Okay, my curvaceous friends, pay attention.

Maria Young, famed blogger of Immoral Matriarch (for now), is one of the most beautiful women I know.

Partly because, well, look at her. She's a classic beauty.

But also because she has AMAZING confidence.

Confidence enough, for example, to do two "don'ts" when dressing for an event at which lots of photos would be taken. (This particular event was at Nintendo headquarters, in honor of the new 3DS. In case you were wondering.)

She:

1. WORE HORIZONTAL STRIPES.

2. WORE A WAIST-CINCHING BELT.

The result? FABULOUS.

She couldn't remember whether she got this dress at ModCloth or Forever 21+, but it perfectly fitted her body without being tight. The wide belt gave her a lovely hourglass figure. The cardigan and tights made it a daytime look.

She looked INCREDIBLE! And she made me realize that more voluptuous women too often do themselves a disservice by believing that they need to wear something shapeless. The belt MADE this outfit. And the stripes absolutely did NOT make her look wider than she is.

THE HORIZONTAL STRIPES FASHION RULE IS A TOTAL MYTH.

Like any color or pattern, some stripes work on your body, some don't. It depends more on the cut and style of what you're wearing than the stripes. For real.

And Maria looked great every time I saw her on this Nintendo weekend. Check out this photo that photographer Mishelle Lane of Secret Agent Mama took of her on a different day:

Anyone could rock this look.

So there, ladies.

Take these ideas and run with them!

Images via Lindsay Ferrier and Mishelle Lane