How to Dress for Your Body Shape: Lines, Balance and Proportion

Dressing for your body shape comes down to styling tricks that let you wear the pieces you love and feel good in them, none of which involves disguising any part of your body. Often the simplest is where you draw a line on your body, one of the most useful styling tips there is.

This guide brings together the advice our founder, Hayley Thomas, gives on lines, balance and proportion with tips from the stylist Claire Lopez, for whom so much of styling is “about balance and creating that within your frame”.

What a line is, and what it can do

A line is any point in an outfit that draws the eye. The five main ones are the neckline, the hem of the sleeve, the hem of your top, the hem of your skirt or trousers, and the point where your shoes end.

Playing with those lines changes how an outfit looks and how your proportions look, and there are three ways to use them. A line can draw the eye to your best bits, it can change the proportions of an outfit, and it can set its mood.

How to draw the eye to your best bits

A good place to start is a part of you that you like, and how a line could draw attention to it. Many people find this hard, but the answer might be a delicate ankle or a favourite pair of shoes, shown off with something a little more cropped. One tip from French style is to show the narrower parts of the body, such as the wrists and ankles, and our guide to Parisienne style has more on that look.

A tuck draws the eye straight to the waist. That can be a good place to draw it if you are more of an hourglass, broader through the bust and hips with a waist that goes in. Rolling the sleeves of a shirt helps as well, because a cuff worn at full length draws a line that competes with the one at your waist.

We cut the sleeves of the Olivia Oversized Fluid Cotton Shirt to three-quarter length for the same reason, so even worn loose and floaty it still draws the eye towards the waist. A half tuck or a looser tuck works well with it too.

To draw the eye up towards your face, a V-neck creates a vertical line. Quite a wide V, such as the one on the Nian V-Neck Cashmere Blend Jumper, does this in a less obvious way than a narrower one, and the open neckline also draws attention to your collarbones.

A shirt worn open at the neck creates the same vertical line, and so does a blazer such as the Josephine Wool Blend Blazer. A scoop neck is gentler, and the Perfect Roll Sleeve T Shirt opens up the neckline without drawing the eye in the same way. If you would rather draw attention away from your neck, a soft scoop neck works well, along with a touch of colour elsewhere, such as a bright belt or a bright shoe.

How to balance your proportions

The second job a line does is to change the proportions of an outfit. In art, interior design and architecture there is something about thirds that we instinctively find more appealing, and the same is true in styling. So the aim is to avoid cutting the body in half, and to split an outfit into a third and two thirds instead.

A tuck is the simplest way to do it. Worn untucked with a cropped jean, the Posy Ruffle Collar Shirt can show about as much shirt as denim, while tucking it in gives one third on top and two thirds below. A blazer worn open rather than done up does the same.

Balance also depends on where the volume sits. With a wide leg, a neater knit on top works well, particularly if you prefer not to wear volume on top and volume on the bottom. The Gwyneth Fine Merino Roll Neck is a slightly neater shape, and it looks good with the Dora Wide Leg Trousers in navy pinstripe. The same goes for joggers, where you might want to keep the comfort and ease but wear something a little neater on top.

Yarn makes a difference too, because a soft, drapey merino or cashmere blend falls around the body without clinging, and our guide to merino wool looks at why.

What to wear with a fuller bust

For a larger bust, a neckline that opens up without plunging works well, such as the tie neck of the Jules Blouse worn loose as a V. Because the V is not too low, it leaves a little space between the bust and the neck, which is important, and the same neckline can help if you have a short torso.

The idea that you cannot wear horizontal stripes with a bigger bust is a myth, and they can absolutely work. If you would like to break up the stripes across the bust, a blazer worn over the Jessica Breton draws the eye down rather than across. A statement belt does a similar job by drawing it to the waist instead.

What to wear with broader shoulders

A blazer is a good way to balance a broader shoulder, because it creates a vertical line that takes the focus away from the horizontal line across the shoulders. Our blazers collection has several shapes to choose from.

A puff sleeve is often thought to be off limits with a broader shoulder, but that depends on the seam. A puff that starts at the edge of the shoulder and extends out adds width, while one whose seam sits in from the shoulder line, as it does on the Jules, adds none.

A V or notch neckline helps too, because it draws the eye downwards, so the shoulder becomes slightly less of a feature. With its tie neck worn open as a V and its sleeve seam sitting in from the shoulder line, the Jules is a style that tends to work across body shapes.

What to wear if you are fuller through the hips

If you are more of an hourglass and would like to balance your hips, drawing the eye up to the shoulders helps. The Jessica Breton works well if you love your neck and are not conscious of your shoulders. Its slight boat neck draws the eye to the neck and creates a wider line along the shoulder, which the buttons broaden further.

For a pear shape, a little structure through the shoulder line helps, which the Jules gives. If you have a little more volume on the bottom half, a jacket that sits at the hip bone works well, which is about where the Ayla Wool Blend Reversible Jacket finishes.

With jeans, a little extra width at the hemline helps to balance curvier hips and thighs. Jeans for each body shape are set out in the best jeans for women, and our comparison of barrel leg and wide leg trousers looks at which shape suits you.

What to wear if you are straighter through the middle

If you are quite straight up and down, adding a belt to the tuck is a good way to draw the eye to the waist. It starts to give a little more shape, and the idea is simply to create the illusion of shape rather than to disguise anything.

Tailoring can create shape as well. The Josephine is fit and flare, in at the waist and then out, so it highlights your curves if you have them and creates the illusion of them if you do not.

The Imogen Denim Skirt has a fit and flare shape as well, which works across body shapes when worn with something neat on top. Its buttons run all the way down the front, and that vertical line lengthens the bottom half.

How diagonal lines help

A diagonal breaks up an area, and any diagonal tends to take the emphasis away from a horizontal. The sleeve of the Perfect Boyfriend T Shirt finishes just above the elbow, and rolling it turns that line across the arm into a diagonal. The shape of the sleeve on the Sylvie Draped Blouse creates a diagonal on its own.

The same idea works at the waist. Many people who do not love their tummy never tuck anything in, but a tuck is still worth trying because it gives you shape, and tucking on the diagonal breaks up the horizontal line. With a shirt, a T Shirt or a sweatshirt, that can mean simply tucking in one side.

If you would rather not tuck

If a full tuck is not for you, a half tuck still draws a line at the waist. A shorter knit is another route, since a cropped jumper such as the Blythe Funnel Neck Cropped Jumper already finishes at roughly tucked length, with no tucking needed, and it sits a little away from the body. Our guide to how to style a jumper has more on tucking and on how long a jumper should be.

Some shirts are cut to be worn either way. The Etta Bib Shirt has slight ruching, so it sits nicely across the tummy, and a little side slit. Worn loose, it looks like an intentional untuck, a feature rather than a shirt you have forgotten to tuck in.

The right trousers can help as well. The Eadie Pleat Front Trousers have the feel of a subtle, tailored barrel leg, with pleats that lie flat across the tummy and fold outwards, so they add drape and interest without adding bulk.

Why shoulder structure helps

It is worth looking for a jacket whose seams sit on the shoulder line, and a matching denim jacket cut this way works well with rinse wash Frankie jeans. The trend is for dropped shoulders and oversized shapes, which have their place, but quite often a set-in shoulder gives a structure that helps many body shapes.

Under a jacket like this, the Skylar Shoulder Pad T Shirt works well, because its removable shoulder pads give a slightly stronger, more structured shoulder line. A little shoulder structure helps to balance curves, and it can build up a sloping shoulder line.

Because the pads come out, the Skylar also works under a jacket that has shoulder pads of its own, and the satin version, which has the same removable pads, sits well under a pinstripe suit. Our guide to the shoulder pad T Shirt covers more ways to style it.

How lines set the mood of an outfit

The third job a line does is to set the mood. A sharp, straight line, like those of the Josephine, signals formality, bringing energy and a little more authority. A softer, curved line slows the eye down and feels more relaxed, which is why the Alba Short Sleeve Blazer, with its more curved feel, comes across as a little less formal than the Josephine.

Shirts work in the same way, and while the Olivia can be styled for the office, its curves make it feel more relaxed than The Perfect Shirt. That shirt is a little straighter, although it still has a slight curve of its own.

Where to put your attention

Above all, your energy is better spent on the parts of you that you like. When every decision is about what to hide, dressing stops being much fun and the outfit tends to look off. Instead, it is worth thinking about what you want to emphasise and how the pieces work together. That leaves perhaps ten percent of your attention for the part you like less, just to make sure the lines in your outfit are not emphasising it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I dress for my body shape?

Dressing for your body shape starts with the parts of you that you like, and with lines that draw the eye there. A tuck, a V-neck or a rolled sleeve each draws a line, and splitting an outfit into a third and two thirds keeps the proportions balanced.

What neckline suits a large bust?

A V that is not too low suits a larger bust, because it opens up the neckline and leaves a little space between the bust and the neck. A tie neck worn loose, as on the Jules Blouse, gives that shape.

Can you wear horizontal stripes with a bigger bust?

You can wear horizontal stripes with a bigger bust, and the idea that you cannot is a myth. A blazer over a Breton draws the eye down rather than across, while a statement belt draws it to the waist.

How do you dress if you do not like tucking in?

A half tuck, or tucking in just one side, still draws a line at the waist. A cropped jumper sits at tucked length on its own, and a shirt with ruching and a side slit looks intentional when worn loose.

How do you dress a rectangle body shape?

For a straighter, rectangle shape, a tuck and a belt draw the eye to the waist and create the illusion of shape. A blazer cut fit and flare, shaped in at the waist and then out again, creates the illusion of curves as well.

How do you dress a pear shape?

For a pear shape, a little structure through the shoulder line and a jacket cut to finish at the hip bone both work well. With jeans, a wider hem helps to balance curvier hips and thighs.