How to Dress a Triangle Shape Body
This week, we’re back with our body shapes blog series all about the most common body shapes and how to dress them. We’ve been talking on each body shape one at a time to ensure we can give you the most detail possible about the best ways to dress and flatter your figure and how to choose fashion pieces that you’ll wear over and over and love for a long time.
We started the series looking at the pear shape ladies and last week took a delve into the apple shaped figure and how to dress it. This week, it’s the turn of the triangle or inverted triangle body shape, as it is also known.
A triangle body shape can be one of the trickier shapes to dress because you’ll sometimes feel like your proportions are a little off because of your upper body, which makes it difficult to find things that flatter. But don’t worry because we’re going to dive into it in much more detail and pick out some stylish classic pieces that can start to build a basis for a whole new wardrobe that you’re sure to love.
We’ll look a little more in-depth at what the triangle body shape actually means, but first, let’s go back to basics and look at working out what your body type is. So, if you’re reading this and thinking, well I don’t even know what shape my body is, then don’t worry, loads of us don’t but it’s pretty easy to work out where you lie in general and from there, you can start to find fashion that works for you.
How to Know What Your Body Type Is
So, when we’re talking about body shapes, we have to bear in mind that everyone is different and not everyone will fit into an exact category. However, in general, we talk about five different body types and most women will be able to relate, at least a little, to one of them.
This isn’t a way of fitting you into a specific box and giving you a uniform style but more to do with helping to understand the different shapes and styles that flatter the body in different ways.
Body shapes mainly come down to the proportions of your upper and lower body and understanding how different clothes fit different proportions in different ways. You can find a body shape calculator from Who What Wear, which we’ve linked to all of these blogs if you want to go into lots of detail. But if not, we’ve summarized it simply below so you can start to select which shape sounds most like you.
- Women whose shoulders measure wider than their hip measurements tend to be a triangle shape or inverted triangle shape.
- Women with wider hip measurements than shoulder measurements tend to be a pear shape.
- Women who have similar shoulder and hip measurements and a much smaller waist measurement tend to be an hourglass shape.
- Women with smaller shoulder and hip measurements but with larger bust and waist measurements tend to be apple shaped.
- Women who have very similar measurements proportionally from shoulder to waist to hip tend to be a rectangle body shape.
So you see, it doesn’t have to be too tricky and it’s all about how the ratio of different areas of your body compare to others, which determines the type of proportions you have. Once you’ve really nailed this, you can move onto finding the best clothes for your shape.
Am I A Triangle Shape?
If you’ve been reading so far and you’re pretty sure that your shape fits into the proportions of a triangle or inverted triangle shape then hurrah! You’ve made it to the perfect blog! If you don’t think this is you, head over to either the pear or apple blogs we’ve posted recently or stay tuned for the arrival of our hourglass shape and rectangle shape focused blogs, coming soon!
If you’ve roughly measured your bottom half and top half and you have relatively broad shoulders and a smaller waist with narrow hips, it sounds like you’re in the triangle body shape club.
Although broad shoulders can often be seen as a negative, it’s just all about using the right shapes and silhouettes to create balance within your figure and using fashion to flatter your shape, enhancing all your favorite bits. And if you’re a triangle shape, you’ve probably got a little waist and slim legs so let’s find the right stuff to really show them off!
First, we’ll start with our top tips for dressing a triangle shape and then pick out our top stylish pieces for your wardrobe, all of which are from Shop It To Me with a seriously reduced price tag. Just to make it even better for you!
Top Tips for How to Dress a Triangle Shape Figure
You’re now pretty sure you’re a triangle shape body type so let’s take a look at our top tips to finding just the right pieces for your figure.
Embrace A Wider Leg
We’ve mentioned a few times during this blog series that dressing for your body type is all about creating balance and this is particularly true with the triangle or inverted triangle body type. Because you have a broader shoulder with narrower hips, you can often be left feeling a little top-heavy. To counterbalance this, skinny jeans and pants aren’t exactly your friend as they draw even more attention to your slimmer legs.
Embracing a wider trouser is not only super-chic, but it also balances your shape and elongates your whole body from head to toe, especially when done with heels. Opt for anything from boot cut to palazzo to achieve this chic styling.
Get A Little Extra Feminine
When we feel top-heavy, we can often feel a little less feminine, so when it comes to fashion picks, choose things that make you feel super feminine. The pieces that will suit your shape most include tops and jackets with ruffles at the front and hips and waterfall-style jackets. These styles add curves at your neckline and waist but skim your shoulders without adding any extra width.
Accentuate Your Waist with Peplums
Helping to accentuate a waistline is another great way to keep your look super-feminine. Opting for peplum tops and dresses helps you to add some curves with the illusion of a cinched waist next to a tiered frill, which adds volume at the hip, helping to create that hourglass shape. A Peplum can often work better than an empire waistline as it helps to really define the waistline rather than skim over it but remember to ensure you team a cinched waist with a little added volume through the skirt.
Steer Clear of Exaggerated Shoulders
Because the shoulders are the broadest part of an inverted triangle shape body, you don’t want to add any extra width here with ruched shoulder detailing or shoulder pads (no matter how on-trend oversized tailoring is!). Instead, choose slim-fit shoulders when it comes to tops and Jackets and if you’re looking for blazers, perhaps choose a softer style with a waist belt wrap to keep your look chic without added volume.
Add Balance With A-Line Skirts and Belts
If you’re a fan of skirts, an ultra-tight pencil skirt is not the right way to go for a triangle shape. Instead, add volume to the lower half with high waist A-line full skirts and further accentuate your waist by adding a cinching belt. Chances are, if you’re a triangle body type, you’re rocking super-slim legs. So, why not show them off! Keep the skirt slightly A-line but don’t be afraid to opt for short instead of midi.
Another way to balance your proportions with skirts and tops is to choose a dark color for the top part of the body and color or print for the bottom part, so choosing statement skirts and trousers with a chic fitted top.
Opt For V-Necks and Wrap Necklines
V necklines are ultimately flattering for a triangle body shape as they accentuate your long neck and draw attention away from the shoulders, giving you more balance. Wrap dresses and tops are also the perfect options for this type of figure, which are perfect for anything from a casual dress to workwear.
The main necklines to avoid when you’re a triangle shape are Bardot, any off-the-shoulder or cold-shoulder, boat necks and halter necks. These types of necklines directly draw attention to the shoulders, which will increase your feeling of being slightly top-heavy.
Key Pieces for A Triangle Shape Wardrobe
Now you’ve nailed all our top tips for how to dress a triangle body shape, you’re more than ready to get shopping. This doesn’t mean go on a huge splurge but more, keep in mind our tips and seek out the shapes that you know are going to work for you. This will help you to build a smaller, more curated wardrobe filled with pieces that you’ll actually wear over and over. Plus, with the help of Shop It To Me, you can opt for better quality, more sumptuous clothing at a price that keeps your credit card happy too.
· Wide Leg Trousers
· Ruffled Tops & Waterfall Jackets
· Peplum Tops & Dresses
· Slim-Fit Wrap Blazers
· A-Line Skirts
· V-Neck & Wrap Tops
From our stylist’s top tips on how to dress a triangle shaped body to the key pieces you should be looking out for when you hit the shops, hopefully, we’ve provided a little extra insight into shopping for your body type. You don't need a personal stylist to shop well, you just need to know your proportions and what suits and flatters you the best.
Plus, next time you decide to give your wardrobe a stylish update, remember to head straight to Shop It To Me, sign-up and add your details to your profile and you can be on the receiving end of some seriously great deal when it comes to both luxury designer fashion as well as the high street.
If you’ve followed along but the triangle shape tips weren’t quite right for you, remember to keep an eye on the Shop It To Me blog and we’ll soon be delivering our hourglass shape and rectangle shape shopping tips.