So we’re sitting around the table visiting the other day, discussing our wardrobe challenges, one of mine being tops, and my daughter who considers herself “trendy” (meaning she runs a bit ahead of the pack stylewise) announces, “v-necks are out”.
Now, this didn’t take me by surprise because they have been so popular for so long. And believe me, I know that most of you like them! So here’s my reason for bringing it up: I predict that before long v-necks will be looking matronly. And moms all over the country will be thinking they are a basic, buying them for their teens, and then wondering why they won’t wear them. (Have you ever heard a teenager say, “mom, that looks matronly”?)
Continue to wear v-necks:
- in cute layering combinations
- if they are a staple part of your personal idiom. Honestly, some people just look so good in them they should never stop.
Personally I have them in the “stop buying” category.
I’m afraid they’ll have to pry my v-necks out of my cold, dead, matronly hands.
Seriously, they’re the most flattering and versatile necklines for me. Besides, they lend themselves well to being worn with a scarf. I’ll resign myself to frumpiness for a while, and then will be ahead of the pack when the fashionistas “discover” them again in a few years. Sigh.
Wowwww, I’m stunned. I need a wide sort of vee to go with chin, jaw. But I don’t think I own very many vees, anyway. I feel like I’ve seen every new style pictured for fall and spring and I am at a loss to say what is replacing it. Any hints forthcoming from your daughter as trailblazer?
No need to panic! *chuckle*
deja pseu ~ Welcome to the blog! You would definitely be one of the people who should just keep wearing them because they work for you, IMO. 🙂
Your comment reminds me: I want to try filling in a too-low v-neck with a scarf as collar. That should work, don’t you think?
Vildy ~ I was considering putting some kind of a picture with this and, although I didn’t put alot of effort into it, what I am seeing alot of that looks really good is scoop necks. For me, with my sort of round/square jaw and bony upper body, scoops, if they also aren’t too low, are a good shape. But I also saw some wider and gentler vees, too; not quite so intense.
🙁
Maybe out of style, but for us ladies with short necks the v-necks are my best look will remain in my wardrobe.
Absolutely!
I have to confess: although being controversial is an accepted comment generating practice, it’s not my favorite. But we can’t all always like all the same things. *sigh*
Yeah… I’m not giving up v-necks. While there are some cute and trendier necklines out there, v-neck is a staple that looks good on pretty much everyone.
And cleavage showing v-necks are anything but matronly 😉
LOL
Apparently that is what many middle-aged women are banking on.
No! No! No!
What will those of us with round faces do?
Can we bring back the square neckline please? That’s my most flattering (I think). I have found v-necks a bit frumpy of late, so I’m with daughter #1. No surprise, eh?
If it were up to me, I would definitely bring back the square neck! It’s a great neckline!
Meredith ~ have you tried a square neck? BTW, I am more in favor of repeating a line or shape than not, so I don’t know why a scoop neck wouldn’t look good on you. Would you be interested in doing a fashion lab, with or without face? dcrmom did one with just enough of her face for us to see how it worked with the necklines.
One other option: a collar.
Ack, the V-neck will never die for me…with my short neck, crewnecks just don’t work. I’ll have to try the new styles though.
NO! well I guess I will never be trendy, because my V- necks are going no where! *grin*
Is it possible for something as basic or general as a neckline to be “out of style”? Not as prevalant, sure… but from the perspective a stylish 20 year old, I can’t see the v neckline going the way of acid wash.
Acid wash looks better on me than anything! I would wear it, too, if I could find an acceptable style of it in a thrift shop. What I already owned was too big and I got rid of it for that reason.
I was watching Fashionista Diaries (online for free at abc.com) when I heard the super-stuck-up-nasty girl say that very statement. Is that where your daughter heard it?
i have to agree with emily…the thought of something so basic being “out” is sort of preposterous, in my mind. sure, certain details come into and out of “fashion”…but v-necks as a general category disappearing or “looking matronly”? not too sure about that.
this is why i sort of loathe “trends,” as a rule.
I also agree with Emily. I’m not suggesting everyone ditch their v-necks, certainly not if they like them, but I am happy about having some other options. And, since I notice patterns, I like to point them out for people who don’t.
bonnie ~ I can’t believe you said that! 😉 No, for one, we don’t have a TV. For two, she really doesn’t need to hear it anywhere, at her age she can figure it out for herself. It was rather an off-the-cuff comment, in response to my dismay at, after all these years, still having little in the way of neckline choices here at “the bottom of the fashion food chain”.
I’m tired of crew necks too.
I wonder though if this is an across the board kind of thing, or if it is regional.
Hmmm, I’ll have to start paying more attention.
Oh, and I do think a neckline could go out of style-sleeves have! Remember the “batwing” or “dolman” sleeve of the 80’s???
Hey, I am seeing those again!
We have a saying around here: everything dorky is cool.
*chuckle*
Jenn, I remember in ’87 my obstretician went on vacation and I was examined by the doctor who would fill in for him if for any reason he couldn’t be at the delivery: a woman in a wild black getup with immense batwings. Nooooooo.
That’s a bummer! I love layering v-necks. I’m a layering kind of gal…. and IMHO it just doesn’t look as good with other necklines as it does with v’s.
So question… what do you think will replace the v’s?
I can never find squares, but I do like them!
Sez who? I’m a young’un, and I plan on keeping my V-necks. 🙂
The trend *is* toward rounder necklines, with the ’20’s and ’60’s influence. Scoop necks, peter pan collars, close-to-the-neck round ’60’s boat necklines (I think that’s what they’re called). But not everyone looks good in them. Surplice/wrap necklines form a V, and I don’t see those going out. Maybe a V-neck as part of a tank top or T-shirt could go “out of style” for a teen. Particularly a *plain* V-neck. The trend is towards large collars and detail, so maybe it’s just that a V looks too plain for them?
If you sew, you can cheat and make a V-neck that doesn’t look so plain by making a collar that folds over to create a V-neck. Sort of like this:
—-\ /—–
| \ / |
| \/ |
— —
Except not quite those proportions – a wider and shallower V. Basically you let the points flap over to form a V.
I like the look of square necklines, but I’ve always had problems with them gaping heavily in knits (no stability).
Um, oops, that didn’t quite format right!
Nevertheless, Oxanna, I am impressed that you could do that! If you have a digital picture of one that you’ve done, I’d love to show it. Very clever!
This has to be one of the most commented on posts! I knew people were passionate about their v-necks, but I didn’t realize just how passionate. 🙂
Say it ain’t SO!!!!! I’m with the first commenter. It’s just too much a part of my personal style.
I’ve seen a few wide dolman sleeves in stores… I kind of like them on kimono-inspired knit tops.
I don’t remember much of the 80s, but I’m thinking that batwing/dolman sleeves were less ubiquitous than v necks…
I think that wide U necklines are feminine and universally flattering, they remind me of elizabethan/renaissance style gowns. Crew necklines are great for layering, basic, and always appropriate. I’ve never liked square necklines all that much… the corners always look harsh to me.
V necklines create a nice vertical line. I love them for loose knit sweaters, surplice/wrap tops and dresses, sweaters to layer with collared shirts, sheer blouses with tie-necks (and appropriate underpinnings, of course), and basic tees. Of course, too-tight, too- low Vs paired with in-your-face cleavage are totally passé….
I also definitely agree with Oxana about style veering somewhat away from plain Vs in favour of more decorated necklines, regardless of shape.
I seriously just busted up laughing when I re-read my comment. I did *NOT* mean that your daughter resembled *anything* like a super-nasty (etc etc) girl. I said all that only to point to the source of which I heard the news. I am so sorry if I offended you, Rebbecca!
Silly me to be surprised that it were actually true and I’d here the same statement twice in one week.
I just realized today when I put on my clothes that if you wear a shallow scoop neck with the right cardigan, it forms a kind of quasi square neckline-for those of you who are missing square necks.
bonnie ~ no worries! I was amused, not offended. 🙂
Jenn ~ I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but that’s actually what I’ve been doing!
The other thing I was thinking about yesterday is that I really do prefer certain pieces to have more of a v shape: cardigans, for example. Still thinking that one through.
Hogwash!
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The v-neck will never, ever be :out”. The statement sounds like it was made by someone too young to understand how certain items become classics.
When I went to buy t-shirts at Target a couple weeks back, there was nary a scoop-neck nor square-neck to be seen — just V-neck and crew. I think crew necks look much more matronly on anyone who’s thin but has a decent bit of bosom, as they both play up the slightest crease in the neck (including some I’ve had since my early 20s) and create the illusion of a monobosom. V-necks help sharpen the chin, should one’s chin be improved by that, and they always seem to hang better around the cleavage.
I’m wearing a V-neck today – the only one I have. I’m matronly+ and have less than a “decent bit of bosom”; but I’m trying to soften the blow by wearing a necklace that hits in the hollow right above the start of the chest bones. Hard to describe! Maybe I’ll send you a picture and you can help with the description and tell me if it works :-))
I’m so glad you left me a loop hole, because I JUST discovered recently that I look really good in V-necks. How frustrating that the fashion powers-that-be are always wanting to steal away the stuff we like and tell us we look “matronly” or “so last season.”
I am sick of deep Vs that require camis or layers. I would like to see a moderate V that I can wear without mens–er–people’s eyes going straight to my cleavage. Why can’t we have a variety of styles? I hate it when a much-loved and flattering style is suddenly declared “grandma-ish.” Even worse is when yesterday’s matronly styles are today’s worldly chic!
Hmm. I’m not so sure. I don’t think we are saturated with quite as many V-necks as I saw a few years ago – we have a better variety of scoop necks, too – but I think the V-neck (or even better, the surplice neckline) will always be one of the most flattering options for busty women like myself. On me, a crew neck is much more apt to look matronly and be very unflattering. However, I could see how the higher V-neck tops (like polo necks but without the collar) would look less fashion-forward right now.
Yeah, I think you’re right that we aren’t as v-neck saturated. A few years ago, everything fashiony was v-neck and crew neck was the only alternative. Now there are more scoop necks and variety of necklines. However, regardless of how flattering v-necks are to the body, they are not the most flattering to alot of face shapes (I think they are probably good on you). A jewel neck worn with a scarf seems to me would be a flattering option, and then just wrap the scarf in a way that mimics the jaw-line for best face framing flattery. I admit, though, that before I began blogging I NEVER thought about that concern (being busty). I’m glad to note that I’m slightly more thoughtful of the interests of others now. 🙂