With a ruched dress, you place a subtle but sensual emphasis on particular body areas. In fashion design, ruching creates the focal point of the dress

Ruching is characterized by a special sewing technique and is actually a French word for gathers, pleats or ruffles.

A dress that is ruched has fabrics or ribbons gathered together on certain points, forming scallops, ruches or ruffles.

Body types and ruched dresses: Forget the short, satin, brightly coloured cocktail dresses many celebrities strut around in on the red carpet, you can also look awesome when you wear ruched dresses on the right body type.

Luckily, any body shape can pull off a ruched dress; just know what style fits your body the best. To pull an edgy look with ruched dresses can be difficult but when worn correctly, it is stylish and sensual.

For the tall and slender: Women who are very lean and tall are normally able to wear a cocktail ruched dress if the ruching falls evenly and doesn’t sit on the tummy and buttocks.

These types of dresses look very attractive on this body shape and should be paired with high heels to give the look more length. Wear a bright colour in a ruched dress to really give off the right vibe.

For the short and petite: As a short woman with a small frame, you don’t want any dress to be too overdone because it will look excessive.

When finding a proper ruched dress for this body type, stick with ruching that is near the chest or along the waist.

Normally, it is best to stay away from a dress that has ruching all the way down the entire dress because you could look shorter. Not only that, this could even eliminate your waist altogether.

If you stick with ruching that is focused on a particular spot, it will accentuate the area, rather than point out an area that you don’t want to be focused on.

Problem areas to avoid

Stomach: Do you have a bulging tummy? It is best to stay away from ruching that is placed on that spot. Instead, wear a ruched dress that has an empire waist to give the illusion of a cinched waist.

You should also wear a dress with a brighter top half and dark bottom. If you wear a ruched empire waist dress with yellow on top and black on the bottom, it will highlight your bust, and disguise your waist.

Buttocks: If you have a thicker bottom half, you may want to try to cover up it by wearing something that will not ‘shed more light’ on it. Do not wear a ruched cocktail dress that clings to the body. This will not hide anything but only accent your problem zone even more.

Instead, either wear a dress with ruching along the chest (not the bottom), or wear a ruched dress with a darker colour along the bottom half and a lighter colour on top.