Maintaining correct feminine posture while you are standing not only will make you look poised and elegant, it is also a healthier way to stand. Standing with good posture makes both sitting and walking with good posture more effortless to do.
Ladylike posture while standing means having a straight back with a tall, elegant neck and your shoulders pressed back and down. Your feet should be one behind the other with your back foot at 45 degrees with hips turned to face the same direction as your back foot while your shoulders face forward.
Let’s take a closer look at the key elements that combine for proper feminine posture while standing.
Press Your Shoulders Back And Down To Remove Tension From Your Neckline
Remember when we were discussing your elegant posture while sitting, we mentioned pressing your shoulders back and then down just before sitting. You should do the same while standing. Think of it as getting your shoulders as far away from your ears as you can.
When walking it is important to keep the inside of your elbow facing forward for a feminine arm swing. I find that when I press my shoulders back and down it naturally rotates my arms so that the insides of my elbows face forward. Try it now and you will see what I mean.
Having your shoulders pressed back and down while standing will give you the correct arm position if you start walking and elegant poise if you sit down.
Keep Your Back Straight At All Times
Keeping your back straight not only looks elegant, but it is much healthier for your back too.
You can do this in one of two ways. The first is to try to lift your breastbone up by two inches. The second method is what my ballet teacher used to teach us when I was a young girl. Imagine that there is an invisible thread attached to the top of your head that is pulling your head up into the air, pulling you tall and straight.
I actually use both methods. If I find myself slouching (often from scrolling on my phone for too long) I use the first method to pull my back straight quickly. I use the second method throughout the day as a way to stop myself from slouching.
Look Forward To Maintain Eye Contact
This is a part of feminine posture that often gets misunderstood.
Looking down at the ground or at your feet causes you to slouch while standing. It also makes you look timid and insecure.
The objective is for you to feel confident in your new-found elegance. Adopting an insecure pose where you look down at your feet will not help.
My mother used to tell me to look up when she saw me looking down at the ground. The trouble with “looking up” is that you often overcompensate, lifting your chin too far. That makes you look haughty and aloof.
A better idea is to look forward, looking at something that is at eye level. If you are practicing in the mirror then look yourself straight in the eye.
Push Your Chest Proudly Out
Once you stand with a straight back, looking forward, and have pushed your shoulders back and down you will notice that your chest will be pushed out a bit. Own that feeling and let your chest be pushed out as a part of your elegant feminine posture.
I remember a situation years ago where a friend had spent thousands on getting breast implants after her second child. She felt so self-conscious about her “girls” that she changed per posture to be completely hunched over with rounded shoulders in an attempt to try and hide her chest from the world.
Proudly having your chest out will have the effect of making your bust-line look as much as a whole cup size larger.
Use Foot Position To Create Your Silhouette
You can have everything else perfect in your posture which will have you feeling much more feminine. However, the way you place your feet can make a big difference to how you look.
With just a few small changes you can go from looking awkward/frumpy to looking like a shy young girl to looking like a confident sophisticated woman. I’ll explain the first two so that you have the awareness to notice if you are slipping into that habit.
It is the goal here at Pink Femme for you to bloom into a confident and sophisticated woman.
Try these foot positions in front of a mirror so that you can see the difference as you change from one to the other.
Let’s start with the least flattering of the foot positions. Stand with your feet side by side about 12 inches apart and your arms hanging at your sides. Notice how your hands are able to rest comfortably against the outside of your thighs.
Standing with your legs spread like that is neither flattering to your figure nor feminine. It makes your hips look narrower than they are. If you were to be wearing a pencil skirt, the position of your legs and knees would be stretching the limits of the fabric and look really awkward.
Now, use that first stance as a starting position when moving into the second stance to help illustrate a key point. What I want you to do now is cross your left leg over the front of your right leg to stand with your left foot next to, but to the right of your right foot.
If you keep your arms and hands in the same position you had them before, you will see how a gap forms between your hands and your thighs. This simple movement makes your hips look wider and more feminine. Now try the same thing again, but this time cross your right leg over in front of your left leg to place your right foot down next to, but to the left of your left foot.
The trouble with this stance is that the body language of standing with one leg crossed over in front of the other indicates shyness especially if you place your hands or hold your purse in both hands in front of you.
Luckily there is a way to stand that is more confident looking and helps your hips to look wider.
Before we get there, however, watch yourself in the mirror doing both of these stances and practice crossing both your left and right legs over for the second stance. You will need to remember these later when we discuss how to step away to start walking after you have been standing in your correct pose.
Now is time to learn the best way to place your feet while standing.
Place your feet about 2 inches apart. Slide your right foot back until the toes of your right foot are level with the arch of your left foot.
With your weight more over your front (left) foot lift your right heel slightly and pivot your right foot, bringing it behind your left foot till it is at a 45-degree angle.
This will bring the instep of your right foot to almost touching your left heel. This will naturally angle your hips slightly to the right, but keep your shoulders facing straight ahead. Your weight should be slightly more over your right foot. If you struggle with your balance initially then you can move your right foot slightly further back to have slightly more space between your feet.
Alternatively, you can do the same thing, but in reverse so that it is your left foot pulled back and pivoted behind your right foot. One side will always feel more comfortable than the other. However, it is best to practice both. I find it useful to do both when I am on my feet for a long time at a cocktail party or a business networking event. That way, when I move around the room I can alternate my foot position every time I stop and talk to someone.
I’ve covered your foot placements in greater detail in the article the model’s T-stance.
Stepping Away To Start Walking From Your Elegant Stance
If you start walking directly forward from your elegant stance, shift your weight onto your front foot and bring your back foot through to start walking. Do not just step out with your front foot as it will cause an unladylike leg separation similar to the wide stance that I mentioned a moment ago.
When it comes to a change of direction so that you start walking to the left or right, begin with your first step as a cross over step like in the cross-over stance that we discussed earlier. The same applies to when you are walking and want to change direction. Make your first step of your turn a cross-over step.
What I mean by that is if you are stepping off to the left your first step will be a cross-over step with your right foot. Conversely, if you are stepping off to the right, your first step will be a cross-over step with your left foot.
If you step off (or change direction while walking) starting with the same side foot (right foot for sight turn or left foot for left turn) you will create the same wide leg stance we mentioned earlier. Now that you are aware of that you will be able to maintain your elegance when starting to walk from your elegant stance as well as turning while you walk.
