No Hiding Allowed – Tummy

November and December are the “holiday season.” For Americans, there’s the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of November, after which most non-Jews start getting ready for Christmas and the New Year. For Jews, there’s Chanukah. The one thing all these holidays have in common is food. We’re eating a lot of great food over these times. On top of all the festive meals we partook of during the chagim, Chanukah itself has us eating fried foods, dairy foods, and fried dairy foods in the spirit of the holiday. All of this feasting has to go somewhere, and more often than not, that somewhere is our tummies. Often that’s where it stays. 

It’s a rare woman who doesn’t have a tummy. Eating right and exercising definitely helps to keep our tummies firm and strong but most of us still have some tummy that shows. It might be actual excess weight or it might be the remnants of having babies, or it may be the result of posture issues, or simply body structure. Whatever the cause, no woman should be ashamed of having a tummy. However, most of us don’t want our tummies to stand out, and unlike many other body parts, playing up the tummy is not a good option for most women (unless you’re pregnant and I’ll get to that in a different article). 

What gets many women looking and feeling less than their best is the old strategy of trying to hide a tummy. Many women, especially women of my parents’ generation, think that the only way to go is to hide a tummy under an oversized top. Designer Rob Kinch describes this as “the old tent theory.” The women figure that if they wear something big, no one will know what’s underneath. The problem is that everyone DOES know what’s underneath. Why else would you wear something big?

The goal is simply to play down the tummy and not make it a focal point of your look. As someone who has a tummy, I can tell you that it’s not difficult to play down. It’s all a matter of know-how. 

Start with a good fit. Most, if not all, of us know that anything too small will show every bump and bulge. But going too large won’t hide anything either. If you wear oversized tops or oversized anything, it will just look like you have something to hide. Your tops and bottoms need to fit you properly. They need to define your figure without overdoing it and still leave you room to move.

Next, look at color. The monochromatic look – one color head-to-toe – is a great idea for every figure because it gives one long line that visually elongates and slims the body. It’s particularly good if you have a tummy because there’s no break in the line to draw attention to the midsection. While one color is best, you can cheat by wearing different colors of the same value (lightness or darkness). If you wear a black top with a navy bottom, a navy top with a charcoal bottom, a white top with a beige bottom, or a beige top with a light gray bottom, you’ll get that long line and the tummy won’t be so noticeable. 

What about bright colors? One bright color worn head-to-toe can give you the same long line as the neutrals do. However, bright colors draw attention and you have to be comfortable with that. Wearing one bright color on top and a different color on bottom is tricky because the contrast will break the line.

But wearing one color head-to-toe and then adding a bright color near the face will give you the long line and draw attention upwards to your face. 

What about prints? One print worn head-to-toe is a great look. Not only will it give you that long line but the print itself will obscure the tummy. Just make sure the print is proportionate and flattering to you. A print top can also be flattering by drawing the eye upwards to the face but should still fit well. And if the background color is the same as the color of the bottom, you get that long line with just a little extra interest on top.  

Now look at structure. Structured pieces like jackets and button-down shirts are terrific for all body types but they’re particularly good for giving you the shape you want. It’s important to buy the item that fits you over your largest part and then have the rest of it taken in by a seamstress or tailor to fit you perfectly. Softer pieces like cardigans and blouses are trickier because they can just drape over your body and give you no shape, but can work if they are midweight and well-fitted.  

Jackets in particular are great when they’re fitted. But steer clear of double-breasted jackets. The two vertical lines of buttons play up the tummy and they create a tummy where none exists. Plus, there’s extra fabric right at the tummy area which adds bulk and that’s not what we want. A single-breasted jacket plays down the tummy with the single line of buttons.

One softer top that’s great for playing down a tummy is a wrap top. It has a V-neck that visually elongates the torso and it has a fitted waist that skims over the tummy. If you fill in that V-neck with a flattering color, you’ll draw more attention upwards to your face. 

If you can find them, dresses are easier than separates because they’re inherently long with no break in the line. They’re even better if they have no horizontal lines in the midsection because that can break up the line. Structured dresses, like shirt dresses, are the best because they give you a good shape. And with a shirt dress, the long line of buttons down the front adds a vertical line right where you need it. Again, you need to make sure you get a good fit. The line of any dress should curve inward at your torso to visually narrow it.  

If your top or dress has a horizontal waist seam, be careful about where it falls. Supposedly, the empire waist, which falls right under the breasts, is the narrowest part of the torso and so if the waist falls there, it can make you appear narrower. However, if the top or dress flares out from that seam, it will make you appear pregnant. Empire waists work when the top is closely fitted until the navel or an inch or two above it.

It may seem counterintuitive, but a waist seam right at the navel area or an inch or so above will actually bisect the tummy and make it appear smaller. As long as there is no bright color or ornamentation to draw a lot of attention there, it will work. If your top flares out below that waist seam in the form of a peplum, it works even better by playing up a more hourglass shape and making the tummy and waist appear smaller by comparison. 

With tops, take a close look at the shoulders. If the shoulder seams fall right at the very tip of the shoulders, it will give some emphasis to the shoulders and make the waist and tummy appear narrower by comparison.