Shaping shapeless knitwear
October 24th, 2007Closets that I review often have a few items of unflattering and shapeless pieces of knitwear lurking in amongst the cherries. While some boxy knitwear pieces are beyond redemption, others can be transformed with the addition of a waist-cinching belt. Even for the small minority of people that can make boxy knitwear work for them, the belt creates a different look with the same piece of knitwear, effectively increasing its ROI.
This quick and inexpensive style tip is not going to work with chunky knits, which fail to look streamlined no matter what you do to them. I have also found that the look doesn’t work with every body and seems to be more effective as you get closer to the hourglass shape (for fuller figures too). But nothing ventured nothing gained, so give it a try if you have the items or are prepared to invest in a belt. Freshening up a boring piece of knitwear in this way can work wonders for your style and your pocket.
Eileen Fisher is well known for her expensive and impeccably made boxy knitwear. Most of us need a belt like the one on the left to make it flattering.
October 24th, 2007 at 10:16 am
I have a question about using belts to add shape to shapeless knits. I have some looser smooth knit and cotton tops that I wouldn’t mind adding a belt to. As a thicker rectangle, all fashion books/articles tell me I should wear skinny belts in dark colors, perhaps lower on my hip. I just bought a black “obi” style belt in an elastic material that was all the rage a few months ago, should I wear it over my thin knits? What is the philosophy behind “no wide belts for rectangles”?
October 24th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I do love, love, love the fabrics and colors that Eileen Fisher uses, and I bought one of her pieces ages ago, but I could just never make it work so I tossed it. I wished I had known about this belt trick then. Sigh.
October 24th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
I love Eileen Fisher fabrics also and I religiously purchase their stretch silk jersey tops as wardrobe basics. A lot of their fabrics drape particularly well and I see their salespeople (and window display dummies) wear flowy jackets with the fronts pinned together to show off the smallest part of the waist. I’ve never mastered the technique myself but it works very well whenever I see it on the women who work there (they tend to come in all age and sizes too), because you can control which area on your torso you want to showcase.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
more belt suggestions, please! i would love to know more about interesting belts, betls for different body types and outfits.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
I enjoy belts too. It isn’t easy generalizing about which styles are best for which body type though. I’ve had slim size 6P’s look dreadful in wide waist-cinching belts and curvy size 16’s look incredible in wide waist-cinching belts. By the same token, I’ve had small framed petite pear shaped gals sport waist belts beautifully while tall size 10 hourglasses look dumpy.
There seem to be loads of factors at play when it comes to belts - a person’s height, frame, waist-size and belt style. Throw the article of clothing that you want to belt into the mix and it seems an impossible task! I hope to share tangible generalizations about which belts are best and share them with you as I discover them.