I like wearing classic, crisp stripes in Spring and Summer, so Boden’s Tresco Stripe Pullover was instantly attractive. I ordered the ink blue and yellow combination. It came last week and I’ve already worn it twice because it’s fabulous. The cotton-cashmere blend fabric is soft, drapey, lightweight and screams Spring. The fluid cut is great over flared crops. And the party at the back — a colour blocked button stand with dainty buttons — is a lovely extra.
I am however, extremely fussy about the cut of necklines on my body type. My long neck, narrow shoulder line, regular size bust, and very short hair look best in a high neckline, or a lower neckline that covers the shoulder neck point (like the collar of a shirt.) I lose important-to-me outfit structure when these design details are not in place. This lovely pullover would have been returned had I not been able to fill the gap of the neckline with a chunky pearl necklace or a festive scarf. In fact, thanks to the Maximalism trend, I like wearing my pearl necklace AND scarf together with the striped pullover. See the exact items from my wardrobe in this collection.
Broad shoulders fill out wide necklines more effectively than narrow shoulders. So the same boat neck on the model sits higher on her than it sits on me. My short string of chunky pearls creates coverage, adding that necessary bit of structure to the outfit. A scarf adds even more coverage. The difference with the pearls especially is subtle, but it makes a huge difference to the way I see and feel about the top.
So the next time you love an item with a slightly too wide neck, think of wearing it with a chunky necklace or a scarf.
