A trend I have fallen hard for in the last few months is the Off The Shoulder Top (OTST)
It started out innocently enough, when I made my first OTST purchase from Katies last year.
I’d never worn anything off the shoulder before and when I did, a few people on Instagram commented that it suited me and so I returned to Katies to buy the same top in a different colour. Please tell me you do that too – buy the same thing in several colours?!
Fast forward several months later and I’m now the proud owner of several off the shoulder tops and dresses. They’re really comfortable to wear AND cover that pesky bit of your arms you sometimes might not want on display.
You know the bit I’m talking about – I could go into a lengthy description but most people use the description of ‘tuck shop lady’ arms. Which, FYI, is not a nice way to describe them.
I am basing this purely on the fact that a really lovely friend of mine volunteers at the school tuck shop on a very regular basis and she has awesome arms. I WISH I had tuck shop arms that looked like hers. But I can not be bothered lifting anything heavier than a coffee cup or an online delivery on a regular basis, so the flabby arms are here to stay!
How To Rock An Off The Shoulder Top
1. Wear one!
Don’t worry about how about old you are or what people will think. If you try the style on, you like it and it feels comfortable, then wear it! THAT’S how to rock an off the should top!
Wearing Country Road OTST (no longer available online – sorry) + Black Utility Drill Pants, Size 14
2. Wear a decent strapless bra
Ok, so this is the bit I found quite tricky and for a while there I was just wearing my usual bra and pulling the straps down. I couldn’t find a decent strapless bra that was supportive enough to keep things in place and let’s face it, gravity is working hard enough on a downward pull once you hit a certain age and none of us need a bra to offer an extra assistance!
I tried all sorts of strapless bras from the very expensive to the middle of the range. I took all sorts of brands and sizes into various change rooms around Brisbane with me and in the end I hit the strapless bra jackpot in the most unlikely of places – Big W
Now I can’t find the one I purchased online, but it’s a Kayser brand and I went up a couple of sizes to get a decent fit. So I would suggest when trying to find a strapless bra, know what bra size you are to begin with and then take the next two sizes up from that into the change room with you.
And don’t be upset or in a panic about the number and letters you see on the tag when you eventually find a bra that fits you. If they’re bigger than normal, it does not mean you have to stop eating carbs and start drinking kale smoothies. But if you do feel the need to start some sort of kale based program, you might want to have a quick read of this post: How To Quit Kale.
Wearing Poppy Off The Shoulder Dress purchased from Feather and Noise, size 12
This dress is a very roomy cut and there’s a lot more fabric at the bottom of the dress. It was a windy day when I was taking the photo and I had to hold the dress down at the side which has created a more fitted look.
3. Style it to suit YOU
Some of the off the shoulder tops out there can be a bit shapeless. That particular cut looks great on certain body types but on me, well, I pretty much look like a parachute.
To avoid this, I wear the looser OTS tops tucked in to a pair of pants or shorts. That way, my waist is shown, not hidden and ta-da! I don’t look like a parachute!
If I’m wearing a skirt, I’ll generally wear the shirt un-tucked because I only ever wear pencil skirts (they’re the only style that suit me) and the slim silhouette of the skirt balances out any resemblance to aviation emergency evacuation equipment the off the shoulder top might bring to the party.
Outfit details are in this post
Also, sizing down usually helps reduce the excess fabric situation a bit and makes you feel 10% slimmer, which means you can definitely have that slice of cake for morning tea!
So have a play around with your own OTST and work out what style and size suits you best – tucked in, loose and flowing or maybe a OTS dress is more your thing.
If you make a OTST purchase, or you’ve already got one hanging in your wardrobe, I’d love to see it! Tag me on Insta or flick me a pic on the blog’s Facebook page. We can rock our off the shoulder tops together!
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