Your relationship with your bust, whether you are top-heavy or flat-chested, plays a major role in shaping your wardrobe choices. If you’re looking to highlight your chest or minimize a bigger bust, the right fashion pieces can make all the difference. Here’s how to navigate dressing confidently to accentuate your assets or create a more balanced look for your girls.
1. Statement Necklaces Draw the Eye
If you want to embrace your bust, a statement necklace is an excellent way to draw attention to your chest area. It’s also a clever trick for those of prefer to keep the focus on their jewelry outfit. To show off your bust, choose bold, eye-catching jewelry pieces that sit at the collarbone to highlight your chest without overwhelming your overall look.
2. A-Line Dresses Create Balance
If you’re looking to create cohesion between the top half of your body and the lower half, then A-line dresses are perfect. These dresses work to balance your bust and the rest of your body. The flared skirt draws attention away from the bust and creates an hourglass shape, giving you a well-proportioned and stylish appearance.
3. V-Necks Avoid Mono-breast
If you want to show off a little bit of cleavage, then V-neck tops and dresses are the way to go. These necklines create a vertical line that draws the eye downward, which can elongate the neck and balance out the chest – making it an elegant way to embrace your bust. They are also a much better option than crew necks, which can create a mono-breast.
4. High-Necks Offer a Sleek Silhouette
If you want to minimize the look of your bust, high-neck tops, like turtlenecks or crew necks, are your best friend. These tops help to create a smooth line from your shoulders to your bust and are an understated look without drawing too much attention to your chest. Add a blazer, and you’ll really go undercover.
5. Wrap Styles Create a Defined Waist
Wrap dresses and tops are universally flattering; they cinch the waist and naturally highlight the bust – no matter how big or small. This style is a hack for creating an alluring hourglass silhouette even if you don’t naturally have one. They are also super feminine.
6. Dark Colors are Super Slimming
Dark-colored tops are a great way to minimize the size of your bust. Dark shades create a slimming effect, which can make the bust area appear more refined and balanced, giving you a sophisticated edge. The best staple to have in your wardrobe is a sleek black turtleneck that will never go out of style and is the answer to an instantly slimmer silhouette.
7. Horizontal Stripes Add Volume
If you want to avoid making your bust look huge, avoid horizontal stripes at all costs. Horizontal stripes can add volume and create the illusion of a fuller bust. This pattern draws the eye across the chest, enhancing your natural shape and giving your bust a more prominent appearance. Opt for another print or vertical stripes.
8. Padded Bras Add Volume
Sometimes, you want to fill out a shirt or a dress and need a little extra volume and oomph. A padded bra is a simple way to add volume and lift to your bust, creating a fuller, more pronounced shape under your clothing. These bras are a quick way to give your bust a little extra boost, perfect for when you want to make a statement.
9. Minimizer Bras Streamline Your Shape
On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re trying to make your bust look smaller, minimizer bras are the way to go. These bras are designed to redistribute breast tissue, creating a smoother and less prominent silhouette. This option is great if you prefer a more understated look while still maintaining support and comfort.
10. Ruffles and Embellishments Divert Attention
Another optical illusion that gives the look of having a fuller bust or diverting attention from it is wearing tops and dresses with ruffles or embellishments around the neck bust area. These types of tops and dresses can add volume and draw attention to that part of your body – which is perfect when you want your bust to be the star of the show. Or not.
11. Scarves Give Stylish Coverage
To draw attention away from your bust, try adding a scarf to your outfit. A well-placed scarf can add an interesting aspect to your outfit by drawing attention away from the bust. Choose lightweight scarves in a chiffon that drapes nicely without adding bulk, creating a balanced and stylish appearance.
12. Fitted Tops Highlight Your Shape
Fitted tops that hug the figure are a great way to enhance the look of your bust. This style works well to highlight your curves, giving you a confident and put-together appearance. Fitted tops do their job best when you pick them in darker hues which really outline your shape.
13. Embrace Dramatic Prints and Sleeves
If you want to keep the attention on your outfit and off your chest, wear bold prints and tops with dramatic sleeves. Spots, fanciful florals, and billowing or bat-wing sleeves are edgy and draw attention to your style, not your bust. Not everyone can pull off a peplum top, especially if you are big-busted, but a v-neck style could solve that problem.
14. Shapewear Smooths Things Over
When it comes to slimming the look of your figure, shapewear is the unsung hero. It’s a relatively inexpensive tool to have on hand that can smooth your figure, and like a minimizer bra, it can reduce the look of your bust. Most shapewear comes with compression fabrics, padding, and underwire support that will streamline your shape so your clothes hang better.
15. Go For Loose Slouchy Looks
If you want to minimize the way your bust looks (again, big or small), choose loose, unstructured, or flowing fabrics and fits. This will help create a more relaxed and balanced look by draping nicely over your bust. Not only will you feel comfortable and covered up, but fashion-wise, casual chic is beyond cool.
16. Build a Killer Shoe Wardrobe
If you really want to make a fashion statement that takes all the attention away from up top, embrace statement shoes. This is a great trick during pregnancy for those who are experiencing weight fluctuations or who really feel self-conscious about their bust. The more fabulous, embellished, fanciful, and edgy, the better. Just be sure to balance out your look; if you’re bringing big shoe energy, keep the rest of your outfit minimal.