This year I’m with family in England and we’ve decided to spend Christmas Day at a country pub. So when I packed my mini capsule wardrobe for my stay I concentrated on country style clothes. And I purchased a new wool country/Christmas sweater as my key new item.
If you follow my try-ons you’ll know I’m in my seventies and – especially now – overweight, but I still try to look the best I can for my simple, casual lifestyle. For me, it’s all about styling items so they look good on my figure – not on the tall, slender young retail model.
Style 1: Sweater and jeans
I’m about 148 pounds right now and only 62 inches tall, so the thick-knit sweater made more sense this year than a finer knit that would show more of my shape.
I decided to buy a larger size than usual so the back would hang straight and not cling to the rolls of fat I have accumulated there. I also looked for a robust knit, not one that looked pretty but which would lose its shape after a day of wear in a warm room.
Straight cut jeans work well with a large sweater because they fit quite tightly over the rear and thigh so they make the sweater look large and, in comparison, the hips look less large.
Add a puffer gilet to bulk up the top even more and finally add a cross-body bag. The gilet makes the hips look smaller and the open front leads the eye from the knee to the face without too much distraction from heavy hips.
The cross-body adds even more interest for the eye – up at the top and nowhere near the hips. Plus the line going from one top corner of the silhouette down to the opposite hip distracts the viewer enough that the hip and thigh areas begin to lose much interest.
Perhaps you think this all sounds a bit technical. But if, like me, you are struggling with weight gain year after year, I think it’s worth using every trick you can to look your very best!
Style 2: Sweater and biker jacket
Ideally I’d be wearing black jeans or black chinos with this biker jacket, but I hadn’t packed any so I’m styling my Xmas sweater with smarter ankle-grazers. These work well under a tailored jacket for a work or smart event but can be useful even for casual days.
It’s important to marry up the black of the pants with something black at the top – so you don’t look as if you slung them on simply because everything else was in the wash!
Style 3: Sweater for a day in town
To up the smartness of this essentially country-style knit, I’ve replaced the sneakers with loafers, added a handbag and turned the sleeves back to show the black shirt at the collar and cuffs.
This matched-up look helps to make the cardigan more of a jacket than an indoor layer.
But the sweater does still cut across my body at the widest part. If you follow this blog or the Mature Style Course you’ll know that I don’t recommend this. But, by adding a contrasting color at the neck, on the lower arm, and in the shoes, it helps to take away some of the focus on the straight line between top and pants.
Style 4: Christmas sweater and cord jeans
To add another look for my sweater I’m styling it with this year’s must-have fabrics – corduroy and suede.
I’ve put the large cardigan over a sleeveless fine wool vest for a warm winter vibe. The addition of straight cord jeans in a thinnish fabric means I’m neither boiled alive nor looking like a snowman – both are dangers of wearing a bulky knit in a bright color.
The cosy look of the wool layer is attractive but that woollen needs to be sleeveless or my arms will be out of proportion.
I like the under layer simply pulled straight and it’s useful that it finishes at a different level to the cardigan as this helps to disrupt that straight side-to-side line across the hips. Adding the suede bag and the belt disrupt that line even more. Pushing up the sleeves bulks up the top which helps to reduce the apparent size of my hips too.
Style 5: Winter cardigan with slouchy wide pants
As you’ll have noticed, the last couple of years have seen a return to the seventies and eighties – very wide pants, wide blousy shirts and a softer, slouchier look.
It took me quite a time to come round to this look. As a short square person I’ve always tried to narrow my silhouette. But I have to say that the style is so very comfortable!
Here I’m wearing a cream shirt over brown wide cord pants. If I need to make the look warmer (for getting out of the car and making fast for the warmth of home) then I can add a small neck scarf. Add a bag and, on dry days, I could go shopping in this style.
I know many of you will think this look is too casual, but with friends, and with younger people, I find myself feeling relaxed and confident.
This Christmas sweater post is part of a series on how to style one new item 5 different ways. Here are some of the others:
How to style a short jacket 5 ways