So Chewy, I guess I may be misreading you. Are you thinking wovens will give you the necessary structure to smooth over the pudgy parts?
Here's my thought on wovens, and I said this elsewhere awhile back on a different thread: I think they work best on certain bodies, but it's not necessarily about body shape per se. It's more about whether you are angular, or soft. You can be angular and any shape, or soft and any shape.
To me, Angie, Greenglove, San are all examples of angular body shapes. I am much more of a soft shape. Angular types wear wovens really, really well, whereas if you have a softer shape, you wear softer fabrics better, like knits, silk and silk like pieces, and yes... wovens that have a lot of drape, like the ones you were looking at from Old Navy. These are wovens, but very different than a crisp white button down shirt, am I making sense here?
If you wear the classic button down shirt well - and you feel comfortable in it - it's likely you are an angular body type. If these shirts make you fidget and just don't feel comfortable in them - even if they look good - that's a sign you are more of a "soft" body type.
Structure, on the other hand, is a completely *different* topic and I agree with Angie you can have structure in a knit or silky blouse etc - not just wovens.
As for your dilemma with the clingy knits, I know *exactly* what you mean here!! This is my constant challenge as well. My pudge is mostly a result of loose skin leftover from pregnancies, and it's there no matter what I weigh. It is very frustrating that I am thinnest just under the rib cage, and if the top fits there - defining the waist - it is apt to cling in an unflattering way in the belly.
Solutions that can work for your climate:
- the vest is a GREAT idea
- Ruching!!! Look for top with ruching on the sides... a great disguiser.. you can't tell what is pudge and what is ruching... you can also buy longer tops, and scrunch them up to create a ruched effect.
- Patterns!! Confuse the eye. Sweat pea tops are great because they have patterns AND many have ruching too.
- A top that's basically loose, but has details at the waist. Not *necessarily* an empire... I have one favorite knit top from BR that is a good example, I can dig it up if you are interested.
- The right fit. Example here is a basic scoop neck tee shirts from the Gap. I know Angie hates these, but I'm just making a point here. ;-)... these shirts for some reason work well on me - there is something about how they are cut, they swoop in at the waist just right, but aren't too clingy in the mid-section. Tops like this ARE out there. You just have to find them! And when you do, you realize "it's not your body, it's the clothes." ... which is always a great feeling.
