Dressing To Disguise A Bit Of A Belly

I wrote the original post about ‘dressing to disguise a bit of a belly’ back in 2022. Since then, it’s been one of my most-read articles, so I thought it was high time for a bit of an update. I asked my readers what their biggest ‘getting dressed’ hang-up was when it came to parts of their body that needed some help. The responses came in thick and fast, but the overwhelming concern was this. It was called many things, including ‘meno-waist’, ‘middle-age spread’, ‘pot-belly problems’ and ‘post-birth belly’.

I know we should all be embracing our body shapes and loving ourselves as we are but, come on, everyone has a part of themselves that they’re not happy with and would like to hide. I could list a lot of things I’m not particularly enamoured with about my appearance, but we’d be here all day. So, let’s focus on the stomach area, as that’s something I too have learnt to deal with over the years and how to dress to hide it.

I used to call it the ‘mum tum’, but now I call it the ‘meno muffin top’. Before I hit 30 and had children, I was a big fan of a tummy-baring top. I could do body-con until the cows came home. I wouldn’t say I had washboard abs, but I had a reasonably flat stomach and, frankly, I took it for granted. Recently, I’ve tried to get rid of it. I even go to the gym now at least twice a week, FFS, but despite my best efforts, although it has reduced slightly over the past few years, it’s become clear that it’s not going to disappear anytime soon. Middle-aged spread is real. So is a deep love of cheese and wine that I’m not prepared to give up.

I should make clear at this point that I’m not a trained stylist, so these are just things that work for me and they may not work for everyone. I’m not formally trained in anything, although I did once have half a day’s training session behind the bar at the Hammersmith Odeon in the early 90s. I could probably still pull 12 pints in four minutes AND upsell you a Solero and a packet of Butterkist to go with them. Life skillz.

TAILORED TROUSERS

Left: Zara pleat front trousers, Reiss leather jacket Right: Camilla and Marc Shirt and Trousers

The key word here is ‘tailored’. These trousers should fit you properly, sit on your waist and not pinch. One rule of mine is ‘if in doubt, size up’, because clothes that are slightly too big are ALWAYS better than clothes that are slightly too small. Remember, it’s the fit, not the size, that matters. There’s so much disparity in sizes on the high street, so please don’t be disheartened if your usual size doesn’t work. Nothing makes your stomach look worse than having half of it spill over the top of your trousers.

For those whose problem area is their thighs, go for wide-leg trousers. They’ll help balance out your proportions, whereas straight or tapered legs will accentuate and make you look apple-shaped.

PERFECTING THE SHIRT TUCK

Left: WNU Shirt, Citizens of Humanity trousers Right: WNU Shirt, Citizen of Humanity Ayla Jeans

One of my top tips for giving the illusion of not having a meno-belly is the shirt tuck. It’s not rocket science. You can do this with a T‑shirt or shirt – you just need to tuck it in at the front and pull it over a bit. It helps to define the waist area, even if you don’t really have much of one.

Make sure you have a shirt or top with enough length to do this. A good, loose-fitting collared shirt works best. You can leave it loose at the back and just tuck a small section in at the front. This is also a good one for ladies with bigger boobs – wearing an open shirt unbuttoned at the top over a vest or bralet will be more flattering than a high-neck blouse or T‑shirt.

AN OVERSIZED SHIRT

Left: Sezane Shirt, CoH Miro Jeans, Barn Jacket old (similar here). Right: Ganni Jacket, ME + EM Shirt, Miro jeans

If you don’t feel comfortable doing the tuck-in, then go loose. But the trick, I find, to make you look less bulky here is to pair your oversized shirt with cropped jeans or trousers, or even shorts (these ones are excellent btw) . Having a flash of ankle at the bottom of the outfit seems to even out the oversized-ness of the top. I would also advocate unbuttoning your shirt a bit so there’s flesh on show at the top and the bottom of your outfit. Remember, it’s all about the balance.

LAYER UP

Left: ME + EM jacket, Souer Jumper, Albaray trousers Right: Varley jumper, Free People jeans

Admittedly, this one is easier when the weather isn’t so warm. A slightly cropped jumper over a T‑shirt that hits at the waist creates a slimming effect on the belly area. This one works with any kind of bottom half, really. I find V‑neck sweaters work best here.

REALLY GOOD JEANS

Left: Rixo coat, Navy Grey Jumper, Reformation jeans Right: Levis Denim Shirt, CoH long Miro jeans

For me, the best jeans are those with a slightly higher waist. Honestly, my pot-bellied friends, don’t be afraid of a higher waist. It acts a little bit like a mild corset and will flatten and smooth your stomach. Also, and this is an important one, never buy jeans with more than 1% elastane in them. You may think that stretchy jeans are good, but when it comes to the stomach area, they do you no favours at all – trust me on this.

The most flattering jeans will be 100% cotton. Once again, don’t panic if your normal size is too small. It’s better to size up here, too, if needed. It’s no reflection on your actual size – just go by what you see in the mirror, not what you see on the label.

My favourite designer jeans brand is Citizens of Humanity. At the higher end of the high street it would be Reformation, and budget is always Zara.

SEMI — FITTED DRESSES

You could go for an all-over-loose dress (what we used to refer to as a ‘buffet dress’), but they can sometimes have the opposite of a slimming effect. Especially if you have boobs, in which case they can hang off your top half and make you look even bigger, so the best dresses to look for are those that are slightly more fitted up top and then flow out loosely just above the stomach. We don’t want anything tight. We don’t want any waist belts either. I can never really get to grips with a belt around a dress, as they only serve to emphasise my lack of a waist. In my opinion, ME+EM and Rixo make the best semi-fitted dresses.

It’s so tempting to just throw on a baggy sweatshirt over leggings when you’re feeling self-conscious about your shape, but that often has the effect of making you feel worse. I know in this world of never-ending turmoil there are always more important things to worry about than what you look like, but clothes have such a huge impact on the way you feel about yourself. Without wishing to go all Gok Wan on you, if you look good, you feel good.

K x

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