Fabulous Figure Fixes – Top 5 Tips for Slimming Broad Shoulders!

Last Monday I brought you The Image Mistress’s Top 5 Tips for disguising a full tummy, a piece that proved very popular with all the stunning stylistas out there! So, following on from that we’re bringing you more fabulous figure fixes, with today’s article on how you can slim down broad shoulders!

Typically, broad shoulders are a classic body feature of women with an inverted triangle body-shape, though of course you may be an apple, rectangle, hourglass, or pear, and still find that broad shoulders are a key feature of your figure! Many women feel self-conscious about the prominence of broad shoulders & their disproportionality to the hips, so here The Image Mistress shares her Top 5 Tips to help you slim & minimize those broad shoulders!

1. Avoid excessive detail up top.

A fabulous, and incredibly simple styling trick to help you slim down broad shoulders, is to keep the top half of your outfit clean & uncluttered, to avoid adding unnecessary volume to your upper body & drawing attention to your shoulders.

Fussy design features on your top half, such as ruffles, bold patterns & prints, embellishment, or appliqué details, will draw the eye towards the upper half of your body & accentuate your broad shoulders! And anything that adds volume to the shoulders and upper arms, like shoulder pads, excessive fabric, & puffed sleeves, only serves to make your shoulders appear bigger & broader.

So, if you want to slim down your broad shoulders it is wise to select dresses, tops & jackets with minimal detailing around the shoulders, neckline, and bust, to avoid emphasizing, or extending the lines of your shoulders. Confine the chic, gorgeous eye-catching details & design features to the lower half of your outfit, as this will help detract attention from your wider upper body!

2. Wow in wrap style garments.

An absolute Godsend in styling terms, wrap style tops & dresses look stunningly chic on women of all body shapes, and are capable of fixing almost any figure feature that you feel insecure about. When it comes to slimming broad shoulders, wrap dresses, tops, & jackets really will work wonders for you!

Wrap around garments are fantastic for defining & enhancing the waistline, and they also create a V-neckline which is a brilliant way to break up the expanse of your shoulders, creating the illusion that they are slimmer & narrower.

As wrap style garments tend to have a tie at the waist, this detail will also help to draw the eye down from your shoulders & focus attention around your beautiful, trim waistline!

3. Flourish in fit & flare fashions.

As The Image Mistress explains to all her clients, the key aim of styling is to help women achieve body shape balance by emulating the hourglass shape of a slim, defined waist, with curvier hips & shoulders which are evenly proportioned.

So if your shoulders are broader than your hips, you need to select styles of garments which will enhance & exaggerate the width of your hips without accentuating your shoulders, in order to create the illusion of balance between the shoulders & hips! This is where fit & flare garments come in.

Coats & dresses such as these gorgeous garments from Ted Baker (above, & right), which are fitted at the waist & flare out over the hips & legs, or even tops & blouses which are fitted & the bust & then flare out, will add volume around the lower half of your body, and help to create alignment between your shoulders & hips, all of which will balance your body-shape.

4. Choose clothes that accentuate your lean legs.

Divert attention from broad shoulders by selecting clothes & shoes that will emphasize your lower body, particularly your slim, toned legs! Choosing trousers & skirts with interesting, stylish detailing such as hip pockets, draped fabric around the hips & top of the thighs, side pockets, ruffles, embroidery, or even a belt at the hips, will draw attention towards your lean legs. Doing so not only allows you to showcase one of the many fabulous aspects of your figure, it will also detract attention from broad shoulders, helping you to minimize a body feature you feel self-conscious of.

5. Wide straps work wonders for broad shoulders.

When you have broad shoulders it may seem counterintuitive to wear tops & dresses with wide shoulder straps, like this dress (right) & top (below) from Matalan. But rather than accentuating the breadth of your shoulders, wide straps will actually work better with their proportions than fine straps would. Again, thicker straps will help to break up the expanse of broad shoulders & make them appear narrower, whereas strapless garments or fine straps will only emphasize the width of your shoulders, so your figure will look out of proportion.

So, there you have the Image Mistress top 5 tips for slimming broad shoulders Imagettes! But of course we have a wealth of wisdom & style advice still to impart, so keep following our fabulous blog articles to pick up more helpful hints & tips you can work into your wardrobe.

Thank you so much for reading & continuing to support me Imagettes – I couldn’t do it without you!!

Stay stylish,

The Image Mistress xo