So many of the style guides are made for gals who are much less curvy than me. Learning to dress myself, I like to try and find different ways to style my clothes in ways that make me look skinnier. Some of the "common wisdom" about what looks good (everyone says belts!) may be wrong on my body and maybe yours!
Here are 6 different ways that I have tried styling my shirts!
Plain Buttoned
Okay, I feel like this is the dressing from my youth look. Growing up in the 80s we did a lot of this with LL Bean jeans and button down shirts. Oh and then then grunge 90s, this worked then too. But now what I am not as skinny as I was then, I feel like this makes sort of a boxy look. Okay, but not my favorite!
Open Untucked
Now this IS my favorite. With this look I lose some of "big area of fabric" on the front and have a much longer line down my middle. That said, I am shorter so I need anything that looks longer. Maybe if you are tall, breaking up a long middle line like I do below will help!
Open Belted
Okay, this is the start of my railing against belts. YES! I do think that they can add a bit of style to your outfit BUT I think that I was sold on the fact that a belt will magically give you back a skinny waist like you had when you were younger. I think this is okay, but not great!
Tucked Belted
Now we are headed into the tucked portion of our fashion show! I am not mad at this look, but I am also not sure that the belt adds either fashion or skinny-ness. Instead I think it adds a wee bit of bulk in an area that I don't need it.
Tucked Unbelted
Okay, this is probably my favorite kind of unbelted look. I think it gives me a little "suck in" at the waist because of the tuck but also "hides" my belly a bit!
Just Front Tucked
Okay now let's talk about whether we over 50 peeps like us should jump on trends. There is a trend to tuck just the front of your shirt into your pants. It is really hard to tell the difference between this and tucked in no belt, but the back is a little "hangy down". For me, having to manage my shirt all day would be too much effort. For you maybe the fun or cute factor would trump the management aspect.
6 Ways To Style Your Shirt Wrapup
It is fun to think of all the ways that you can take one shirt and make it look different. Additionally it is cool that I can highlight things that I personally like about my body and deaccentuate things that are not my favorites. For example, I like a wee bit of a plunging neckline to show off my boobs, but don't think that my waistline is something that want to feature. You may love your waist and want to cover your butt.
Keep trying different styles until you find one that makes you feel good and the go with it!
