Softening a Strong or Angular Jaw line: Necklaces to work with your Face Shape

I’m excited to see that more people are discovering “A Stylish Transition”. We just past 1000 views, and are just past 80 Facebook fans. Yay!...  if you’ve newly found us… Welcome! 

One of the most popular posts thus far has been our discussion of the most flattering neckline styles. I thought I’d rekindle and expand on the topic to discuss face shapes and how to best work with each one to achieve a more feminine image. We’ll look at necklaces and how to pick just the right one for whatever your favorite outfit may be. When paired with the right neckline, necklaces can do wonders to soften a strong jaw line or square, rectangular or triangular shaped face. Trans-women don’t always fall into these categories, but if you do, it may be something you’d like to soften up. I have an oval or oblong shaped face for example… its not overly angular but still benefits from a little softening (don’t we all right?). As always, there are plenty of ways we can make our jaw lines softer while making our necklines dazzling. If you are unsure of your face shape, compare it to the picture below. As you can see... rectangular, square and triangular all have “strong” more masculine jawlines. Face shapes are also very important to consider when choosing a flattering hair style, however we’ll save that for another post!

Before we get into the specifics, let’s look at the basics and learn the lingo (so we can at least sound like we know what we’re talking about!) Necklaces are classified generally by length. Below you’ll see the 6 most common necklace lengths:

I find a graphic like this to be especially helpful for reference when buying jewelry online. Sites will always give you at least the necklace length, so you can get a general idea of how it’ll fall when you wear it.

As you will remember from our discussion on flattering necklines, if we’re looking to shrink broad shoulders we’re typically looking for scoop, v-neck or perhaps even cowl neck styles, anything to break up the shoulder line. For the group of face shapes I mentioned above, we are looking to soften the hard angular lines of the face by:

1. Adding the appearance of length to the face to give the appearance of stretching out those hard angles
2. Add more curved lines around the neck to create a softer “framing” for the jaw.

We’ll start by pairing necklaces with our “go-to” necklines, but also take a look at others since you certainly shouldn’t limit yourself to only those styles. In fact, with the right necklace, some of the less flattering choices can become much more friendly.

Before we start, here are a few general necklace guidelines I always try to be conscious of:

-      Avoid lengths where the bottom of the necklace hits right at the neckline. It will simply get lost in the lines of the top and look unpolished. If this happens, you can adjust the length either with a built in clasp or by using an extender.

-      Think of your neckline as a frame for your necklace. Consider:  How does the shape of the neckline showcase the necklace?

-      Not every outfit needs a necklace! Having too many competing pieces in an ensemble detracts from everything.

Without further ado, let’s jump into some examples:

First, we have a teal, v-neck sweater with a princess length, heart pendant necklace. With pendant style necklaces, the line created by the necklace chain is typically a “V” shape. This pairs well with v-necklines and just like the neckline, helps to elongate the jaw and face vertically, softening any hard edges. Take a look:

Notice how the neckline frames the nicely centered heart. This is typical the type of look I wear most when choosing a princess length necklaces. It is very “classic” cute… and will work on most everyone. Be careful wearing really thin chains and tinier necklaces if you are especially built in the upper body as it may exaggerate things through contrast. Instead, chose something less fragile looking to avoid the necklace looking out of place.

Just as a pendant creates a “V” shape, a necklace that is a simple chain alone will create a more curved shape as it rests against your chest. For example:

This silver chain is paired with a fairly deep scoop neck top. The curved lines of the top and the necklace compliment each other and also help the eye to “expect” curves rather than sharp angular lines. This effect can help soften harder jaw line. The opposite holds true as well… typically you’ll want to avoid angular, geometrically shaped necklaces if you have a more rectangular jaw line.

Let’s explore another look:

Yes, you are seeing clearly… there is no necklace here! I wanted to make sure I re-iterated my point from earlier, not every outfit needs a necklace. Don’t feel pressured into accessorizing every possible option. This deep plunging V-neck does a fabulous job of lengthening my face and jaw line vertically; many necklace choices with this outfit would just break up that lengthening effect and create clutter. Could one wear a necklace here? Yes, but my style choice is always on the side of less is more.

If you recall from the flattering necklines post, crew necks did not rate super favorably when compared to the other, more flattering choices. Let’s take a look at how a necklace can enhance the value of a neckline that doesn’t do much for us:

Here, this long, rope or lariat length necklace serves to create a stretched vertical line that in essence, creates a new neckline for the top. Try pairing longer necklaces with necklines that are more horizontal such as crew or boat necks to add that helpful vertically stretching line.

Just for fun, our last example is a choker length statement necklace:

Again, this necklace exhibits both curving lines and extending vertical lines for all those jaw-softening effects. Bold statement necklaces, especially those with some bulk and volume also can make a jaw line appear smaller by contrast (that whole make something look smaller by putting something big next to it effect!). Let flashier pieces of jewelry such as this be a breathtaking focal point of an ensemble… they will get noticed and work best when not competing for attention with other parts of an outfit.

Thanks for checking out this post! Be sure to Like “A Stylish Transition” on facebook and share it with all your friends.

Cheers,

Kayci

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.