ribbed t-shirt 5 times a week, the answer is likely not laziness. It’s the fit.
We wear the things that fit us well. That nip at the waist. And smooth over curves. That lengthen our legs. And swoopily frame our neckline. Basically, we like the clothes that gloriously flatter our specific bodies.
And no, this is not about normalizing self-loathing. Or saying we “shouldn’t” wear this because our waist is too thick or can’t pull off that because our legs are too schlumpy. In fact, we regularly point out that these are dumb rules with zero basis.
But we are old (and honest) enough to simply say that the only clothes that excite us are ones we feel good in. Pieces that are intelligently crafted to look deeply and satisfyingly good on us.
We’ve spent a wild amount of time researching the most flattering versions of all the things most of us love to wear on a daily basis. And what we came up with is 23 truly special items that, for various and specific reasons, might be magic… or, at the very least, foolproof.
And here they are:
1. The Tee That Makes Your Arms Look Amazing
Everlane The Pima Micro-Rib Scoop-Neck Tee
The correct answer to what makes a t-shirt into “THE most flattering t-shirt” is the 3/4 length sleeve. Many tees cut you off in the least flattering part of your arm, whereas a sleeve this length smooths and slims and doesn’t require constant tugging or adjusting. That, paired with the scoop neckline and soft ribbing, make this easily the most complementing tee on the planet.
Price: $40
2. The Perfectly Cut Maxi Skirt
The ideal, floaty maxi skirt that’s making our Coastal Grandmother dreams come true. It has clean, sort of controlled lines, so it doesn’t add bulk around our hips like many full-skirted maxis out there. But it’s pleated, so we still get smooth, complementary coverage round our waist. And the final selling point, of course, is pockets! We love the chic stripe, but it also comes in white.
Price: $198
3. The Perfect-Fitting Tank
Look, we know this sounds like a lot for a tank. But we would argue this is one of those pieces where it actually really pays to invest, so we don’t keep paying for some crappy version that frays into nothingness after a few wears. This exact tank is one of those vital pieces we reach for constantly, because it fits the best. Hands down. And if you’re tank people like us, your cost per wear will soon be under 2 cents.
Price: $120
4. The Jeans That Complement Curves To No End
Paige Anessa Crop Wide-Leg Jeans
When you have curves, it can feel almost impossible to find jeans that smoothly stretch over your bottom then comfortably nip at the waist without creating a ghastly gap. These jeans have cracked the code…to the point that they inspired our own editor-in-chief to write an entire opus about them. They’re magically soft, so they feel as glorious as they look on both your hips and waist. And they come in both petite and plus.
Price: $229
5. The Gorgeous (And Washable!) Silk Skirt
The shape of this skirt is sooo naturally flattering, but what we love most is its versatility. It comes in every rich and neutral color you could want and pairs with everything from our favorite tee to an oversized sweater, tights and boots to graceful flip flops. The fact that it’s washable silk and $60 just makes it a whole new level of necessity.
Price: $60
6. The Wide-Leg Pant That Feels Like Loungewear
Maeve The Avery Pleated Wide-Leg Trousers
Truly the dreamiest wide-leg pants we’ve ever worn. We’ve written odes to them, created countless looks around them, and honestly worn them enough to make every other wide leg pant we own obsolete. They create the most stunning hourglass shape by cinching at the small of the waist then gloriously cascading into a drapey wide-leg. They look incredibly chic but they feel like your coziest pajamas.
Price: $148
7. The Dress That Conquers Every Fancy Occasion
Finding an event dress always sounds like a delightful task until it comes to the disappointment we inevitably feel because what looks good on our tops rarely cuts it on our bottoms and vice versa. This dress has a graceful neckline, a structured stretch, and glorious ruching that makes every bump we throw its way magically dissolve. It’s the dress we decided to invested in (in more than one color) and basically wear to every wedding we attend.
Price: $215
8. The Maxi Dress That Fits Like a Dream
We’re going to go bold here and say this may be the most flattering maxi dress that we’ve ever owned. The top is like a favorite smooth, stretchy tank, and the bottom is billowy bliss. You can see our very own try-on photos and hear us gushing about this dress HERE. It’s truly a joy to wear, it dresses up and down and every which way, it sizex up to XXXL…and we’ll be wearing ours a large percentage of the remainder of warms day throughout our lifetime.
Price: $108
9. The Swimsuit That Will Change Your Life
As an adult, a one piece swimsuit that’s smooth and slimming, has the exact bum coverage we desire, and is long enough to not feel like we’re about to snap it like a rubber band is an actual godsend. This swimsuit shook us. You can see all the reasons we fell in love with it along with real try-on photos here.
Price: $98
10. The Skinny Jeans That Feel As Good As They Look
Good American Good Waist Skinny Jeans
These jeans are equipped with a deep understanding of all the exact ways we loooong for jeans to fit. They have an ultra high waist that leaves us feeling held in and supported while still having the sort of stretch that doesn’t make us want to immediately peel them off and reach for sweats. They look great on everyone and are perfect on curves with sizing up to 30 Plus.
Price: $139
11. The Forgiving Fitted Midi Dress
Everlane The Ribbed Tank Dress
We actually wrote all about this dress as one of five things that changed our entire wardrobe. The reason is we’re always seeking an easy, one-and-done piece that works for every single occasion and looks exceptional on. Its stretchy ribbing is flattering and not too thin, so you feel “covered up.” Plus, you can style it any which way: layered under a button down or a denim jacket. Paired with sneaks or wedges. Or perhaps with this very unexpected style piece which you will definitely have an opinion about and can judge for yourself here.
Price: $78
12. The Leather Jacket You’ve Been Looking For Your Whole Life
Madewell Washed Leather Motorcycle Jacket
We all know a leather jacket is one (of nine) splurge-y items that we really don’t want to have to buy more than once in our lives. So basically, the fit matters…a lot. And there just isn’t any fit better than Madewell’s. It has the perfect “thickness” or lack thereof, so we don’t look linebacker-like. Instead, we look polished, cool, skimmed, all the glorious ways we ever hope a leather jacket might make us look. We justified the price to ourselves, because in addition to lasting forever, we wear it 57x as often as any other piece of outerwear hanging in our closet. But if you’re not anywhere near there yet, our runner-up is entirely real leather and costs $170.
Price: $525
13. The Essential Feathery Soft Tee
James Perse Deep V-Neck T -Shirt
There are two requirements of a perfect-fit women’s tee: a gorgeous, swoopy neckline and a fabric so light it feels like sheer nothingness. This tee does all of that and comes in a sea of pretty colors. We imagine these are the reasons James Perse is the preferred brand of Jennifer Aniston who has mastered the jeans and tee look like no other. See proof here.
Price: $40
14. The Smoothing Column Skirt
Everlane The Dream Knit Maxi Skirt
This is the perfect fitted skirt for people who aren’t entirely sure about fitted skirts. For starters, its classic column shape, complete with the high and nipping elastic waist, is sooo flattering. It’s made of a slightly stretchy soft knit fabric that’s smoothing and comfy, so it doesn’t feel all tight and “exposing” but rather creates those clean, elongated, and chic lines we always want from a column skirt. We love the stripes with a tucked or tied button-down shirt. But it also comes in black and khaki.
Price: $78
15. The Short Dress That Looks Good On Every Shape
This dress is nothing if not comprehensively flattering to a woman’s natural shape. The smocking nips our waist dress, but the rest of the dress is loose and lovely in all the places where we seek more space. We like that the length makes us look 3 inches taller and that it works as well for summery days as it does in the fall with tights and boots.
Price: $178
16. The Jogger We Never Want To Take Off Our Bodies
Ok, so these joggers looks verrrrry good on curves. But the way they feel is what makes them our by far favorite pair on this or any other planet. So much so that we wrote an entire article about them. So much so that Cozy Earth gave us a 35% off code. Use CANDIDLY.
Price: $165
17. The Bodysuit You’ll Wear Under Everything
Skims Sculpting Bodysuit W. Snaps
Bodysuits can be…tricky. Obviously they should be flattering but they also have to be comfortable with a looong and flexible stretch. Because the last thing we want is to be tugging and adjusting. We just want that glorious shape that looks so exceptionally good with all our pants and skirts. This one exceeds expectations.
Price: $62
18. The Only Turtleneck You Will Ever Love
Everlane Pima Micro Rib Turtleneck
For us to even bring up the topic of a turtleneck, it would have to fit as well as this one. It’s the only turtleneck we’ve ever gotten excited about. We love it, because it helps us create some of our favorite outfit templates. Pair it with a blazer, and you have Meg Ryan from When Harry Met Sally (#3 seen here). Tuck it into a breezy wide leg pant, and you’re Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give (#12). It’s just singularly chic…not to mention soft as a cloud.
Price: $50
19. This Indescribably Soft Sleep Dress That Magically Manages To Look “Sexy”
Beyond Yoga Featherweight Soft Slumber Midi Sleep Dress
When the brand that makes the most buttery soft yoga pants in existence makes a featherweight nightie we want to live in, we buy it in every color. Those are just the rules. This feels like sleeping in our softest t-shirt, better than our softest t-shirt. But the skinny straps and swooped neck make us also not feel not like slobs. And eeeeeven a little sexy-ish.
Price: $44 - $75
20. The Classic, Layerable Buttondown
There’s something about an oversized button down that makes it the most valuable layering piece in our closet. This one is boxy, drop-shouldered heaven. Wear it solo, half tucked into your favorite jeans or open over fitted dresses and tanks, and you’ll instantly look like you have your whole fashionable life together.
Price: $85
21. The Most Buttery leggings in Existence
Beyond Yoga Spacedye Out Of Pocket High Waisted Midi Legging
With an endless sea of leggings to choose from, it takes a lot to make us hone in on any of them. This pair inspired us to write an entire article. They are, without question, THE softest, most smoothing leggings on the planet. That’s all.
Price: $99
22. The Last Blazer You Will Ever Buy
Favorite Daughter The Favorite Blazer
We’ll be blunt. Maaaany blazers tend to be either uncomfortable, boring, or unflattering. But if you can find one that’s tailored properly, has that essential slightly stretchy fit, and that smooths and nips perfectly, you have yourself perhaps the most valuable item in your closet. We’re in love with the fit of this one from Favorite Daughter. Yes, it’s an investment, but it’s the last blazer you’ll ever require. And if you simply must have that extra boxy, relaxed style, THIS magical one from Everlane allows us to blessèdly move our arms while still looking classically chic.
Price: $328
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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