proportion is relative...I am finding that, although there are rules like with full skirt a large volume top doesn't work, there are exceptions. It depends on the actual pieces one is trying to put together, your size and body type. a tall thin person can wear a big full midi skirt with a bulky top, and still good, without being lost in the garments. On the other hand a short chunky person can sometimes look thinner in the same outfit. Most of the time tight fits can make more moderate people look fat, Personally, trying to look thinner is always my goal.
For those of you who remember my post about the jeans trouser lengths and widths, I am now playing with the tops with skirts, dresses, jackets, etc. Again there are disappointments as to what I was giong to wear with what. Bought a soft fabric, silky feeling button down top, collorless, with a round neck--Nordies rack--grey, cobalt, black print. very straight but a little volume. thought other than with the new skinny jeans, the old cobalt ones, and the black it would look good with the grey straight leg derssier trousers--but it just didn't look right proportionally. So this, i concluded is where the top actually hits on my body. It is the length that makes it not work with the wider leg trousers. I am now convinced that porportionally one has to take a good look at the whole look. For me it is abolish the whole ideas of things one can and can/t wear when it comes to things like length of tops, jackets, etc. It depends more on what they are paired with, where it actually hits on you--which will be different than it does on some other person, who will have a different body length between bust and waist, widest part of hip, etc.