Gok Wan told me to wear wrap dresses, so I wore wrap dresses. Trinny and Susannah said roll-neck jumpers would make my boobs look like an extension of my chin, so I shied away from those. I learnt very quickly the art of dressing for your bodyshape, which is a concept most fashionistas turn their noses up these days. It is true that no one should tell you What Not to Wear. It is true that, if you want to wear horizontal stripes, you should feel free to wear horizontal stripes. Nowadays, I don't think I own a single v-neck item (although I do have one wrap dress!). These traditional hourglass-friendly silhouettes can often make me look matronly rather than chic.
However I don't think that dressing with your particular figure in mind is a completely outdated attitude. We feel more comfortable wearing clothing we know suits us. These 'rules' that are so often sniffed at today can be very useful, especially for someone whose body is changing - perhaps you have had a baby, or lost a lot of weight, or have had to change your diet for medical reasons. I feel you need to know the rules in order to be able to bend them.
Gok, Trinny and Susannah would definitely all agree that the waist should always be the focus when dressing an hourglass figure, and I think this is such a flattering look on ANY bodyshape, but especially if you have big boobs. That contrast between your waist and boobs is so feminine and lovely. Gok would have achieved this with a waist belt, but these days I own a grand total of 1 waist belt and instead own numerous high-waisted skirts and trousers (which weren't so fashionable back in the Noughties!).
Now for your actual boobs - what are the best necklines to flatter them? Well, all of them! I had a lot of fun revisiting Trinny and Susannah clips on YouTube for this blog post, and they are absolutely appalled by the idea of a big-titted (their words, not mine!) woman wearing a crew-neck. I completely disagree, but I listened back then. What changed? Well, it was probably about 70% a shift in my attitude, and 30% a really, really good bra.
Until I found Bravissimo, I hated bra shopping, but now I look forward to it! The bra-fitting experience at Bravissimo is fabulous. There's not a tape measure in sight. They look at how the bras suit you and where they are and aren't fitting and keep bringing different shapes and sizes for you to try on until you find the perfect fit. I love love LOVE the Gossard Glossies bra - I own three of them in total! The plunge shape is smooth so I don't get that bulging '4-boob' effect that I so often got with balconette bras (it probably didn't help that I bought them from New Look and focused more on prettiness than practicality) and because it fits me so well, it has a slightly minimising effect which means I can wear them with higher-necked tops without looking 'lumpy'.
My next brassiere-themed tip is this: I adore wearing boring bras. Lacy, embellished bras are stunning but let's face it - most of spend our days with our underwear covered up. A lacy bra may look beautiful when you take your layers off but underneath a lovely cashmere jumper, it will create lumps and bumps that completely ruin the effect. Boring bras make for a smooth base that you can wear anything over - and they don't itch either.
Bras can't do all the work for you - good posture is key. This is something I always forget, and then I'm sharply reminded of it when I look at my outfit photos later! It's a really difficult thing to get into the habit of, since I've been slouching my entire life - if only I'd listened to my mum when I was young! In my defence, I think those of us who are larger in the bust area are more prone to poor posture because, let's face it, our boobs are heavy!
Like I said, you can wear pretty much any neckline if you've invested in a good bra and you feel great in the outfit. However bardot necklines are becoming a firm favourite of mine. The traditional "rules" of those Noughties styling programmes will tell you that if you have big boobs, you should show them off, but we don't always want to! A bardot neckline covers the boobs without necessarily trying to hide them, and displays the underrated shoulder area instead. Since adding more and more bardot styles to my wardrobe, I've decided that the collarbone is one of the sexiest part of a woman's body. Again, if you put your shoulders back, you can accentuate the area beautifully.
Next is the dreaded plunge neckline. Many of us DD+ ladies avoid these like the plague, terrified of "falling out" or looking too "tarty". Since discovering my Gossard bra, which is also a plunge style, I've found that plunge necklines can actually look very sophisticated. My navy floral Joules dress is the perfect example of this. Again, it highlights that elegant decolletage but, because my bra fits me properly, my cleavage isn't stealing the show.
The number one so-called "rule" for styling big boobs? Wear what you love. Don't scroll past every turtleneck and shift dress because you think they won't suit you. Try things on. Experiment. You might be surprised.
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