Note: Usually I note on the photos what each item cost but since there are so many photos in this post, I will just let you know that nothing was bought new and the average cost of each item (clothes, shoes, jewelry) was about $4.
I’d always heard the rumor that once you get past fifty, your waistline starts to expand. I never paid much attention because, why borrow trouble, right?
Well, I am fifty-four. And those rumors? They are true.
In fact, I was recently tempted to ask Steve, “Is your Miata missing its spare tire? I think I just found it!”
And so, over the past few months I’ve made a point of finding fashion fixes to help camouflage the recently arrived Spare Tire-ness in my life.
The first tip is to shop for tops that have a little heft to them. If I hold a blouse up on a hanger and it sort of collapses in on itself, I put it back on the rack because I know that it will diligently cling to every hill and valley of my midsection.
On the other hand, when I see a shirt that holds its shape on the hanger I know that it will also hold its shape on me, thereby helping to camouflage what lies underneath.
This shirt not only has heft, it also has a subtle pattern that keeps the eye moving, rather than encouraging it to settle in one spot.
And adding a point of interest like a scarf near the face swoops the eye up, up and away from the trouble spot. Let’s swoop those eyes, shall we?
This is another shirt that has a little weight to it; it also has that subtle pattern that makes such a difference in spare tire disguise.
And just as a side note about jewelry: the silver necklace looks perfectly fine with this outfit but after I had looked at it for a minute, something didn’t seem quite right.
Instead, I chose this necklace, a gift from my sister on my 50th birthday. I liked it so much better. The skirt is quite whimsical and therefore the necklace needed to have some whimsy, too.
Before I move on, I have to tell you about this skirt. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it because it has a quirky, creative vibe. Unfortunately, it fell to mid calf which is not my favorite length. I knew the skirt couldn’t be hemmed because of the flouncy bottom so I asked my seamstress if she could try cutting off some material from the top of the skirt and then add an elastic waistband. It worked perfectly!
Another midriff-hiding trick to is to put a fairly close fitting top beneath a more floaty-fitting outer layer. It is then hard to tell if one’s floatiness is produced by one’s spare tire or by one’s clothing. We women can be devious, can we not?
This look also has the added benefit of making the bottom half (not just the waist) appear smaller. (Sorry I had to lop off my head; my hair was an absolute fright.)
This topper isn’t floaty but it still is a good disguise because it does not cling. Once again notice how adding a point of interest (the necklace) draws attention upward.
Although I realize I’m on the subject of toppers, I also want to mention that this particular white shell is an absolute gem. It is made of some sort of incredibly, magically, miraculously thick fabric that smooths out all the areas that need smoothing.
If I had put a thin, flimsy blouse under this jacket . . . well, the thought of it is too traumatic to even contemplate.
The white blouse again . . . love it.
Notice how the outside, darker column of color draws the eye up and down and makes the middle, lighter column of color seem smaller?
Once again, I am wearing a top with some of the aforementioned heft to it, along with a small pattern for the purpose of disguisement. (The CIA has nothin’ on women who are trying to hide their midsections!)
Still a column of color, but it’s reversed. (A belt is a nice tummy whittler, too.)
I probably should have done some head lopping in these photos as well. That’s some pretty wild hair!
I have managed to find a couple of shirts that have a band just below the stomach area so that the eye is drawn to the band (which looks smooth and flat) instead of to the area above the band. (Which does not look smooth and flat.)
Here’s another example of a banded bottom. I actually prefer the one above because there is a little less droopiness under the arms which slims the whole silhouette a little more.
I have saved my favorite tip for last. Quite simply, it is ruching. If you have nothing in your wardrobe with ruching, you are missing out on the most fabulous disguise trick ever. And I should know, because I didn’t have anything in this category till last week when I finally found a ruched blouse.
I had been looking for months and months at every thrift store I shopped at but couldn’t find the right size, fit, and color. (One of the few drawbacks of thrift store shopping is no size selection.)
I tried the blouse on with a topper and a flared skirt; however, the flared skirt threw the proportions off.
I gathered some of the material in a bunch behind me just to show how much of a difference a straight skirt makes when its paired with a long, flowy topper.
Since I didn’t think it would look quite right to walk around in public bunching my skirt behind me, I remembered I had a straight brown skirt in my closet that I hadn’t been able to wear for several months. However, since I’ve recently dropped a (very) few pounds, it fit me again.
Happy day. Ruching and a re-fitted skirt.
I know, I know. I only promised 5 Tips but a comment by reader, Lisa Desaulniers, reminded me of a wonderful tip that I had forgotten about completely and that is empire waist dresses.
Since I don’t own any (I really need to keep an out for some, though) here is a picture I grabbed from Pinterest.
In Lisa’s words, “An Empire waistband will show off the smallest part of your figure (around the rib age) and hopefully the fabric below flows away from the body parts you want to hide and creates a nice silhouette.”
Thanks so much, Lisa, for being my 6th Tipper! 🙂 This is a great point.
I hope some of this has been helpful to you. I always enjoy hearing from you in the comments.
Find the other posts in this series: Small Changes Favorite Style Bloggers Stars and Understudies Proportions and Alterations. Mom Jeans In the Middle Patterned Pieces
Loved this post! Thanks for sharing – now I need to go shopping!
I always enjoy your style posts. And I loved every one of your outfits–you sure have a knack for putting things together! Thank you for sharing your knowledge–very helpful!
Love, Deb
Glad you’ve enjoyed the posts, Deb. I’ve certainly enjoyed writing them.
Miss seeing you!
Nice!!! I, too, love the jeans with the crocheted/knit topper. And that two-way stripey shirt with jeans? I have that shirt. 🙂
As for the comment about body image and “hiding” things – I am going to come to your defense 100%. You dress to make yourself comfortable and happy with your appearance. For someone to say you’re “hiding” your body, when you’re actually accentuating the positive (do you have an earworm now???), is (in my opinion) absurd!
I think you look great, and I appreciate the time and effort that you put into these posts. 🙂
Funnily enough, I wore a banded-bottom shirt today. It’s a brown/black paisley print – so not only does the band help, so does the pattern of the fabric. 🙂
Stefanie,
How fun that we have the same shirt! I guess we both just have impeccable taste, right? And I am sure you were stunning in your banded, patterned shirt. 🙂
I love your insight about accentuating the positives of our body rather than than hiding the things we aren’t as happy about. Good stuff!
Thanks so much for your encouragement about the style posts. They really DO take a lot of time to put together but I so want to help other women (especially of a certain age) to love their appearance and to feel comfortable and confident with who they are.
Thank you for brightening my morning.
Excellent!!!
Thank you, Lesley. You are always an encourager.
love the post
Thank you, Becky. I hope it’s helpful to you!
Good post and great advice, but I sure don’t see anything that needs hiding. Becky, you look really good!
PS: I love the outfit with the blue jeans and topper in tip #2!! Super cute!!
LeeAnne,
Thanks for the compliment on the jeans outfit. I love that topper (purchased at Goodwill) because it’s a little bit on the creative, artsy side, a look which I tend to be drawn toward.
You are so good at this! I envy your skill. I must visit my local thrift shop soon as I could use a lot of ruches and banded bottoms and all the other tips. I still will not come out looking as good as you do because, I am going to own it again, I completely stink at putting outfits together! Just one of my lots in life. This was a fun post!
Mary,
You only THINK you stink! (Don’t you love a rhyming line?) 🙂 You can get better with even the smallest amount of practice.
One of the best ways to practice is to notice what other women are wearing. If you love an outfit on someone walking by, ask yourself why you love it. The color? The flow of the fabric? The overall vibe? If you can nail down some looks that really appeal to you, it will give you some guidelines as you shop.
Maybe just set a small goal: find just one new item a month that you love. You’re a smart, accomplished woman and are well able to learn new style skills. I’m pulling for you!
Becky,
You probably won’t believe me but I have the same problem! After I got so sick last summer with sepsis and dropped below 100 pounds, it still didn’t go away. Now I hover between 113 and 115′ yes I do eat a lot. I use the same techniques to hid my mid-section. I have a new favorite store to shop at here in MN, Shopko. Have made a haul of 90 percent off warm clothing which I need in this cold climate. They all hide my thick middle.
Cindy,
I didn’t even know you were dealing with sepsis last summer. That is a scary thing to go through! Glad you’re better.
I’m also glad you’ve already located a good bargain store in Minnesota. That should make you feel right at home–as well as nice and warm! And actually, I do remember Shopkos from the time I lived in WI and MN. I haven’t heard that name for a very long time.
Great advice. You are rocking some pretty nice styles! 🙂 i love how you always look so coordinated amd put together.
The last few months i’ve been in a wheelcair. And because the wheelchair could not fit in my closet where my clothing is, my husband has sweetly picked out clothes for me each day. I truly am grateful to him, but ….his sense of style is not the same as mine and some days ive worn some pretty wild styles. (Like the day he brought me our teen daughter’s multicoloured , multi patterned swirly baggy pants to wear with one of my flowery, flouncy church blouses). I am very thankful for his help and I try to be grateful i have clothes at all to wear, but as a woman i find value and.dignity in choosing my own clothing and attiring myself. So, yesterday i got this dear man to empty several outfits out of my closet and into a laundry basket by my bed. This morning for the first time in weeks i got to choose exactly the outfit i wanted to wear! Fickle me, but that choice brought me a lot of joy!
Jenna,
I’ve heard of people shopping their closets but this is the first time I’ve heard of someone shopping their laundry basket. Love it!!
And I also love the following: 1) that you have such a thoughtful husband who is willing to go through your closet to find clothes to bring to you 2) that you keep such an amazing attitude and sense of humor, even in the midst of a very difficult season of life 3) that you got to create your own outfit this week and that it brought you such joy.
Thanks for sharing such a great, inspiring story.
Loved all your outfits, and yes, I too try and hide what I think is not the best part of the bod. I know what society says, but I do this because I don’t enjoy trying to look great and then to have the tire ruin what I’m trying to accomplish. What is even more wonderful is that these are thrift store finds!! We were on a 5 week vacation and I still kept my eye out for thrift stores. Did find one and bought a Crazy Horse blouse that was 70% off more on the clearance rack. There were, of, course more stores, but we were doing more sight seeing. Love those deals.
Sharyn,
You got to take a 5-week vacation? I’m jealous! I’m sure you had a wonderful time, especially finding a few bargains along the way.
Bargains and sightseeing–vacations don’t get much better than that!
It helps when you’re retired. My husband did all the planning – what a great planner he is!!
Sharyn, how nice to be married to a planner!
Becky – why do we have to hide our middles? Society is telling us our bodies aren’t good enough, why are you? I have a belly, and the only reason I don’t like it is because I like to be super active and right now the added weight is getting in my way of doing the things I love.. but I don’t want to hide it. I really do like you a lot, I love that you are good and kind and have a heart of a servant.. you are a great example.. but please.. why must you be yet another voice of “I need to hide my body”?
Brooke,
Thanks so much for your comment; I love to hear from my readers (especially wonderful long time readers like you), even when they don’t always agree with what I write.
We all enjoy wearing things we love, things we feel good in, things we feel comfortable in. And for me at least, the items I pick to accomplish those goals are ones that best suit my body shape, my coloring, and my personality. I never feel ashamed of any body part when I’m getting dressed and I would never–because of the things I write–want any other woman to feel ashamed.
One of the things I am passionate about is helping women look in the mirror and love what they see—regardless of weight or body shape. And I’m especially passionate about showing them that they can accomplish that without spending very much money.
Since we all have to buy clothes and since we all have to get dressed every morning, I feel like we might as well spend that money (and that time getting dressed) on things that suit our bodies and our personal styles well and help us go through the day with confidence.
Thank you for speaking up about what you feel strongly about. I admire your convictions and the gracious way that you communicated them.
I especially appreciate that you’ve been hanging out with our family so many years—it’s good to have you along on the journey.
You always do a fabulous job of putting items together that look great. Being short I have problems with length and things being too long. I am guilty of wearing my diamond necklace all the time so miss out on the added jewelry. Makes me want to go shopping for more stylish clothes. Most of mine are several years old. Have bought a few tops lately but plain black and one print blue. Thanks for the lovely pictures.
Ann, I agree with you. My lady is well turned out. Bless you both.
Steve,
Thanks for your compliment!
Ann
Well, there’s nothing at all wrong with clothes that are several years old; I’ve got some pieces that are a decade old! 🙂 It sounds like you would enjoy getting a few current pieces, though, to mix and match with what you have.
You mentioned not wearing a lot of different kinds of jewelry so that might be a good place to start. There is so much lovely (and inexpensive) jewelry available and it really helps to freshen up outfits that you might be a little tired of.
Also, you can Google something like “style tips for petite sizes” and find a whole wealth of information about petite dressing.
You are such a lovely lady with a beautiful smile and a beautiful heart–it’s hard to improve on that!
I love the thought of you walking around all day holding a handful of your skirt behind you. Two tricks I’ve learned: A good bra! Get “the girls” back up where they belong (or used to be, lol) and your midsection instantly looks longer and leaner. Second, an Empire waistband will show off the smallest part of your figure (around the rib age) and hopefully the fabric below flows away from the body parts you want to hide and creates a nice silhouette. Good post!
Lisa,
Great advice about good-fitting bras (very important) and especially the Empire waist advice. In fact, I just made a 6th tip in my post about it. 🙂
Thanks!