The skinny on stripes: horizontal help

So far, I’ve explained the basics of using stripes and lines to flatter your figure and shown you ways to use vertical lines to look taller and slimmer.

Now I’ll show you how to use horizontal lines to make your figure look fabulous.

Finding and using horizontals

While horizontals get a bad rap, they can be incredibly useful, whatever your measurements are. Use them smartly, and horizontal lines can balance out your body and add curves exactly where you want them.

For example, you might like a perfect hourglass figure, which has three key parts: a small waist, broad shoulders, and wide hips. By placing horizontal lines in the right places, you can create the illusion of an hourglass — but how you get there depends on where you start.

If you have a very slim figure (often called ‘boyish’), you’ll want to widen your hips and shoulders. On the other hand, women who are blessed with more booty than boobs (’pear-shaped’) will want to widen their shoulders but not their hips. What’s good for one gal’s figure isn’t necessarily good for another’s!

Of course, you don’t have to aim for an hourglass. It can be far more striking to highlight what some might call figure flaws, so please feel free to ignore the ‘ideal’ and play up the features that make you special.

With that in mind, here are some places you might find horizontal lines, from head to toe.

From head to shoulders

Off the shoulder neckline makes shoulders look wider.

While most talk of horizontals focuses on the waist and hips, what you do from your neckline up can make a big difference.

• Straight across bangs can widen your forehead.
• Choker necklaces can look stunning on long necks, but they’re notorious for making necks look shorter and wider.
• High collars like turtlenecks also widen your neck like a choker necklace.
• Just a little lower, though, and widening collars can be great. Use a bateau (boat) neckline or to broaden your shoulders to balance out wide hips — especially if it’s wide enough to show a hint of shoulder. Or, go for a top that is off the shoulder.

Around your bust, arms and waist

Horizontals can move focus from the waist and hips up to the chest.

• To enlarge the look of your bust, wear a lighter horizontal stripe there (or use a darker stripe to do the opposite).
• Tops with horizontal stripes widen your chest, so can be used to balance out wide hips.
• Worried that your upper arms look wide? Avoid short-sleeves that are cut straight across, especially if they hit at the widest point of your arm.
• Double-breasted coats and jackets widen your torso much more than single-breasted styles, as they create horizontal lines between the side-by-side buttons. They’ll make your bust look bigger, but they can also make your waist look wider.
• Breast pockets are generally widening. Use them carefully to make your bust look larger, or avoid them if you don’t want to accentuate that area.
• While belts are great to rein in loose fabric, be careful about their color and placement. For the most slimming look, wear a dark belt around your waist. Also, belts can emphasize your bust line if you wear them high.
• Where a garment’s waistline hits is also important. Like belts worn high, an empire waist shirt will emphasize your bust.
• Ruching can be great because it disguises your own lumps and bumps. However, it can also have a widening effect when it creates long horizontal lines.

Around your hips, thighs and butt

Tiered skirts make hips look wider.

• Where your tops and bottoms meet is important because, if they meet at a wide point, they can make that part look wider. Drop waist tops and low-rise jeans will both emphasize your hips.
• Ditto for layered tops if one layer sticks out further than the other. (To avoid this, wear a similar color or tone top-to-toe, so you can be fashionably low waisted or layered and look slender too.)
• Low-slung belts and tiered skirts can make your hips look larger.
• Whiskering on jeans can widen the look of your thighs.
• Pockets on your butt can make it look bigger (hint: small pockets enlarge your butt; large pockets shrink it). In front, pockets widen your thighs and hips.

Legs and ankles

Knee-length is a very flattering length for skirts.

• Watch the ends of your pants, skirts, and even tights since they create horizontal lines. If they end at naturally slimmer parts of your leg like your knees, they’ll be slimming
• However, be careful about ending them at naturally wider parts like your thighs or mid-calf.
• Knee-length and floor-length are generally the best lengths for bottoms. Ankle-length bottoms can be tricky, but they are almost always more flattering than those that end mid-thigh or mid-calf.
• In order to avoid emphasizing wide ankles, avoid ankle length socks, ankle straps on shoes, anklets, and those ankle-length bottoms.

More advice for flattering your figure

Watching lines is only a small piece of dressing to flatter your body. One of the most cited books on the subject is What Not to Wear by Susannah Constantine and Trinny Woodall. It’s a great guide for anyone who’s new to this.

Alternatively, my favorite book on the subject is Does This Make Me Look Fat?: The Definitive Rules for Dressing Thin for Every Height, Size, and Shape by Leah Feldon. It’s rich with ideas and you’re sure to learn something new.

PS: What works for you and what doesn’t? I’d love to hear what works for different body types, so please feel free to share your experiences…