Dani Slaugh, Style by Dani, says, "Sweaters can be cozy, comfy and warm, and like a rich hot chocolate they have the potential to pack on the pounds."
She joined us with a few ways to make your cozy sweater look more flattering.
1. Length matters!
Watch the hem lengths on wrists and waist. A traditional sleeve length should end at the wrist bone when the arm is bent. If too long or too short, push the sleeves up. If the sleeves don't want to stay pushed up, opt for another sweater or keep the sleeves in place with an elastic band. Put an elastic over the sleeve and billow the sweater over to camouflage it. If the sleeves are constantly hanging on your hand, you can risk looking like a child wearing your parent's clothes.
Contrasting colors at your widest place will make you look wider. The eye is drawn to contrast, instead of the bottom hem hitting at the widest part of your hip, try a partial tuck at the waist, or wear a belt over the sweater and blouse slightly. Matching your pants with your sweater generally eliminates the contrast and will be figure-flattering as well. Or choose a sweater that's more fitted at the waist with built-in blousing, this style also works well to minimize a tummy bulge.
2. Texture matters!
Pay attention to the texture. Wait what really is texture? Texture describes the body and surface of fabric. Textures may be rough or smooth, coarse or fine, thin or bulky, heavy or light, or any combination of these characteristics. Heavy, bulky, rough, and/or coarse textures can add more visual weight. Fine, lighter-weight textures can reduce visual weight. In terms of sweaters, the pattern knitted into the fabric can also influence your appearance.
It has been said that vertical lines are slimming and wide lines make you look wider. This is not exactly true. Wide lines, whether vertical or horizontal can add visual mass. If you tend to be bottom-heavy, this is a good thing! Go bold with a cable knit sweater or other pattern that includes horizontal textural lines knitted into the shoulders and chest. But as a general rule, and especially if you tend to be top-heavy, look for sweaters with narrower vertical lines, or diagonal lines are even better.
For more ideas on how to slim down your sweater game, find Dani at StyleByDani.com or on Instagram @stylebydanithegirl.
