Sweaters are naturally thick since they are supposed to provide more warmth. So for top-heavy inverted triangle body shapes, this may seem quite tricky – but not if you fully understand the distinct features of your figure.
Characteristics
- Athletic figure – Inverted triangle body shapes are very well-known for their athletic, modelesque features. You have strong features and they are quite noticeable regardless of your weight or height.
- Broad and sharp-edged shoulders – This is the body part that’s easily noticeable among inverted triangle body shapes, which is also the reason why you tend to look top-heavy. They aren’t necessarily considered a weakness, but it can be helpful to downplay their width to achieve more balance.
- Very toned arms and legs – Definitely one of your figure’s best features! You never gain weight in these areas and when you work out, you can have remarkable muscle mass in your arms and legs.
- Prominent upper body – Since your shoulders are way broader in comparison to your hips and you carry more weight on the upper half of your body, this visually makes you look top-heavy.
- Upper half weight gain – Whenever you gain weight, it shows up right above your waist, which can also affect your bust size.
- Narrow hips – You have strong bone features, except for your hips. They are naturally narrower and smaller and this becomes even more apparent because of the drastic size contrast you have in your upper half.
- Undefined waist – Because there’s not much difference between your hips and waist, the transition line that connects these two isn’t too obvious.
- Less pronounced buttocks – your lower body doesn’t really possess much weight so your rear tends to be flatter.
Having all of these features in consideration, here are the best sweater styles that can look great on your inverted triangle body shape.
Light Knit V-Neck Sweaters
Knitted fabric comes in many different types of textures and materials, and if you’re someone who’s looking into subtly downplaying your more prominent upper body, you may find soft lightweight knits very flattering. In addition to the fabric choice, going for a light knit sweater that comes with a V-neck design can help bring balance to your overall frame through visual distraction.
The V-neckline of the sweater creates a vertical line down the center of your body to draw the eye in and elongate your frame. This will significantly help balance out the broader shoulder area by creating a more streamlined appearance vertically.
Plus, the V-neck itself creates a focal point that shifts attention downward from the shoulders to slightly reduce (but not overwhelm) their prominence. Meanwhile, light knit fabrics have a softer drape compared to heavier materials, which can help soften the sharp angles and edges of your shoulders to create a more feminine and visually proportionate look.
Cozy Knit Scoop Neck
Just like the style principle of the V neckline, scoop neck sweaters are pretty much the same in terms of visual effect. The slight difference is that while they both visually elongate the frame and downplay the appearance of your broad shoulders, the scoop neckline’s curved cut can give a softer appearance.
Basically, the rounded, wide neckline of a cozy knit scoop neck sweater visually produces a gentle curve that softens the angular lines and edges of your broad shoulders. As a result, you can achieve a better balance that’s not too overpowering for your less prominent lower body.
Additionally, scoop neck sweaters are great for layering! Because of their open neckline design, you can easily style your scoop neck sweaters with accessories, scarves, or even another blouse underneath.
Sweaters with Raglan Sleeves
Sweaters with raglan sleeves can be quite helpful for inverted triangle body shapes due to the fact that their diagonal seams that run from the underarm to the neckline help create a slanting line that can break up the harsh horizontal line that emphasizes your shoulder width. The sloping seams effectively draw attention away from the shoulder line and give the illusion of an upper body that’s more aligned with the lower body.
In addition to how it affects the visual perception of the upper half, they also create a smoother transition from the shoulder to the arm to offer a softer and less angular appearance to the upper body. Sweaters with raglan sleeves work better with a number of different necklines, from open to high neck designs.
Wrap Sweaters
Your lack of waist definition can be an annoying constant struggle, so you have to go for pretty much anything that can cinch your waist! Good thing, that there are different types of sweaters out there that can help you cinch your waist, such as wrap sweaters.
Wrap sweaters typically have a front closure that wraps around the body and is secured with a self-tie waist belt. Its crossover effect in which the fabric overlaps across the body, creates a V-neck that’s also very flattering for inverted triangle body shapes.
The wrap design cinches in at the waist so it gives the appearance of a narrower waistline to emphasize the natural curve between the bust and hips. In addition to this, its neckline and overall design also contribute to keeping your vertical visual line uninterrupted, for a leaner and more streamlined look.
Button Down Cardigan
Whether you choose to wear your button cardigans fully buttoned or open, this wardrobe piece can still look immensely flattering on your inverted triangle body shape. The buttoned front of this type of cardigan sweater adds a touch of balance that neutralizes the width of your broader shoulders by creating a vertical line that detracts the eyes from your more pronounced upper half.
This subtle shift in focus will give your inverted triangle figure a more proportioned appearance from top to bottom. When worn closed, cardigan sweaters can have a V or scoop neckline, which is both very flattering for your frame’s proportions as they guide the eye towards your midsection and divert attention from your shoulders.
Additionally, the button closure provides flexibility in terms of fit. This ensures the way you can adjust the cardigan sweater to your desired level of comfort.
Front Zipper Sweaters
There’s vertical emphasis when it comes to wearing sweaters with a front zipper detail. This draws the eye inward to create a more elongated look that also helps break up the harsh horizontal line present in your shoulders.
One of the best things about wearing sweaters with a front zipper is that they allow superior adjustability to help you customize your fit. This way, you’ll have better control over how much the sweater will conform to your body and therefore give you a more balanced silhouette overall.
Long Sleeve Sweaters
Long sleeves provide considerable coverage to the arms, which can visually soften the appearance of broader shoulders. Note that I used the term “soften” because the goal of wearing long sleeves is not to fully erase the broadness of your shoulders but just subtly neutralize its look.
This particular sleeve length can be especially helpful for inverted triangle girls out there who actually love showcasing their broad shoulders. It’s because long sleeves can still make your broad shoulders shine, but in a way that it won’t overpower your less pronounced lower body.
Ribbed Cardigan Sweaters
A ribbed cardigan sweater is a type of cardigan that features a textured pattern created by raised vertical lines running along the fabric. You have probably seen this design a lot and its popularity is for good reason – it brings style and symmetrical dimension to your overall look!
The raised ribs of the sweater will create strong vertical lines that draw the eye up and down, which evenly distributes the attention from top to bottom. They also visually balance your proportions by slimming your figure down and minimizing the appearance of your broad shoulders, resulting in a more harmonious, balanced silhouette.
Dark-colored Sweaters
When it comes to visually tweaking the size of your body, wearing dark colors will always be the easiest and most effective way to downplay your weight. Dark colors have a slimming effect that visually minimizes the appearance of your heavier and wider upper body so this can be especially helpful in terms of balancing your figure.
Because of the fact that they have the ability to absorb light, they have the tendency to recede visually and therefore draw attention away from the shoulders and lead it toward the center of the body instead. This effect will make your upper body more in line with your less pronounced lower body and therefore make the obvious size discrepancy between the two less noticeable.
Cowl Neck Sweaters
Cowl neck sweaters are always deemed perfect to help you cozy up for the colder season and lucky you, they can also look good on your inverted triangle body shape! Its loose, draped neckline creates folds of fabric that softly wraps around the neck so it’s more relaxed compared to other high necklines such as turtlenecks.
The unique neckline will help steer attention to your collarbone and neck area to effectively shift the focus away from your broad shoulders, and therefore enhance the center of the body even more. In addition to this, it also gently softens the appearance of the harsh angular edges you have in your upper half, creating a more rounded and gentle neckline that balances out the upper body.
Sweaters with Vertical Details
It’s important to give your inverted triangle body shape a sense of verticality because this will help balance out the stark horizontal line that is present in your broad shoulders. Vertical lines, whether they are in the form of seams, stripes, prints, or patterns will help give the illusion of length and this will neutralize your measurements for better proportions.
This will draw the gaze up and down to effectively counteract the width of the shoulders and create a more elongated appearance. They also have a slimming effect that visually narrows down the body to achieve a pleasing upper and lower body symmetry.
Avoid Chunky Sweaters
The goal is to subtly downplay the appearance of your heavier and more prominent upper body so wearing something thick and voluminous such as a chunky sweater will contradict this style goal. Chunky sweaters are bulky in nature, so you will add a significant amount of visual weight to your upper body by wearing them.
Additionally, since you have added more bulk to your upper body, this will completely overshadow the appearance of your lower body. Since you don’t have much weight and structure in your waist, hips, and legs, these areas will seem less pronounced than they already are and therefore further emphasize your top-heavy figure.
Avoid Tight-Fitting Sweaters
Bodycon or tight-fitting sweaters will further emphasize the broadness of your shoulders and the heavy visual weight you carry in your upper half. Such an effect will only make the stark size contrast between your upper and lower body more obvious.
Remember that your body shape possesses a natural upper and lower body imbalance. This is why the last thing you’d want for your figure is to highlight this difference – something that tight-fitting sweaters can easily do.
