Larger ladies aren't making the most of their curves according to a new survey.
New research has revealed that women over a size 16 are making a catalogue of fashion faux pas making them appear BIGGER.
A third of bigger belles insist on wearing horizontal stripes - which are renowned for making even the slimmest of women appear larger.
Almost 40 per cent admit to wearing unflattering drawstring trousers and a staggering 82 per cent of plus size women opt for flat shoes - despite making them look short and squat.
With so many fashion rules being broken, it's not surprising the poll, by plus size designer range Marina Rinaldi, revealed that 67 per cent of larger women feel self conscious when wearing these outfits.
Almost half of the 2,000 plus-size women who took part say they worry about what other people think of their dress sense.
Monica de Bellis, creative director of Marina Rinaldi said: ''The survey's conclusions come as no surprise as we know that the key problem with bigger girls is lack of confidence, even those in the public eye suffer from this".
"Big girls who dress well are TV cook, Nigella Lawson, who loves her rubenesque curves, and wears figure-hugging clothes and sexy shoes and Kirstie Allsop who looks fashionable and stylish, using vibrant colour and statement-making accessories.
And it's no wonder when almost two thirds struggle to find well made clothes in their size while 78 per cent find it difficult to keep up with the latest trends due to a lack of choice in bigger ranges.
More than 83 per cent have left a shop feeling disheartened because they couldn't find any nice clothes and a staggering one in ten women have been treated badly by a shop assistant because of their size.
One respondent described how she asked for a larger size but was told to go to a shop aimed at large women.
She is not alone either as 45 per cent say they regularly use shops specifically for curvier women because there is so little choice on the High Street.
Monica de Bellis continued: ''It's terrible that women are made to feel inferior due to their size. This research shows that many women are committing the classic mistake by covering up their curves rather than embracing them.
''Bigger women shouldn't be made to feel they can't wear certain things, it's just about knowing what suits your body shape. Our clothes and accessories are specifically designed to flatter the fuller figure up to a size 26.''
More than half of voluptuous women have even tried to slim down just so they can get some more choice when out clothes shopping.
Almost a quarter of women admit to buying an outfit but then taking back after losing the bottle to wear it. Perhaps, most disheartening though is that only 41 per cent of women say they enjoy shopping for clothes.
"Big girls need to embrace their curves, showing off wonderful shoulders and décolleté
