Stripe Right

Let it be stricken from the record that stripes are only for the slim waist-ed. They're not.

If you are a fuller figure and you want to make stripes work, but you're afraid of the horizontal kind (which seems to be the main one out there), have no fear.

Remember, clothes are your constant ace in the hole. They're not your enemy, they're your secret weapon when it comes to looking slim. It's all in how you use them for your advantage.

The way to make horizontal stripes flattering is by pairing a striped piece with a blazer. This goes for a shirt or a dress-anything that's bringing stripes to your torso-if you're wanting to look slim throw a blazer on over it. This creates the illusion that you have a slim waist because the stripe stops right where the blazer begins making it look the same for your torso.

Now I realize it's not necessarily what you would consider "blazer weather" outside. BUT what you can do to make your jacket more heat-appropriate is roll the sleeves a bit, or scrunch them, or both! Jackets are my closet potato chips-I can never have just one :)

As far as the size of the stripes go, if you're wanting to downplay a larger chest, I would recommend going with smaller stripes. Small stripes do draw less attention to that area and give more of a slimming illusion.

Don't fear your closet-put it to work making you look good!