Shift his shape! Best style for men’s body types

Video: Dress your guy for his body type

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   >>> "today" on nbc.

   >>> this morning on bobbie's style buzz, the guy's turn. women are not the only ones who look in the mirror and don't think the outfit they put together don't flatter their form. today, bobbie is here with do's and don't's for your body type . are we creating illusions here, distracting people?

   >> absolutely.

   >> if you've got a flaw, maybe too strong a word. you want to distract people away from it.

   >> it's all about balance and proportion. women, we dress to flatter our figure. for men, it's about comfort.

   >> four different body types we'll get to. let's get to the first one. the first one we're calling short stature, okay.

   >> yes.

   >> we'll use one of our favorite guys around here, mark. let's look at mark and the way he tends to dress or tended to dress before.

   >> this is an outfit we put him in to show what not to wear. you want to avoid bulky fabrics and you want to avoid horizontal lines.

   >> you want vertical lines?

   >> vertical lines are going to help stretch out your frame. and you say thick knit, stay away from it. and the bottom half , it's better to go dark.

   >> what about the style. pants. i happen to know, mark recently traded in his meeted-front pants for flat-front pants.

   >> and a straight or a tapered leg, it will give you a longer line.

   >> let's put this to use and to actual practice. and let's bring mark out right now and see him with what he should be wearing. mark, dashing. dashing. we like it. look at the vertical lines.

   >> and if you're going to go for a pattern, he doesn't have to have a pattern, but something more monochromatic, the gray and the dark jean. the legs on the jean are great. how do you feel?

   >> it's great. it's great, i love this look. they're great.

   >> you can keep them, you can wear them tomorrow morning .

   >> and another big tip is the shoe. don't go for a heavy, bulky round shoe. because women know that show will help elongate his leg as well.

   >> let's go to the big and tall look right now, bobbie.

   >> our first victim. we do this every day for you guys, okay?

   >> let's go to the big and tall look if you're big, stocky, big tall guy, what should you avoid?

   >> well you should avoid the overpowering, intimidating factor. you bring to the room. so light colors, bold colors or you know, danny clark ? giants player?

   >> exactly. he's helping us out here. he's got a four-button suit. this is really kind of almost making him look oversized. it's so long, we really should chop it here and get him a nice classic two-button suit. the legs again are baggy, we want to taper that. and really he's got these huge, broad shoulders, so we want to help in this area, so i'll show you what i did.

   >> danny , come out here, sir, look at what you did.

   >> looking dashing as well. i love this, it's a nice dark suit . because when you're big already, you don't need to fill the space with a bold color . and i like the two had been button suit and the vest that keeps it altogether.

   >> you don't think the vest and the two-button suit, gives the illusion of a four-button suit?

   >> no, because the vest stops right here.

   >> what about the slacks?

   >> the slacks are a nice, tapered leg and not overly baggy. he's got personality, and we played it up in the color . the tie has a thicker knot, so he's bouncing it off his broad shoulders.

   >> danny , do you like this?

   >> yes.

   >> is this something you would wear?

   >> it's actually mine.

   >> way to go, danny . that's great, you look fantastic.

   >> all right, bobbie, thank you very much. let's go to our next body type . we'll talk about the real slender build right now and what do we have to know about this?

   >> big mistake , lots of guys try to wear baggy clothes. it's not building his frame. it's getting him lost. and the other thing is the color . you want to try to break it up. if you have a different color on the top than bottom.

   >> monochromatic makes him look even thinner.

   >> so let's bring him out, this is trevor .

   >> we're trying to make him look a little bit beefier.

   >> layering a sweater, a nice textured knit will do it for you. a bright color with a bat earn underneath will give it that illusion. trevor wants to fill up the space he's in. so he's taking charge with the color and the light pants, is is a nice kind of break-up that adds to his build.

   >> trevor , how do you feel about this look?

   >> it's great. you know. it's fine.

   >> he likes it. it's something i wouldn't normally choose.

   >> usually likes tight-fitted clothes.

   >> and he's not as slender --

   >> he's on the borderline.

   >> he has a good build.

   >> trevor , thank you very much.

   >> our final body shape is the average athletic build. common sense would say, this is the easiest build to dress.

   >> you would think and that's actually a good point you bring up. it's funny enough, all about balance and proportion. this is a big stumbling block , you'll see on the short jacket on gus , it's giving him this rounded-out top and double-breasted jackets are not good for guys that are athletic. so what he's going to want to do is get a blazer or a casual sportcoat that will give him a sleek line. and bring up the shirt. a lot of guys don't tuck in their shirt. which you can see when he comes out, i'll show you the difference.

   >> it should be tucked in or should not be tucked in?

   >> it should be. the pants are a little too short. and with the shirt this long, you'll see, i have to get a different color , this space is cutting off his leg.

   >> so you'll see that when he comes out.

   >> gus , come on out. let's see what you look like now.

   >> you'll see his legs look longer, he's --

   >> because you tucked the shirt in.

   >> gave him the belt, drew the leg line up and the nice casual sportcoat, this corduroy blazer is great, it slims him out and gives him a few extra inches.

   >> how tall are you, gus ?

   >> about 5'9".

   >> how do you like it?

   >> i like it, it's a little more comfortable than i thought it would be. normally i substitute style for comfort. but it looks pretty good.

   >> you're dying to pull the shirt out, aren't you?

   >> yes, i am.

   >> i can tell. let's bring all of our models out, danny and trevor and mark --

   >> we're dieing to get out of our spanx.

   >> don't take me there.

   >> guys, you look great.

   >> can we have a round of would beie and her telestrator work? danny , working with the giants, you know that.

   >>> up next, a real-life indiana jonesed on his search for the lost ark. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

   >>> and back at 8:44. in

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