How To Hide Your Tummy - 18 Tips You Didn't Know

If you put on a few extra pounds during lockdown, like most of us have, then you're going to love these simple styling tips that actually work and they will help you disguise your tummy. Hi, I'm Leonie and welcome back to my channel. When you're trying to cover up a tummy, it's really easy to do the exact opposite and instead of minimizing that problem area, you emphasize it. So today, given that I'd put on a few pounds during lockdown, I thought you guys might need a few little tips and tricks that I've been using to disguise my tummy. I'm also working out like a fiend, but I don't necessarily suggest that you do that. It's all about feeling good in your own skin. For me, I do need to drop a few pounds just to feel good in the but these tips and tricks will not require you to do any extra exercise, but they will make you look and feel fabulous regardless of your size. So first and foremost, high-waisted anything is where the magic happens. So I'm talking jeans, pants, skirts. If you are carrying a little bit more weight around your midsection, try and opt for anything that is high-waisted. These pieces tend to firm and flatter your midsection and they really do help to minimize that area. Another thing that's really important and often overlooked is sleeve length. Now if your sleeves end right at the point where your tummy and your waist is the widest, well then the attention will be drawn to that area. So when choosing sleeves, depending on your arms, either opt for a shorter sleeve or a full-length sleeve so that your eye is not being drawn to that area that you are trying to minimize. Sleeve length is often overlooked, but it's so surprising it makes such a difference. So be sure if you are trying to minimize the tummy, don't have your sleeves ending kind of right on your elbows here because that when your arms are down will highlight your widest part. You will hear stylists talking about wearing fuller tops and skinnier pants when you're trying to disguise a tummy and yes this is a good look and it does work, but I do think again you have to be careful that you don't fall into that maternity style dressing and any time you opt for a top that has quite a lot of volume and quite a lot of fabric, you run the risk of actually just looking bigger than you actually are. So what I really like to do is do a little bit of a half tuck. Now I know this can sometimes make you feel a little bit exposed, but trust me a half tuck is extremely flattering. It gives you a tiny little bit of shape, it does bring you in a little bit, but the parts of the top that hang down tend to cover areas so they'll cover your hips and your butt which is really flattering. So a little half tuck is generally a super flattering way to go if you are wearing a shirt or a top that's a little bit fuller, just so that you don't look like you're wearing maternity wear. There's often a lot of talk about wrap dresses being really flattering if you have put on a little bit of weight around your tummy. That can be the case, but often I tend to find that they are a little bit too figure-hugging. If you have just recently put on some weight, you will potentially feel a little bit exposed in a wrap dress. Yes they are flattering because they will give you the illusion of a waist and they'll bring you in at the narrowest part of your body, but what they do tend to do is they tend to hug your figure quite tightly and that can just make you feel a little bit on show. So what I tend to opt for is a shift dress which essentially skims down the side of your body and it doesn't cling to any of the areas of your body. So while it doesn't give you too much shape, it doesn't accentuate any of your curves and if you are feeling a little bit curvier at the moment, you don't want to accentuate those curves. So a shift dress is your friend. The other reason a shift dress works quite well is if you do tend to carry your excess weight around your midsection, you're generally, and this is really generally speaking, you are generally an apple shape body type. And if you're an apple, you generally tend to have great legs. So a shift dress is going to work wonders for you. I know a lot of stylists recommend empire style dresses when you're trying to cover up a tummy. Now an empire is pretty much where the dress comes in just under your bust. Now the only issue that I have with these is that they can tend to look like maternity wear. Yes, they are figure flattering in that you don't see any tummy area because they do cinch you in at what generally tends to be the narrowest part of your body. But for the reason that they do tend to look a little maternity-like, I don't ever recommend them if you are trying to hide a tummy. One of the best styling tips to disguising a little extra weight around your midsection is to wear monochrome outfits and that basically means just wearing the same color top to toe. So whether it's a all white or an all gray, I know we tend to try and opt for darker colors if we're trying to look thinner or minimize a particular body part, but it doesn't have to be in a dark color. If you love pastel pink or blush pink or a pastel blue, whatever the color is that works for your skin type and makes you feel great, opt for that color top to toe. It really does help to elongate your body and it doesn't bring the focus to any particular area of your body. So for that reason, it's a really flattering option. By the same token, the other thing that you can do is wear prints. So what the beauty of wearing small prints are, and the size of the print does matter too, but the beauty of wearing anything that is printed is the print just confuses your eye. So it doesn't direct your eye to one particular part of your body. So small prints are really good at disguising problem areas as well. And as a rule of thumb, the smaller the print, the more that print minimizes your body. The larger the print, so big large flowers or whatever the style of the print, the larger the actual print, the larger you will potentially appear as well. The other key thing to do is not wear accessories that are going to highlight your midriff. So no detailing on pants or jeans or ties in the waist where your widest part is, no belts. You really don't want to draw the eye to that midsection because any accessories or extra detailing will draw the eye to that area and you actually don't want to do that. So say no to accessories and minimize anything that is going to attract attention to your tummy. What I do when I'm styling someone that tends to carry a little more weight around their midsection is that I play with layers a little bit. So what I mean by this is I would opt for a slightly longer top and then perhaps a shorter jacket or vest. So what this does is the longer slightly floaty top gives you a bit of freedom. It's not clinging to that midsection, but having a slightly shorter jacket actually emphasizes a smaller part of your body which generally tends to be your waist area. So creating some different layers also tricks the eye into creating an almost false waist which is really flattering. The other trick that I use often is to create vertical lines using layering pieces. So a long line layering cardigan or a vest or a kimono. So what you do here is that you basically have more form-fitting pieces and to give you that extra coverage so you're not showing and highlighting your tummy area, you will wear a longer line and that just tends to trick the eye. It gives the illusion of length, it elongates the body and just draws the eye down the body. And all of those things are really flattering. So if you are wanting to detract from your midsection, make sure you add a longer line layer that just skims your body. You don't want it to be too big and bulky and full, but it skims your body and just elongates you. Now I'm sure you've heard it before that you should opt for vertical stripes when you're trying to look longer and leaner and yes, while that is true, the thing to be really conscious of is making sure that you choose a small, thin, narrow stripe. It's a little bit like what I said earlier about patterns. The larger the pattern, the larger you appear, the larger the stripe, it can actually do the same thing. So yes, stripes will make you look longer and leaner, but make sure they are fine stripes. I think the number one mistake that most people make when they are trying to cover up or figure fix a particular area, especially their midriff, is to go up a size and wear oversized baggy clothing and I think most of us know that that actually doesn't, it doesn't work. It actually makes you look bigger than you are. So what I am suggesting is that you don't wear figure fitting pieces, but you need to opt for pieces that are actually your size and are not going to swim on you and add extra volume and just make you look larger. So think form-fitting but not figure-hugging. Now I've never been a fan of wearing shapewear or spanx. I don't like the idea of holding everything in and not being able to breathe freely, but what I do always say is that it's really important to have good undergarments and that is just your basic underwear. So a well-fitting bra and just good undergarments that form a great foundation for any outfit. Sometimes it's so easy to forget just the basics and good undergarments do actually make a difference. The other thing that makes a difference is fabric. So when you are trying to minimize and not look as perhaps bulky, especially around your midriff, try and opt for fabrics that are lighter weight. Now I'm not talking sheer, you don't want to be wearing sheer fabrics, but lighter weight drapey soft fabrics are going to be the best option. The other thing that is also important and we often overlook this is posture. If we're not feeling great about ourselves and let's face it, we've all been there. If you have put on a little bit of weight, you often don't feel that great and it is all too easy just to sort of slump and not put your best foot forward. But that is the time when you need to work on your posture and stand tall and proud more than ever before. So it's a really simple thing, but it does make a difference. Just stand tall, be proud and your outfits will definitely look much better if you have good posture. Also it's worth considering plus size fashion labels. Now I wear plus size brands because I'll just size down in them, but if I love something I will wear it and buy it regardless of where it's from. I was talking about this over on my Instagram yesterday. If you're not already following me, I would love you to join me on Instagram. I'm just at The Style Insider. But don't be afraid to shop at plus size stores. After all, they are going to cut and style pieces for a fuller figure, so it's highly likely that they are going to work and fit and flatter you so much better. So don't rule it out because you for whatever reason don't want to wear plus size. If something looks good on you, it really doesn't matter where it's from. You can also opt to wear accessories that are going to draw attention away from your midsection. So a really, I mean obviously it's going to depend on the season, but a really gorgeous scarf or some really amazing boots or shoes where the attention is drawn somewhere else other than the area that you don't really want anyone to be looking at. So yeah, accessories are a really good way of doing this. Statement necklaces, really gorgeous earrings, some great sunnies, hats, scarves. So think about accessories as drawing attention to other parts of your body. And lastly, it's all about playing up your assets. If you are carrying more weight around your tummy, play up the parts of your body that you really love. Everyone has those areas, whether it's your face or your décolletage or whether it's your eyes or your legs, whatever it may be, play up your assets, play to your strong points and put the focus there in terms of accessories and fashion choices and minimize and not put any focus around that midsection if that's the area that you're trying to disguise. Anyway, that's it from me today. I would love to hear what your figure fixing tips and tricks are or if you have any styling secrets to minimizing your tummy. Please let me know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video, I would love you to give it a thumbs up. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel for more and I can't wait to see you in the next one. Bye for now.