Why Oversized Clothes Don’t Make You Look Slimmer Or Your Bust Smaller

Reader Question - I have a 44 double D bust and I'm about 172 centimeters tall. I've tended to hide my bust in loose flowing clothes and I recently tried a figure flattering dress. I was amazed as I did look busty but in proportion. Why is this this? balanced body proportions

Oversized Clothes Don't Make You Look Slimmer

Oversized clothes really don't make you look slimmer. Because they stand away from the body, your body appears to be as large as the clothes and when you have a large bust, the clothes hang from that point, rather than coming back in and contouring your body.

Yes I know they are super fashionable right now and there are ways of following this trend if you love it (key - go DOWN a few sizes so it's only a little oversized), but really, it's not a great trend and really doesn't work for most body shapes well!

Instead, the key is to create balance with your bust using the best shapes for your body shape silhouette, proportions, and scale.

The key to dressing successfully with a large bust is to create the illusion of having a balanced body. By wearing a figure-flattering dress, you balanced body proportions, creating a sense of balance with your body shape.

The reality is that very few people have perfectly proportioned bodies. Knowing your proportions will help you design a wardrobe that emphasizes your favourite parts of your body and balances your figure. If you aren't sure of your body shape, check out my body shape calculator - despite the name, there are no numbers or measurements required as numbers are NOT an indicator of body shape as they don't tell you anything about your silhouette.

Once you know which body type you tend towards, you'll need to know how to select clothes that create balanced body proportions. When you understand your proportions, you can visually balance your body shape to flatter your figure. When you see how body proportions work together you'll see that even a slight adjustment to a garment will make a big difference to the overall effect.

Remember that everyone is slightly different and you may not fit exactly into each shape description - if you have a significant difference from the usual body shape features., check out my post, What Guidelines to Follow When Your Body Shape isn't "Standard"

If you do have a big bust, there are some great really easy ways of making your bust appear in balance with your body. These are simple illusions that tricks the eye into seeing something completely different.

Tailor to your shape

One of the biggest issues for women with a larger bust is finding tops and dresses that both fit nicely and flatter their shape. It's definitely a challenge, especially if your bust is also larger in proportion to your waist, you'll find tops are too fitted across the breasts and baggy everywhere else. This excess fabric can actually make you look larger.

Through my many years of having a very full bust I discovered that clothing that came under the bust that were tailored and skimmed my curves gave me a better shape. Slimming garments will be fitted to your figure - skimming not clinging. Defining the waist creates an illusion that visually balances your proportions and de-emphasizes the larger bust.

For your existing, looser flowing clothes, some shaping darts below the bust will improve the look of those garments. A flared skirt hemline will also help balance out larger chests to avoid looking 'top heavy'.

Lower necklines

Opening up the neckline with a v-neck style elongates the area. They avoid bigger busts looking overly wide whilst looking particularly flattering in showing your feminine shape. The neckline breaks up the 'square' appearance of the upper body.

The thing to keep in mind is just how low the base of the 'V' goes. A slight sweetheart neckline flatters the decolletage area while a very deep v-shaped neckline often shows all of the cleavage. The trick is finding the sweet spot. Try scoop necks and use cami's or a b-string with anything that you feel is too revealing.

Large scale necklaces

Large scale necklaces are great at making your bust look smaller. They create an illusion of scale. When you place something large next to large bust, the bust appears to look smaller in comparison to the necklace.

By contrast, if we put something small and delicate, next to a larger bust, it actually makes a bust appear larger.

Larger scale necklaces are a brilliant way breaking up the 'square' appearance of the upper body similar to the lower necklines. A large-scale necklace is also perfect for bringing attention up towards your face and dressing your portrait area.

There are heaps more large bust tips here on the blog too. I have written over 2,500 blog posts so chances are fairly good that I've written something that can help you dress for your specific body proportions and personality.

If you want to get a complete handle on your colours and styles you can always enrol in my 7 Steps to Style program which educates you all your style fundamentals - what you never learned at school and no fashion magazine ever told you. If you are struggling with your style and you're not sure where to start that is the place to start, this program is full to the brim of useful style information. balanced body proportions