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Monday, June 3, 2019

Feminine Differential - Working with a Tummy



I do not consider myself fat; I am a size 10-12. The International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology, and Education reveals that the average size of American women is now 16 to 18 and found that over the past 21 years, the average woman gained 2.6 inches around the waist, from 34.9 inches to 37.5 inches. 

I am certainly not model thin or truly obese. What I am is short. Before you say "Oh Boo Hoo", just remember that gives me less vertical inches to store my best friends, bread, pasta, and sweets. While I am working on my exercise allergy, I am looking for suggestions to best dress my expanding waist-line.  I could just use the typical male approach and wear my pants lower and lower; the popping fresh look.  

I talk about the feminine differential on this blog and due to variations in style, women do have many more options than men when choosing clothing. Also that works both ways. There are just as many poor choices as good. We are all seeking the Goldilocks outfit that is, "just right".  

I have discussed my love/hate relationship with shape wear (Corset 2.0) and see that as only a temporary option; not for everyday. Here in Florida "casual rules" and some shape wear can be both uncomfortable and hot. So let's look at some style suggestions/options.     

Here is an illustration from "Style Yourself with Confidence", that shows options with tops and pants:




Pic 1 (left): Wearing close fitting stretch trousers with a plain t-shirt - tummy completely exposed! Not good and note the poor posture as well.  

Pic 2 and 3: A better bra and control pants with small shoulder pads takes all the focus away from the tummy area. Note also better posture and wearing high rise trousers avoids fat spilling over the waistband.   

Pics 4 and 5: A blouse/shirt that ties at the waist is brilliant as are tie front trousers. Never allowing a gap to appear between top and bottom. This helps hide problems and using dark and/or a single color going from neck to floor also helps.  


Here are some good dress options:




  • With no gap in the middle, a dress can immediately give you a leaner shape.
  • Ensure that the dress hangs from a good shoulder line and wear a well fitted bra - rather like hanging from a coat hanger it will prevent the fabric 'sitting' on or clinging to the tummy.
  • Choose a dress with extra fullness at the top, a blousing out or tiered tops will attract the eye away from the middle.
  • A trapeze shape dress (empire waist) that gently shapes out from under the bust work well with modest shape-wear. Be careful to not look like an expecting mom. 
  • A wrap dress is particularly good if there is ruching and adjustment at a high waistline.
  • Keep detail and/or color high on the body to draw the eye upwards



Just Remember:




3 comments:

  1. Excellent points-- being out and about in hot weather is a concern and being able to dress appropriately is one thing I always do insist on whenever stepping out the door

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  2. Do you have or have you checked out the Peplum blouse? It has an empire style waist that helps to hide the tummy while accentuating the breasts.

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