Most of the time, I’m thinking about color combination and pattern vs. no pattern, but girls, forget colors and pattern, there is a whole world out there of just necklines to choose from. The neckline can frame the shoulders, neck and face, and change their apparent width, height and angularity!  Here are some aids in dressing-for-your-body-type! It gets a little tricky because you’re wanting to balance your whole body type…AND…your face shape, so read attentively and try a bunch out!

FACE: Balance your features by going opposite of your face.
(if you can’t remember what face shape you have, re-visit our post about it, CLICK HERE!)
Round faces are well-framed by an angular lines and a collar, such as, mandarin, notch, square or v necklines.
Square, Diamond, faces are softened with curvey necklines, such as, jewel, scoop, cowl, and sweetheart.
Oblong faces are balanced by  jewel, mandarin, notched, or polo, which make the face look slightly shorter.
Heart faces, are best featured by Scoop, Boat, or Square neckline choices

BODY: Balance your body by drawing attention to what is most fit.
(if you can’t remember what body shape you have, re-visit our post about it, CLICK HERE!)
Pear,  can be balanced by horizontal lines, like the Boat or the softer Sweetheart necklines.
Spoon can be balanced by more open lines, like Cowl, Sweetheart or V necklines
Apple can be balanced by more visually interesting lines, like Empire, Scoop, Notched or Mandarin necklines.
Willow can be balanced by high lines, like Mandarin, Notched, and Polo Necklines
Hourglass can be balanced by … oh wait, you’re already balanced! Enjoy them all.

Neckline definitions:
Boat -  broad opening, but which pass nearly horizontally across the figure near the collarbones.
Cowl - small pool of material hanging around the neck on the front.
Jewel - pass around the base of the neck on all sides. Also called the crew.
Mandarin - short unfolded stand-up collar
Notched -  a wing-shaped collar with a triangular notch in it.
Polo -woven button-front with soft collar
Scoop -  a curved U shape, where the arms of the U pass over the shoulders.
Square - three linear edges, the bottom edge meeting the side edges at right angles.
Sweetheart - has a curved bottom edge that is concave down and usually doubly scalloped to resemble the top half of a heart. The side edges often converge on the neck, similar to halter necklines.
V - two diagonal lines from the shoulder that meet on the chest.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 1:46 am and is filed under fashion tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.