How To Be More Feminine: 12 Tips To Look, Act, And Feel More Ladylike (If You Want To)

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How you present yourself to the world should be your decision, and any changes to that should come from you!

Remember that you don’t need to change yourself for anyone worth having in your life.

BUT, if you’re looking to make a shift and want to feel and look more feminine, we’ve got some great tips.

Some are to do with your appearance, and others are to do with your mentality and approach to things.

Experiment and see what works for you – and have fun along the way!

1. Work on your self-confidence.

For a lot of people, being feminine is about having confidence and being sure of yourself.

Femininity can be as simple as accepting yourself for who you are as a woman.

Embrace what makes you a woman. Is it your hair, lips, curves? Is it your soft approach to things or your gentleness that makes you feel womanly?

Whatever sparks that feeling is something to explore further!

We’ve aimed many of these tips at women who find it really difficult to see themselves as women, for whatever reason.

If that sounds like you, a good way to work on your confidence is to look for other women who look how you think you look.

If you have short hair, for example, and don’t feel feminine with it, search out some famous women with short hair.

If you’re very tall and feel like that stops you being a sexy woman, look for a famous tall woman!

You see where we’re going with this – whatever the mental block is in your head (“I’m too big/ skinny/ flat-chested/ tall etc.”), there will be someone with that trait who is rocking it and looks amazing and feminine.

It’s about finding people who you can look up to and realizing that no physical trait can stop you from being girly!

Working on your self-confidence like this can really help you get more in touch with your feminine side. 

2. Ask for help.

Speak to loved ones you trust about how you’re feeling.

Opening up about not feeling feminine as a woman can be so hard! It’s what we’re just meant to naturally be, right?

They may be surprised as they’ll probably see you as very womanly, but they’ll be happy to help if it makes you feel better.

Ask what they think makes you feminine – keep a note of these things so you can look back on them any time you feel a bit masculine or unattractive etc.

They might mention your long hair – so make a note of it and don’t be scared to leave it down more or try curling/ straightening it, buying some new clips to show it off and letting everyone else see how lovely and feminine it is.

They may say it’s your curvy figure, so show it off. Remember that your friends told you how sexy and great you look and enjoy feeling like a strong, confident woman! 

3. Consider why this is important to you.

One of the best ways to change your behavior is to set clear goals.

Think about why you want to make a change and keep that in mind. It’ll help you stay true to yourself as you find ways to feel and act more feminine.

It may be because you feel insecure about how you look and think you’d feel more confident if you were seen as more feminine.

It may be because someone suggested you’re quite masculine and you want to shift away from that.

Whatever it is, make a mental note of it and keep that in mind as you experiment with different things – and keep coming back to whether or not the changes are helping you connect with yourself as a woman more. 

4. Try a new wardrobe.

Experimenting with different clothes can be a good way to try bringing out different aspects of your personality.

We’re not saying you need to wear dresses and high heels all the time, by any means.

But, different clothes can evoke different feelings within us and those feelings are expressed and interpreted by those around us.

Try out more ‘ladylike’ prints – this is great if you’re really struggling to see yourself as a woman.

If you imagine you’re a stereotypical 2010 woman in a magazine, for example, you’d probably be wearing some cutesy prints, something frilly or pink.

Now, the idea of femininity has changed a bit since then, but dressing like this can help you feel more like that stereotypical woman – this is so helpful if you find it hard to see yourself as one.

The more comfortable you get with the idea that you are a woman and you are feminine, the sooner you’ll find your own, new style and way of expressing that.

For some women, wearing dresses makes them feel sexier, so they give off a sexy vibe and are then seen that way.

You might discover that wearing backless dresses makes you feel sexy and confident, so you’ll then be seen that way.

Equally, jumpers may make you feel that level of confidence, which will then make you appear to be very confident and embracing of your female sexuality!

Find what works best for you and don’t be scared to play around. 

5. Update your hairstyle/makeup.

Again, outward changes can affect how you feel internally.

If you’re not sure what will help you embrace your feminine side, ask your hairdresser for some tips.

They know how to look at faces objectively and will help you work out what will best accentuate your eyes or jaw line.

This can really help you embrace different aspects of your personality that you might not have considered before.

They can help you achieve whatever looks you’ve researched and help you find a style that is comfortable and really gives off a glam, womanly vibe.

You can also try doing your makeup differently – Google a woman who you see as very feminine and see how they look.

They may wear a lot of lipstick, which may be something you think makes them look womanly and can try yourself.

Replicating what society sees as ‘feminine’ can also help you feel more like you’re achieving it too.

If you try to blend in with the general stereotype for a bit, you can see how you feel about it.

From there, you can then find your own ways to express your femininity.

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6. Get in touch with your inner vixen!

A huge aspect of femininity is sensuality. That’s not sexuality, per se, but it’s about being sexy and seductive, having a bit of a feminine mystique.

That might sound ridiculous and a million miles away from how you currently feel, but it’s worth exploring.

Scent is hugely evocative, so play with perfumes and see what makes you feel sensual.

You could try loads of different things – wear sexy underwear under your work clothes and see how much more confident you feel.

And don’t be scared of being more flirty on nights out and see how attractive it may make you feel!

Being a woman is about embracing who you are and having fun with it, so don’t be scared to experiment, play around with it, and see what feels good. 

7. Hold yourself like a lady.

Your posture says a lot about you, and it can even show how feminine or masculine you are.

If you often find yourself slouching or spreading yourself out a lot, you could be giving off quite a masculine vibe.

It might sound silly, but even this small amount of body language can show how you feel about yourself and how feminine you are.

If you want to appear more feminine, try sitting more daintily – cross your legs or ankles, sit straight up and hold yourself with grace.

This isn’t about making yourself smaller or hiding yourself, it’s just about projecting that stereotypical feminine vibe – dainty, classy and elegant.

8. Walk the walk.

Again, the way we move says a lot about how we feel about ourselves.

If you’re someone who tends to shy away and stumbles around a bit with their head down, you’re not giving off the appearance of a strong woman in charge of her destiny!

Try to carry yourself with a bit more grace, head up, walk with intent, and show the world who’s boss.

Part of being a feminine woman is having confidence in your decisions, so walk like you’re on a mission and don’t be afraid of taking up some space and making an entrance.

9. Talk the talk.

We’ve gone into some detail on using your body language to engage with your feminine side, but what about spoken language?

We’re not saying you instantly have to become a giggly cloud of perfume and simpering lisps, but how you talk and audibly react says a lot about you, so it’s worth thinking about!

You can try out a few different tones of voice and see what works for you – it doesn’t need to be squeaky and high-pitched, but if your low voice is something that makes you feel masculine, you could experiment with lighter tones.

Use more feminine words, make your sentences a little bit longer and don’t be scared of the sound of your own voice! 

10. Think about how you interact with others.

A lot of women who struggle to feel feminine don’t really know how to act, especially around people they find attractive.

If you feel quite masculine and want to get a man’s attention, for example, you might feel too frumpy or unsexy or manly.

This is natural and a lot of women feel this way, but there are ways you can change this and work on your self-confidence!

Again, this isn’t about changing who you are. It’s about finding a different way to present it.

A lot of men love women who are bold and flirty, so don’t be scared to try out some gentle touching.

If you’re out on a date, for example, you can lightly touch their arm when you’re talking to them, or sit close to them so your knees brush.

Little things like this show that you’re in touch with your sensuality and womanhood, and the man you’re with will really start to see you that way even more.

If that sounds too daunting and weird, try it out with a close friend first! They may not be blown away and suddenly want to kiss you, but it’ll help you relax into being a bit more touchy-feely if this all very new to you. 

11. Don’t be scared to be sexy.

A lot of women who struggle to feel or act feminine are quite scared of being sexy.

They don’t want to be seen as promiscuous or act as though their sexuality is their only charm.

Being feminine is all about finding the balance – you can be sexy and smart, sexy and cute, sexy and funny.

Being in touch with your sexual side doesn’t mean you’re instantly put in a box and only have one dimension to your personality!

Get a little bit flirty, wear something a bit bolder, and don’t be scared to be playful with it all.

Again, a lot of people interpret femininity with confidence and the liberation of women doing what they want, so do what feels good and enjoy it. 

12. Fake it till you make it.

It can be really hard to know how you feel about things sometimes, but it’s worth pretending at first.

If you can convince others that you suit bright red lipstick, you’ll start to convince yourself.

If you act confident and openly flirt a bit, people will assume that’s just how you are and you’ll then start to be that way.

Practice makes perfect, so keep going if it feels good!

You’ll work out what fits your personality and what feels too uncomfortable to do long-term.

As you do this, you’ll find new bits of your authentic self that have been hiding all along, and you’ll uncover bits of yourself that are truly feminine…

So, there are a lot of ways to express your inner femininity and get more in touch with that side of your personality.

Remember why you want to do this and it’ll make the whole process more enjoyable.

The key is to have fun! Embracing different parts of yourself is exciting and something to feel positive about, so don’t get too hung up on little experiments that don’t work.

Keep going, keep playing and keep doing what feels good…

About The Author

Lucy is a travel and wellness writer currently based in Gili Air, a tiny Indonesian island. After over a year of traveling, she’s settled in paradise and spends her days wandering around barefoot, practicing yoga and exploring new ways to work on her wellbeing.