Playing with Necklines to Shrink Broad Shoulders

One of most common sources of body line anxiety is how to cope with naturally broader, more muscular shoulders and upper arms. While preparing for this post, I realized that my shoulders are not overly broad, however, this in no way negates the need to wear clothing that flatters. As with any body line issues, the more feminine your body is, the more you can “get away with” in terms of styles… in general, a little knowledge goes a long way when it comes to necklines.

Going back to the previous post about body lines, we recall that the shoulder line is drawn horizontally across the widest part of the shoulders. One of the most effective ways of manipulating how this looks is by choosing an appropriate neckline. To better illustrate my points, I’ve ransacked my wardrobe and posed as a model (or guinea pig, but I like model better). I even managed to smile occasionally to keep things lively! Let’s go ahead and take a look at some of the most common necklines…

1. Crew Neck – Perhaps the simplest of all, often found on those ever so witty graphic tees that are adored by the hipster generation.

As you can see, there is no real magic happening here… you basically end up looking pretty much how you started. Good as a layer, but not generally as a stand-alone top. If you have petite shoulders/upper body, go ahead and rock that clever-quipping-Bill-Murray crew neck… if not, don’t fear, we can do much better!

2. Straps: Spaghetti vs. Wider – Many tops and dresses, especially in the summer have straps rather than sleeves which is a wonderful way to show more skin and keep cool. Not without pitfalls however. Take a look below at the spaghetti strap camisole (left) and the wider strapped tank top (right).

                        

The straps on the cami are too small in contrast with my upper body and end up actually making me look bigger (there is a lot of real estate there!). Though spaghetti straps are quite feminine in nature, a better choice is the wider straps of the tank top which have enough width to break up the line of my shoulders a bit. This can also hold true with halter-tops as well… a halter-top will more likely be flattering if its straps are wider (cover more of the chest as they run up around the neck).

3. Scoop Neck – A more figure friendly alternative to the crew neck is the scoop neck, which is generally wider and extends further down. By dropping down through the shoulder line, the scoop neckline breaks up the line and makes it look like the line is narrower.  Take a look…

Another brilliant bit of help for narrowing the shoulders on this top is the raglan cut sleeves. Raglan sleeves (also called “baseball sleeves” sometimes) run all the way up to the collar and in doing so fool the eye into extending the line of the arm further up. The sleeves themselves are darker which beautifully deemphasizes the shoulders, highlighting the bust area. Careful with raglan sleeves that are brighter as they may have the opposite effect. 

4. V-Neck – If you haven’t heard by now, the V-Neck is the most universally flattering neckline out there. The “v” shape cuts the shoulder line like the scoop neck and offers a flattering framing for the face, which helps deemphasize the jaw-line as well.

The “V” can also be a great way to showcase both cleavage (if you are blessed with any) and a beautiful Décolletage (the classy French way of saying the upper part of a woman’s torso or collarbone. Derived from a word meaning “to reveal the neck”)

If you’re ever in doubt or just starting to build a wardrobe, go with a V-Neck.

5. Cowl Neck – A look that is popularly found in sweaters and sweater dresses, Cowl neck, come in all shapes and sizes. This is a style I adore, especially as fall is approaching. As you might imagine, the effect of the cowl neckline changes depending on what form it takes.  Shown below are two dramatically different cowl neck styles. Let’s take a look:

The dark green top (left) is a very subtle cowl that basically ends up having the same effect as a scoop neck or v-neck, just adds a bit more style. The camel sweater dress (right) has a much larger neck with quite a bit of extra fabric around the neck (almost scarf-like). How does piling a bundle of fabric around our necks help our shoulders? You may ask. The effect is two-fold (pun intended)… For one, it draws focus up around the neck and towards the face, essentially distracting the eye from the shoulders (since they’re not the interesting part). Secondly, one way to make something look smaller by comparison is to put something large near it… I’m sure there are situations where this is a terrible principle, but for the same reason wearing large statement jewelry works this works too.

6. Boat-Neck – Characterized by a wide but shallow line across the shoulders, the boat neckline gets its name from appearing like the bottom of a boat. The effect tends to be the opposite of what we want in that it accentuates and lengthens the width of the shoulders. I was actually surprised that I found an example of this in my wardrobe.

Admittedly, the dress shown does not have a very exaggerated boat neck and makes a bit of a poor example. The wider the boat-neck, the more unflattering it will likely be. In general avoid boat-necks.

7. Turtle-Neck – While they may be wonderful at concealing an Adam’s apple, turtlenecks typically are not the best option for necklines when it comes to broad shoulders. They tend to shorten the neck, while tight fits accentuate the true lines of the body underneath (not surprisingly).

This top isn’t quite a true turtleneck, but was the closest I had. One might argue that it is a baby cowl neck. The cut of the sleeves here also helps reduce the shoulder line. Not the best, but again I think I’ve gotten away with it on the virtue of being blessed with smaller shoulders.

8. Strapless/Tube Top – I find that the strapless look, though sexy, is very difficult to pull off given a typical transgender body shape. I do not own any strapless clothing at the moment, though would like to experiment in the future, especially as my body shape continues to change. As far as shoulders go, this look will leave them totally exposed, and in most cases “featured” which is not necessarily a bad thing but requires some fashion nuance to pull off. . One easy way to ensure a strapless look is flattering would be to simply wear a sweater or shawl over it. I recommend against it, unless you are braver and more fashion savvy.

9. Everything else – Square, keyhole, off-shoulder, asymmetrical, sweetheart and any others I didn’t mention all follow the same basic concepts to determine whether or not they’re flattering that we’ve discussed. Feel free to experiment and find what works for you! Variety is the spice of life J

As we can see with my examples, these rules are definitely not hard and fast. A neckline is only one variable in a myriad of possibilities, however understanding what effects a particular look may have is important to ensuring a flattering image. Remember that the cut of sleeves has been mentioned several times and also plays an important role in minimizing shoulders, hopefully I can talk more about sleeves in the future. Here is a quick recap of what we’ve learned:

1. Crew-neck: Generally not flattering, but good for layers, being witty
2. Straps: Wider is better
3. Scoop-neck: Flattering, go for it!
4. V-neck: Very flattering, should be a go to look.
5. Cowl-neck: Surprisingly also flattering, nice variety
6. Boat-neck: avoid
7. Turtle-neck: avoid
8. Strapless: avoid, though not impossible

Remember too that shoulders are only one piece of the puzzle, so one must also consider what a neckline choice helps/hinders in a full outfit as well.