This topic gives lots of food for thought. One of the most valuable things I’ve learned at YLF is what the neckline of my clothing should look like. I have the same issues that Angie has except an average length neck. Scoops and Vs have never been flattering. But…Just last week I found a knit top at Mexx that I loved for the print but was a deeper V than I can get away with. It came home with me and seems to work because the top of the V is a bit closer to the neck, but I feel like I’ve broken a rule. The suggestion of chunky beads or scarf to fill in is genius.

I am really trying hard to wear age appropriate clothing while still wearing fun, flirty, funky pieces. It is very hard for me because I am so young at heart. I am very confused now with the skirt and dress lengths. I passed up a very cute dress because I thought it was too short for me at 39. Is it only okay with boots or is that just a personal decision? Is it okay to wear shorter lengths with tights in the winter but maybe not bare legs in the summer? Should the skirts and dresses that are shorter be straight or is a full skirt pushing it? I don’t want to keep passing up these darling dresses because of the length! Oh my! I don’t think I will ever get this right.

Maybe I should be posting this to the blog.

I meant the forum.

Angie, your timing couldn’t be better. I’m struggling with trying to find a way to wear a turtleneck. I have a very short neck and broad shoulders, but I really want to find one that will work. Any suggestions for what I might look for? I don’t like the look of a mock neck, although maybe I just haven’t found the right one yet. I’m petite and have a small bustline so a high neckline can be flattering if it’s the right one.

I wanted to mention the neckline topic as well! I am always told that I should be wearing a lower neckline, and I understand why, but I honestly don’t think that some higher necklines look bad on me. Not necessarily a turtleneck (although I don’t hate them!), but I think with my flat chest and short haircut, higher necklines can look just fine for a bit of variety.

Ah ha! That’s why I have so much trouble getting voluminous tunics/dresses to work on me – it’s all in the shoulders. The penny just dropped. I couldn’t understand why I can get a normal length top with volume to work, but not anything longer. It’s because everything I’ve tried seems to have droopy, sloppy shoulders as part of the design.

Being pear shaped i shouldn’t really wear skinnies but with a banded top they seem to work

Doesn’t everyone just love Angie? Where else could you possibly find a blog post that incorporates classical and abstract painters and a theory of dressing? She is a treasure

I think that the answer is to compensate for the rule you are breaking– as an hourglass, high necklines aren’t the best for me, but I can get away with them if I wear a long necklace or scarf to still give the illusion of a “lower” neckline.

Thanks so much for the shout-out, Angie! So strange that we’d be thinking of the same topic on the same day …

I work so hard to show of my tiny waist, but sometimes its fun to wear big, voluminous tops that totally mask it and put the focus on my legs. A look I’ll be revisiting come fall and winter for sure!

Dear Angie, I have found that I can wear polo necks (turtle necks in U.S.) even though I am petite with large boobs. Wear a long lightweight scarf of a flattering length just draped around your neck. The vertical lines of it’s hang breaks up the ’shelf’ created by the high neckline. I also usually knot the ends of the scarf at the ‘right’ place and this helps keep it in place. I have had lots of compliments when wearing a high neckline with this addition.

When I wrote that post on the forum, I immediately thought of Picasso, so I found it too funny that you used art as your metaphor. It is absolutely true. The question of making and breaking the rules comes up ALL the time in my world so that metaphor is always stored away in my head for when I need to use it.

I am convinced I can make a turtleneck work for me, despite my big bust. I already have a plan in place. I think if I get a dark color and layer over it with a brightly colored low neckline, I can get it to work. Once the cold season starts, I would like to add more high necklines to my closet. I’m going to look for dramatic collars, which will be good for my neck while hopefully minimizing the bust. In winter I just want to be warm and covered so my “rules” can buzz off. I tried on a sweater last season that I hated at the time, but when I look at the picture now I regret not getting it.

I have recently started wearing more waist-hiding garments than waist-showing, so I wonder if showing the waist has become more of a challenge for me. Wearing skinnies as jeans and not leggings is a challenge too. So far I never wear them without a tunic, boots, or preferably both, but perhaps there is a way to get them to work without either of those things. I don’t have big thighs or extremely curvy hips, but I still feel better when I’m covered up a little. Not only would the lack of coverage freak me out, but I would probably have to wear a more fitted, waist-showing top so I don’t look like I’m about to topple over. Time will tell if I’m up to it.

My favorite “unflattering” thing to wear is ultra wide-legged pants. They make me feel whimsical and feminine. But to feel good in them I need to wear a sleeker fitting top (not great for my small chest) and slipper type flats. This outfit really doesn’t do much for my figure but it makes me feel like a ballerina and so my movements throughout the day are more fluid and graceful.

Wow, what a great post.Thanks Angie! Just this morning I was thinking about al those books with rules about what fits bodies and what doesn’t, and how to bend them to my own life.It’s as if you read my mind!

You gave me some great ideas with your own post–I also have a long neck and bony chest so scoop necks are horrendous on me. I love scarfs and had been using them as a fun accessory but now I see they can be functional too for when I find a scoop neck that may be cut just right.

I have yet to embrace the waistless dresses but I will give it a whirl.I find it SO much more flattering when they are shaped though

Skinny jeans were my recent foray into a prior no-no. I thought they were really for slimmer hipped women than myself, so this is a new experiment for me.I am trying to find ways to wear them without covering up completely!

One shoe no-no I have been tempted to break is the no-strap-across-the-ankle rule when your legs are on the short side. There have been some really cute shoes that I did not buy because of that feature.but perhaps if I can get them in a nude color they will work? Let’s see…
Can’t wait to see the forum posts from everyone with this challenge!

I’m still trying to figure out what my “rules” are and I’m not developementally ready to break them yet!

Mine would be lower calf/ankle length pants. I have a few pairs I’m not willing to give up. So the best look with those would be with low-vamp, high heels.

Another rule is the ankle-strap rule that PF mentions. I have short legs but slim ankles, so I think I can get away with it if my bottoms are skirts that are a bit above the knee (no ankle-length pants in this case!). Or I wear them with PPL bottoms.

The rule that I’ve broken is the wrap dress.

I’m a straight up and down rectangle with no waist. Wrap dresses that are knit or jersey just emphasize my lackof curves if they hang straight down.

The exception is, I found a wrap dress in a structured cotton fabric that flares out at hip into a fuller skirt. Magic!

I can wear it because it adds volume to my hips and by comparison makes my waist look a little bit smaller. It also has a real wrap belt that I can tie slightly lower to make my high waist look a little bit more balanced.

Second rule I’ve broken is the belted trench. Same concept. I have no waist, however I chose a belted trench with a very full skirt. It makes me feel more feminine because it adds curves to my lower half.

Last, I’ve accepted that my wide waist doesn’t have to be hidden all the time and I can enjoy these feminine styles too, even though I’m not a perfect hourglass. This has helped the most!!

I must say that I never paid much attention to the body type. I guess if I like how something looks on me, then I wear it. Even now I am not sure what my body type is. The challenge for me is to wear something that I usually would not wear. So I am going to have to think about this one.

My “rule breaker” is the neckline as well. Large busted apple shape here but I can’t ALWAYS wear a vneck. That would be just boring as heck. I have always liked a boatneck (especially if a little collar bone is shown) and occasionally a polo or tutrleneck (typically in dark color).
There are rules I would never break – horizontal stripes for example – but taking the occasional risk improves the eye and keeps things interesting.

I think shorter skirts are great, and for some reason, my vision has adjusted to wanting to add chunkier footwear/boots when I wear something shorter too! I don’t think 39 is too old for shorter skirts, and if you’re worried about length in warmer weather, you can layer a thin, longer jersey knit skirt underneath (I think I got that idea from Sal and the Academichic girls).
I am flat chested and wear lower cut tops (with scarves), average length legs but longer torso, and I mostly wear heels. My waist is probably my best feature but I love bubble dresses and voluminous tops.
It’s very liberating to think to yourself, “you can flaunt it if you’ve got it, and you can flaunt if you don’t.” Figure-flattering is great, but fun can be even better.

What a thought-provoking post! My waist is my best feature so I should be accentuating it all the time, bur recently I have been really liking more volumious items on the top. I am long waisted with short legs do I should be wearing bootcut pants with heels ( wedges), which I do fairly often, but sometimes I feel like getting a break and do sport my skinnies with flats, even tough I know it makes my legs look shorter.

As for the necklines, I pretty much wear every one other then super deep and wide scoops.

I have two big rules that I often bend. The first one is necklines, as many other have mentioned. I am small chested with an average neck. I wear turtle necks and other high necks often in the fall and winter, but in the spring and summer I mix them up with a lot of v-necks paired with camis. If the cami doesn’t fix the flattering issue alone, I often add a chunky necklace or an eye-catching pendant.

The second one is that despite my height (5’2”) I sometimes wear ankle length to floor length skirts. These I balance out with a fitted top. This combo just makes me feel very feminine and pretty. I have to avoid anything too fluffy though or I look even shorter. Another trick with the skirts that are ankle length (not the floor length ones) is to continue the long, lean line with similar colors in footwear and tights/hose. For example, I have a dark green ankle length skirt that I often wear with black or brown knee high books.

Can I just ask why you always write “cru” neckline? This type of neckline is a CREW neckline — reason being that it takes its name from the pullovers once worn only by sailors.

Christine, you are so right! The proper spelling of “crew” neck is spelt the way you have suggested it. It’s an old, bad rag trade habit of mine unfortunately. I shall spell “crew neck” correctly from now on. Thanks for reminding me about that.

This was a very inspiring post. Thank you , Angie! I have only posted here once before (today, actually), but it was in a spring post that many people probably won’t see, so I add this post as well.

Maybe my way of breaking the rules shuold be to wear those high waisted, wide pants that I think look so sofisticated, despite my short waist. It might work, as I’m also an hourglass. As long as the top is not in a contrasting colour, it might not highten my waist too much.

[...] of a new fashion season, it’s worth looking again at relatively recent posts by both Angie and Sal (of Already Pretty) on taking “figure flattery guidelines” with a grain of [...]

[...] from You Look Fab calls this surrendering the waistline. And it really is. If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time you know that [...]