Looking Good from the Waist Up

     I'm often asked the question, "Why doesn't this blouse (or dress) look good on me?" Nine times out of ten the offending garment has the wrong style of neckline for the person in question. Wearing a garment with the wrong neckline can ruin the entire look you are trying to achieve.
 
      Fortunately there are some simple rules that will allow you to make good choices for flattering necklines. The type of neckline you need is based on a number of different factors: face shape, body type, and bust size. But before we get into the rules, let's take a look at the options out there and how to identify the different neckline styles.
 
Different Neckline Styles:
      For our purposes, we've broken down the various neckline styles into three categories: Conservative (Formal), Revealing (Formal), and Casual necklines. They are obviously grouped by common themes. The Conservative (Formal) and Revealing (Formal) are all styles commonly found on formal gowns and fancier dresses, while the Casual necklines are just that, neckline styles commonly found on casual wear. The Conservative and Revealing categories reflect how low these necklines plunge.
 
Conservative (Formal):
      These neckline styles tend to rest high on the chest and very seldom show any cleavage at all. They are generally good choices for women with smaller or more average-sized chests.
 
Bateau: The bateau neckline (or boat neck) is one that closely follows the collarbone. It is a good choice for women who have well proportioned necks and heads, but who wish to present a more conservative appearance. Blouses and dresses with a bateau neck tend to be very blousy and are excellent choices for women who are pear-shaped as the slight widening effect of the neck will help to balance the upper and lower halves of the body, and the dress will usually skim over the problem areas of the lower half.
 
Sabrina: The Sabrina neckline (called thus because the look was favored by the famous American actress, Audrey Hepburn's, character in the movie of the same name) is basically a wide, shallow, curving neckline that drops to within an inch or two of the collarbone, and extends almost to the shoulders on the sides. It makes an excellent look for women with narrow necks and thin faces, because it makes them appear wider. The dresses with this style of neck often are more tailored in the bodice with an A-line or flared skirt, giving a very feminine silhouette.
 
Portrait: The portrait neckline is similar to the Sabrina style neckline, except that it is usually lower-cut, and features a shawl-like addition that drapes around the shoulders. It is a style that is very flattering for a number of women and was often chosen by women as a style to wear when sitting for portraits, hence the name. The low, wide scoop offers a flattering view of the skin on the chest, without revealing the cleavage, and is one of the most feminine and classic looks in women's fashion.
 
Jewel: The jewel neck is a high, close neckline style that closely encircled the base of the neck and covers the tops of the torso to the shoulders. The look is almost always sleeveless and the dresses featuring this style tend to be very tailored and sleek of silhouette. It gets its name from the fact that the neckline style is often selected in order to present a backdrop for showing off a particularly special piece of jewelry. It is not a look recommended for more plump women, as the sleeveless look tends to be unflattering.

 

Revealing (Formal):
      These are the lower-cut styles of neckline - halter, sweetheart, empire, and Queen Anne - and generally display a great deal of a woman's décolletage.
 
Halter: The halter neckline consists of two triangular points of fabric that rise along the chest and join in some fashion at the back of the neck. The width of the points may vary by design, and in fact the halter may consist of one solid triangular panel that is fastened around the neck with a strap of some sort, but generally has two separate extensions with a plummeting opening between to show the cleavage. This is generally a good style for moderately-sized to small-busted women, with toned arms and an evenly proportioned neck and head. Overweight women or women with broad shoulders should avoid this style of neckline because it will only over-emphasize their larger proportions.
 
Sweetheart: This is a flattering style for most every woman. Named for its resemblance to the bottom of the stylized heart graphic, the vertical dip of the sweetheart neckline helps to elongate the face and gives balance to larger proportions. This is by far the most popular style of neckline for wedding gowns and many evening dresses because of its ability to make most every size and shape of woman look her best.
 
Empire: The empire neckline is square and most notable because of its horizontal coverage of the breasts. This neckline displays the most chest area of all the styles we are discussing, and generally dips to a point halfway between the top of the breast and the areolas. It is a good look for average-build to larger-framed women with short necks because it offers a balance and makes the neck appear longer. It isn't recommended as much for small-framed or petite women, because it will draw attention to an area that generally is less endowed for smaller women.
 
Queen Anne: This neckline was popularized by Britain's Queen Anne, and is an excellent choice for women who are small-breasted and narrow of shoulder. The roughly diamond shape opening of the chest area makes the upper torso appear larger and wider by drawing the eyes to the horizontal line along the right and left points. It should be avoided by the broad-shouldered woman for the same reason, which would result in the woman appearing far too wide in the shoulder to be appealing.
 
Casual Necklines:
      These are the neckline styles commonly found among the casual wear of the average female. They are the vee-neck, crew neck, turtleneck, scoop neck and cowl neck. All of these styles can be found in varying degrees of lowness, depending on the size of the neck opening.
 
Vee Neck: The Vee Neck is the single-most flattering neckline style there is. It is close in back and on the sides and dips to a shallow point in the front of the neck. The vee neck generally has a bound edge, especially when made from knit or jersey material. Every woman looks good in the vee neck because it emphasizes the oval shape of the face and causes the neck to appear longer. The only consideration to remember is to make certain that you have a proper fit on the garment and you will look great.
 
Crew Neck: The crew neck is called such because it is the style of neckline that was found on crewmen's jerseys. It is close all around the neck and is usually found with a narrow, ribbed edge, especially in knitted fabrics. Crew necks are generally good for all but heavier-set women or those with short necks. Those women with wide necks and faces should use caution when thinking about crew neck garments because it will tend to make them look even wider and the necks will appear shorter.

Turtleneck: This close neckline features an extended collar, reminiscent of a turtle's neck when fully extended from its shell. Women with wide faces should use caution when wearing a turtleneck or look as though their head is even larger than it is. As a rule of thumb, the turtleneck collar should be folded so that it extends no higher than one-or-two inches below the chin. Turtlenecks are especially good for women with narrow shoulders and long necks and faces, as it helps to balance them.
 
Scoop Neck: The scoop neck is characterized by its wide opening and full-curving dip down the chest. It is a good choice for heavier builds and wide faces because it helps to keep the upper torso looking proportionate. It even works for small busted women, as the curved neckline gives an illusion of chest. However, women with long slim necks and narrow faces should avoid scoop necks because it will cause them to appear sticklike and gangly.
 
Cowl Neck: Similar to the turtleneck, this neckline style features a collar of folded fabric, but instead of being close-fitted, the cowl neck's collar is wider and looser. The collar drapes loosely around the neck and is a great choice for women who want a collar but don't look good in turtlenecks (i.e. women with heavier builds, wide faces and shorter, wider necks). The cowl neck is not a good look for small-build or petite women as the width of the collar will only emphasize a horizontal line and make the woman look stumpy.
 
The Rules for Neckline Choice:
      Now that we've discussed the options, it's time to review the rules for choosing a neckline. The areas we will be focusing on are body type, face shape, and bust-size. Each of these elements are important considerations when choosing a neckline style, but may be counter-indicative. The key is to look at the different areas and go with neckline styles that are most recommended.
 
Face Shape:
      The shape of your face is the first consideration for determining your ideal neckline. If your face is oval and well proportioned, you will be able to wear most any style of neckline with equal success. If your face is long and narrow, choose necklines that are wider and more shallow, to draw the eye to the horizontal and make your face appear wider. Conversely, if your face is wider and rounder, a neckline that has a stronger vertical shape will help to balance your overall look.
      The concept here is balance. You want to choose a neckline style to balance your features and help you look more in proportion.
 
Body Type:
      Following along on the theme of balance, you again want to select a neckline that will create balance in your overall appearance.
Women who are average in build should be able to wear most every neckline style with equal ease.
Large-framed women should look for necklines that stress a more vertical line. Vee necks, scoop necks, sweetheart necklines, Queen Anne and empire necklines can all look good. Even portrait necklines can be flattering as long as the neckline dips sufficiently to provide an elongating effect.
Small-framed women should look for necklines that will offer a widening effect. The bateau, Sabrina, portrait, crew neck, vee neck and jewel necklines will help to make the narrower build appear wider.
 

Bust Size:
      For our purposes here, we will be considering breast size as well as shoulder width. Women with moderately-sized bosoms and average shoulder width should be comfortable with any of the listed neckline styles. A woman who has a small bust and narrow shoulders should consider choices like the bateau, Sabrina and portrait necklines, as well as the sweetheart and Queen Anne styles. Broad-shouldered and big-busted women should choose styles like the empire, Queen Anne and lower-cut portrait necklines as well as scoop neck, cowl neck and vee neck style.
      Treat each of these facets of your appearance separately, and look at the suggestions indicated for each and write them down. The neckline styles that appear most often on your list are the ones you should focus on. Just remember that there are variations on each and every style listed that could make a choice not normally recommended more acceptable. If you keep in mind the theme of "balance", you'll find yourself making good decisions.
 
Bonus Tip:
      As a bonus in our discussion of neckline styles, I want to offer you a little extra tip concerning jewelry - namely necklaces. Accessories are important to the overall appearance of your look and many women make the mistake of wearing the wrong jewelry with a certain neckline style. I, personally, have seen countless women wearing pendant necklaces with low cut dresses only to have the jewelry get lost in their cleavage. You wear jewelry because you want to show it off, and if it can't be seen, it's a wasted effort.
      As a handy rule of thumb, use your thumb. Any necklace you wear should hang at least one thumb's length above or one thumb's length below the neckline of your dress or blouse. If you keep this in mind, you'll find you have more people admiring your favorite jewelry instead of trying to figure out where it went.
 
Stacy

Tips on How to Wear Blouses & Shirts

Plain blouses, ruffled blouses, plaid blouses, purple and red blouses and even ; see through blouses. There are so many, we cannot even touch on all of them. Then, we have baseball shirts, sweat shirts, t-shirts, tank tops, stringed spaghetti strap shirts, long beach shirts and through all these waves of cover ups, there is something we know without any shred of doubt. We absolutely must wear them. In fact, we've probably been wearing blouses and shirts ever since most of us can remember. The blouses and shirts have ever been with us, and ever been on us. It's just part of our garb that we don't think anything about, but look in your closet or drawer and we become immediately smitten and drawn to our favorite old faded shirt we sort of slum around the house with and some of us will wear this old shirt until it is in rags; because we just cannot handle the prospect of giving our old friend up for good. Even when we gain a little bit of weight, there are those of us who fold up our friend and put it away in storage until that faithful day comes when we've lost that poundage and we become united once again with our old comfortable hero. Unfortunately, for most of us, our hero stays in storage or eventually gets passed on to someone else to enjoy. Amid all the tears we finally give up the ghost, and reach for a potato chip; which is what got us into this mess in the first place. Some of us, then go on a shopping trip to find something that will take the place of our late friend. If we are a people person, we go with our girlfriends and go from rack to rack picking up the various colored larger blouses and holding them against us to see how it would look on us, then, asking for their honest opinion. As you well know, they are more than glad to give it, whether it be good or bad. Keep smiling, we can be thankful for friends like that, can't we.
 
Can you honestly be wearing a blouse that looks wrong on you? Can you be wearing the blouse wrong? Indeed, yes you certainly can and many do, thinking they look oh so sexy, but in reality; they look oh so sloppy and in truth, cheap. By now, you must admit this is a most interesting subject. And, how many women, really pay attention to how they are wearing their blouses these days?
 
Ashley Scott looks quite smart with her blonde hair bobbed short and wearing a black collarless blouse that shows off her lovely neck. Ashley isn't showing too much skin, but covering enough to keep a certain amount of mystery from her onlookers. Her blonde color looks striking with her large hoop earrings and, next to her simple black blouse.
 
When you are a light blonde, chances are; you should be able to wear just about any color successfully, with the exception of yellows. Any color you decide to put under your face, should bring out the best in you. Your selection of earrings should also bring a sparkle in your eyes and go well with your hair, like Ashley's hoops and short bob does. And, the color you have on your hair should go well with the color of the blouse you put on. For example, there has been a trend for quite sometime now, to put pink blouses on redheads. They can get away with it, because it has been globally accepted for many years. In truth, there are better colors than pink that flatter a redhead, such as greens, blues, purples and beiges. White can also flatter a redhead when the style is right.

Cheryl Cole is wearing the type of top that is distasteful and offers too much to be seen by others. When you are tempted to reveal all like Cheryl, you have to ask yourself, how do you want someone to remember you? How would someone describe you, if they couldn't remember your name? "She was the lady with the pleasant personality?" I don't think so. Just because you can buy tight blouses that reveal everything you have, doesn't mean, you should do so and it doesn't mean that they look good either. Dare to be different and be a trend setter, not a trend getter. I have heard so many tales of woe, of women telling me; when talking to a man, how they will not look at them in the eyes, instead, their eyes are fixed on the front of their blouses. This can be very annoying, but if you are wearing something that reveals everything you have, you cannot expect anything less. Ask yourself, what kind of attention you would like to have?
 
Tight blouses do absolutely nothing for a woman, even if she has what some would consider a perfect figure. There is nothing left to the imagination, as everyone already knows your body. Think for a moment, how some wives feel when a woman comes strutting across the room revealing her bra and what is spilling out all over the place. Her husband is a man, plain and simple and it is easy to see, when a woman decides to flaunt everything she has, there is very little respect for anyone in the room, especially wives.
 
The movie industry is famous for their revealing clothes. Everyone is always trying to outdo each other in shocking ways, so they can gain attention through the media and have their name repeated through the airwaves. We expect this in Hollywood, but it doesn't mean it looks good on them, or that we should make them a model for our standard of living.
 
As for Cheryl, I would put her in a tropical island look. She would wear something like a black sarong with large red hibiscus flowers and green leaves all over it. Her hair would be brushed back on each side and secured with combs. This type of look would be very attractive on her tanned skin tones. Everything would be covered up, yet she would have bare shoulders and look like an islander, with a yellow hibiscus in her hair by one of the combs and wear a large shell necklace and earrings.
 
Ms. Emmanuelle Chriqui is wearing sporty jeans and looks the part with her hair in a ponytail. Her white blouse is a simple cut that is tucked into her jeans and we find the arms are rolled up for whatever the task ahead of her. The collar is turned up, to beef up the sporty informal look. Be sure to use some starch on the collar when you are ironing your blouse and this will help keep it up. This look is informal and cute. All she needs is to wear a thin necklace to fill into the bare area.

Jennifer Anniston is wearing the deep v-line trend that most people are wearing today, but does not necessarily look that good when not worn with a silver or gold necklace. Jenn's hair is everywhere, while falling in layers. Maybe the wind was blowing a little too much that day. This isn't the best look for our girl. Her hair would look good, worn up or back into a chignon with a black scarf around it. She would look entirely different and a little bit more self assured.
 
Here's a secret for you. We can wear our hair and our clothes, in such a way; that will make us look like we have all the assurance and confidence in the world; even when we do not feel that way. People will feel comfortable around you, and just might want to copy your new look.
 
All decked out with her short blonde hairdo and wearing a nice crisp white blouse underneath her black and white plaid jacket is Sharon Stone. Her black sunglasses are a fine match to go along with her small pearl earrings. Sharon looks sporty and yet classy and when you look that way, you are going to act like it. No negligence for this girl. Put a briefcase in her hands and I bet she would make an excellent public defender.
 
  Tamara Taylor is a good example of someone who is wearing their hair up to bring a finesse to her brown suede suit and her v-shaped blouse underneath with a turned up collar. Ms. Taylor looks feminine and neat and she has a thin necklace on to break all the exposure of flesh from the neck on down. This is a tasteful regard of what careful shopping can do for you.
 
Wearing a dark gray spring jacket over her deep v-shaped white blouse is Kendra Wilkinson. She is wearing a lovely necklace to help fill in the areas between the face and the front. I would button up at least two buttons for Kendra to look a little bit more appealing. In fact, I can picture her in a lime green vest that would bring out the blue in her eyes and look absolutely stunning on her.
 
  We look over and who do we see wearing a black leather jacket and a white simple blouse? Brittany Murphy! Her turned up collar, v-shaped no button look is broken by wearing a black knotted scarf that matches her jacket. The scarf is a good informal choice when you want to break up exposure of so much flesh. Her hair isn't too long, but looks well kept in long layers. I see her haircut about an inch below her ears for her best affect in this picture. Look closely at the shorter strand just below her ear and place your finger on the lower hair and you will see it for yourself.
 
P. Williams  

hi, welcome!

hi, welcome to visit my blog!