Excerpt: 'How Not to Look Fat'

May 9, 2006 — -- As a former plus-size model, Danica Lo knows all about dressing for her weight. The key is not to squeeze into the smallest size possible but to find things that are flattering. Lo, whose columns have appeared in the New York Post, gives the reader tips on how to dress for her individual body type, no matter what the size.

Read an excerpt from the book below.

Chapter 4: PANTS

Trousers, slacks, dungarees -- no matter what funny name you give them, pants nowadays, far more than skirts, are what American women live in on a day to day basis.

But just as everyone's got their favorite pair -- mine are black Helmut Lang tuxedo trousers I bought years ago that, even my mother concedes, make me look thin -- everyone's also got some major pants problems hiding in their collections.

With so many styles to choose from, the temptation to stock up on unflattering styles of this indispensable wardrobe staple leads many women to fill their closets with tons of badly chosen bottoms -- all for the sake of variety. But here's a bit of advice: Variety's not all it's chalked up to be.

Ever notice how real fashion people -- industry icons like Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan, and Karl Lagerfeld -- always look basically the same?

It doesn't matter what's in style and what season it is.

They don't give a flying hoot if Russian cassock is the look of the year. Sod the peasant shirt and never mind the bollocks -- they're sticking to their guns and flying the flag for monotony.

They've found their look; they've found what works for them; they know what they like.

Not only does finding your true fashion self make getting dressed in the morning a piece of cake, but having a signature look shows that an individual has a point of view -- she knows herself, she knows what looks good, and she's not desperately grasping at trends.

That said, to put it to practical use, here's my advice: If you find pants that make you look hot, buy more than one pair. Buy, like, five. Good pants are hard to find. And anyway, who cares if they're all the same if you wind up with five pairs of pants that make you look hot?