Just in time for summer, an admonition concerning strap size:
Keep strappy construction details on the upper body in scale with the wearer. Even a slender woman can look burly in spaghetti straps.
This looks more proportional.
In addition, it’s my opinion that most people look uncomfortable wearing strapless.
But this last look would look good on alot of people. Would you wear it?
Sure! If my arms were as skinny as hers!
I wear a lot of spaghetti straps, since i have slender arms and shoulders.
I can’t figure out the proportion thing though… could you give us some rules ?
I love the butterfly thing…. it’s gorgeous !
I agree with the strapless statement. Even stars on the red carpet usually look awful in strapless gowns. The straight across line is unflattering, and it seems to distort big as well as small busts.
The last look is fantastic, I’m definitely gonna copy it !
I wish I had it all worked out so I could give guidelines, but I don’t. We saw in the fashion lab you did that it’s not all about facial features: we couldn’t even see your face!
I have a suspicion that spaghetti straps only really work on people who are very skeletal in the upper body.
The Triumph of Individual Style recommended purse strap width according to bone structure:
small scale ~ less than 1/2″
medium scale ~ 1/2″ to less than 1″
large ~ 1″ to 1 1/2″
The scale of bone structure is determined at wrist and ankle, which can be different. Perhaps wrist bone structure would relate to strap size. Somewhere I remember hearing a specific size wrist (in inches) which was considered medium scale. Anybody?
Maybe this stuff works with belts too. Like a belt at the waist would be the scale of the upper body and a belt worn at the hip would be the scale of the lower body. (In my case, my wrist are smaller scale as compared to my ankles.)
Hmmm. This is thought-provoking enough I’ll probably run it as it’s own post! 🙂
I agree about the strapless look. I was looking at a friends’ site who does wedding photography and thought–why is this so universal? It’s about as flattering as wrapping a bath towel on. A little shape in a neckline is far more attractive. Also it tends to create a bulge right next to the armpit–ugh.
I seem to remember that the rule of thumb was if your fingers just met around your wrist, you had average bone structure. If they overlapped, you had small, and if they did not meet, they were large. Mine don’t quite meet. I don’t know how you would test ankles.
lol (the bath towel comment)
I agree about the unfortunate trend toward nothing but strapless for wedding gowns. Ugh! Prom dresses, too.
That rule of “thumb” (stealth pun?) works for me: mine do overlap. Ankles, I don’t know, mine just look big. I wonder if there’s a connection to shoe size? I wear a nine.
I wear a nine shoe, too, but my ankles are extremely slim, bordering on bony. I’ve always felt a little self-conscious about them, actually, even though my whole frame is pretty delicate.
Bust size also plays a pretty big role in whether or not spaghetti straps look good, since visible bra straps are obviously completely tacky.
Sheri – thanks. well, I guess that’s not the connection (would have been too easy?).
Emily – AMEN!!!
Does the rule of thumb refer to the /middle/ finger meeting the thumb? Mine overlaps by an inch, and my pinkie just barely meets my thumb. This test seems to measure hand length as much as wrist size.
True. I guess I figured it meant the longest finger. I seem to remember at one time hearing a measurement like 6 inches or something like that. Hmmm.
“Rule of thumb” is actually quite awful. In medieval and early modern British common law, the rule of thumb was the guideline that a man could legally beat his wife and indentured servants with a stick as thick as his thumb–and no larger. **shudder**
The thing that really bothers me about strappy/strapless looks is that they don’t offer much room to hide your support if it has straps, and most people don’t bother with strapless bras. I don’t think that breasts look inherently ugly without bras, but when you’re used to one shape under people’s clothing, another can look weird. And this top (what is that neckline? Empire and trapeze, at the same time, or is that just a trick of the photo? and is that shirring) draws huge and unflattering attention to the bust. I mean, it’s hard to look away at her gorgeous shoulders and arms, or at her amazing hair and jawline. Also, something looks wrong about the placement of the straps–I think that they’re too thin to cut right at the armpit like that. It leaves her shoulders alone and unnoticed in the cold.
The butterfly one definitely has better strap placement. Most of my strappy shirts have straps with the same placement. And the neckline matches her face–square jaw and pointed cheek muscles. (You did a lab on that, right? Sorry about my lack of original ideas. . .) The pattern has flattering colors for her. They basically match the colors of her face and hair: the white of her eyes, the blackish color of her iris, the copper of her skin, and the blue that for some reason, in my mind, matches up with her hair. (Any thoughts?) Plus it’s a good length. . .just below the hipbone, about three heads down and two heads from the top of the shirt. Golden. The necklaces also help bring out her pointy cheek muscles. Weird phrase, but I don’t know what else to call them.
The next outfit is a little awkward. It probably would have worked better with a higher-cut shirt, even if it were still strapless, maybe with a little more structure and a sweetheart shaping. I like high-waisted shorts in general, but these, combined with the too-low top, make her look short-torsoed and straight. They’re too high on her thigh to have that a-line cut. Normally a-line shorts are walking-short length and the narrow end is on the hips. Here, the wide end is at the wide top of the thigh–not that flattering. (Have you ever though of exaggerated V shapes as being like those greater-than, less-than signs from third grade? You put the narrow end of the V at the part that you want to seem smaller.)
I do love the next outfit, especially on this model. She has a straight body with shoulders wider than hips, so when she wears the greater-than less-than sign (sorry! I really like the idea) with the less-than end at her shoulders, it works for her. The straps are about as wide as her collarbones, her nose, her eyes (sideways), her lips, and her fingers (does that mean anything?) and she’s turned her face to make it look more round. The periwinkle of the shirt is about as dark as her skin. I think that the strapless shirt below the periwinkle one really makes the outfit for her, though. It lets some of the squareness of her jaw come back into play, and it cuts the skin left bare by the top shirt off, so it’s more modest and more proportional.
I really love the hairstyle on the model who’s always dressed cute. I’ve been seeing bangs and natural curls on lots of really cute girls. Have you noticed anything about that?
Wow. That was a long comment. Sorry, I’m very analytical.
I agree the construction of the top outfit, along with the pattern that makes my eyes buggy (is that what they call an optical pattern? lol), is awkward. It does make her bust look misshapen.
I love the thought of the greater than, less than symbol; gives me something more to ponder.
And, yes, I love that model’s hair and I have thought for a couple of years now that curly hair is coming back. The ladies with curly hair who are still flattening it are missing the boat. 🙂
There are a few non-strapless wedding gowns around. Anybody see Jenna Bush’s? Beautiful!
I’m not a teen. CLEARLY. LOL. But I do love spaghetti straps and strapless. And halters. I adore the halter. But do wonder about modestly. I’m 35. (And busty) Thoughts??
I like both the spaghetti strap photos even though I see what you are saying about proportion.
The strapless top *needs* a chunky necklace or something.
CG – yes, from what I’ve seen, I do like Jenna Bush’s dress.
dcrmom – off the top of my head, I think halters can be more modest than spaghetti straps. The trick is to look for tops with structure and not too low-cut.
Karen – that would certainly help.
🙂
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