The inverted triangle-shaped women are known for having broad shoulders, and many have an athletic build. It is not uncommon for the inverted triangle to have a smaller bust, especially if you are skinny. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll first help you fully understand your unique body features, and then walk you through the most flattering clothing styles for your shape.
Characteristics
- Tendency to notice extra weight gain around the belly and upper body first
- Flatter backside
- Slim hips
- Larger upper body compared to your lower half
- Small bust
- Prominent shoulders
Typically, most inverted triangle shape usually come with a fuller bust. However, it’s possible to have a small bust and there are effective ways to style this to your satisfaction. The focus here is on wearing tops that are not too loose or shapeless, as your body structure will benefit a lot from fitted styles.
Also, don’t forget that your shoulders are still broad compared to your lower half, and you would have to choose styles that downplay this as much as possible.
Tops with asymmetrical necklines
An asymmetrical neckline in this case refers specifically to those that have a diagonal line across the body, like a one-shoulder style. This is a flattering choice for the inverted triangle shape with small bust because it visually creates more balance around your collarbone and shoulders.
Introducing this neckline style to your tops helps to draw attention away from your broad shoulders, thereby encouraging a more proportionate appearance. Another amazing effect of this neckline is that it elongates your body, which comes in handy if you’re petite and don’t mind the extra inches.
Of course, this is accompanied by the illusion of a more slender neck that enhances your overall look and keeps you looking stunning. Take advantage of tops with asymmetrical necklines to downplay your broad shoulders and draw more focus towards your lower body.
Low V-neck tops
Reduce the attention on your broad shoulders without minimizing your small bust by wearing low V-neck tops. This style of tops will effectively reduce focus on this area of your body while creating a vertical line that moves downward, across the center of your body.
It’s an incredibly effective way to elongate your torso as a petite woman and draw the eye downward. With focus drawn towards your bottom half, you can effectively create the illusion of faller hips and more waist definition.
It’s important to talk about how low v-neck tops also enhance the overall look of your neckline by creating the illusion of a slender neck. This is great for enhancing your bust and providing a comfortable fit that’s both sexy and feminine.
Belted tops
Elongate your short torso with a belted top and you’ll be able to create a more streamlined appearance that flatters your inverted triangle shape. This is one of the biggest secrets for maintaining a lovely shape regardless of your small bust.
Belted tops are stylish and they can help to enhance your naturally small waist, effectively spicing up your appearance. Of course, apart from how fashionable and trendy this style of top is, there’s the huge advantage of cinching your waist so you can give your figure a curvier outlook.
Adding a belt to your top is a seamless way to emphasize your waistline, which helps to balance both halves of your body. Transform the natural imbalance of your upper and lower body with a style of top that draws attention towards the center of your body and creates a streamlined appearance.
Tops with thick straps
One of the most effective ways to naturally break the line of your shoulders and make them less prominent is to wear tops with thick straps. Sometimes, you’re tempted to show off your arms and shoulders.
It’s not a bad idea to do this, but your choice of straps can be the difference between a stylish look that emphasizes your assets and one that draws attention to your flaws. So, when it’s summer and you’re looking for something comfy to wear, stick with thick straps rather than spaghetti strapped tops.
Thin tops will make your shoulders look broader which is not the effect you would like to achieve. On the flip side, tops with thick straps will help you to create a lovely balance on your upper body. This will also not be too overwhelming for your small bust.
Wrap dresses
You can’t create an exceptional wardrobe for an inverted triangle-shape woman with small bust without including wrap dresses. This is an incredibly flattering dress style for this body type due to its ability to create a waist cinching effect that improves overall body balance.
The wrap-around style of this dress helps to highlight the waist and create more waist definition that will be flattering for this body shape. Another huge advantage of wearing wrap dresses as a woman with small bust is that it helps to balance your broader upper body, such that you can project a more proportional silhouette.
It also helps to create an elongated frame as it draws the eyes downwards. Overall, you can use wrap dresses to make your body look more beautiful and taller, while making your small bust blend easily with the rest of your body.
Dresses with minimal sleeves
Choosing the right sleeves can make a huge difference in your overall structure especially as a woman with an inverted triangle shape with small bust. Typically, your body shape has naturally broad shoulders and you can make this less visible by choosing the right style of sleeves.
Therefore, to avoid adding more bulk to this area, you should wear dresses that have minimal sleeves. Some sleeve styles that are flattering for the inverted triangle body shape are the tailored and flutter sleeves.
These drape nicely around your upper body, creating a soft and feminine look. Also, these will stylishly hide your broad shoulders without overwhelming your small bust.
Minimal sleeves will reduce volume around the upper body while there’s more focus on the lower half to create a more balanced overall look.
Fit and flare dresses
This universally flattering silhouette is an amazing recommendation for the inverted triangle shape with small bust as it offers a flattering fit you’ll fall in love with multiple times.
This dress style with the fitted bodice and flare around the waist is just perfect to create the illusion of fuller bust without adding more volume to your broad shoulders. Thanks to the gentle flare around the hips, there’s more focus on this area, helping to create the illusion of a more defined waistline.
Therefore, you can easily use fit and flare dresses to flatter your legs and make your lower body more proportionate with your upper body. Wearing a dress like this that minimizes volume on the upper body is your ticket to a more balanced silhouette.
Classic shift dresses
Shift dresses are ideal for women with small bust because it has simple details that have a massive effect on the body. With shift dresses, this is the ultimate proof that your dress doesn’t have to be too busy to achieve maximum results.
So, don’t hesitate to rock this simple dress with a straight silhouette that falls loosely from the shoulders down to the waist without extra details. This is great for minimizing the broadness of your upper body as it draws attention away from your shoulders.
Shift dresses will emphasize your legs instead, a huge asset on the inverted triangle shape.
Trapeze coats
This is the perfect example of an A-line coat that flattering for the inverted triangle shape with small bust. Women with this body type will benefit a lot from a silhouette that’s wider at the bottom than at the top.
This slightly oversized look is stylish enough to add more volume to your lower half and reduce the emphasis on your upper half. You can rock this to both formal and informal events, so you’re all set to look amazing no matter where you go.
The length of your coat is important. If you’re a petite inverted triangle shape, you should consider wearing a trapeze coat that is as long as your thighs. This helps to balance out your body proportions and creates a fuller chest area.
Remember that there are also a few other important factors to consider. This includes your level of comfort and the size of the coat. Don’t go for oversized as you need this to have a relaxed and firm fit on your body.
Wrap coats
Don’t hesitate to pick up a wrap coat on your next shopping trip as this is one of few coat styles that are truly flattering for the inverted triangle body shape with small bust.
This comes highly recommended not only because it is a beautiful style that will have you looking your best everytime you put it on, but also because it’s incredibly flattering for your body type.
Wrap coats help to give more definition to the waistline while also adding volume to the lower half of the body. However, it also has elegant effects on the upper body. Since these are usually in a V-neckline, this is flattering enough to show off your collarbone and slender neck while creating the illusion of a fuller chest area.
Of course, this also minimizes your broad shoulders so that it can appear more visually balanced with the lower half of your body.
Avoid coats with shoulder pads
The emphasis here is that a woman with broad shoulders shouldn’t wear coat styles that will make them look wider. Therefore, you should wear coats that will visually narrow your shoulders.
Coats with shoulder pads don’t belong on this list as they are quite puffy. This puffy style adds a lot of volume to the upper body and will further exaggerate the width of your shoulders.
You can already picture how this will look when your shoulders appear so much wider compared to your narrow hips. This is an unbalanced body silhouette that’s not flattering for your shoulders or small bust.
As there’s more attention on your upper body, this will draw focus to your small bust which will be overwhelmed by everything else going on around this area. Knowing this, it’s best to leave out coats with shoulder pads when looking to upgrade your wardrobe.
Avoid double-breasted coats
Double-breasted coats are not a flattering style for women with a small bust as they have too many details on that will draw attention to the upper body. Typically, this style of coat has two rows of buttons accompanied by a wider overlap.
The overlap of these buttons create more volume around your chest and shoulder areas, effectively making this part of the body appear visually wider. Of course, this throws your entire silhouette off balance and you won’t achieve the feminine outlook you desire.
Therefore, as much as you’re in love with this style, it’s best for the inverted triangle body shape with small bust to avoid this unflattering double-breasted coat. A better choice is the single-breasted coat which is simple yet stylish enough to give you a more proportionate outlook.
