101 Ways to Wear a Cardigan: Part I

Ok, I lied. It's more like thirteen, but I am convinced that there are still 101 ways to wear them. Because this is such an extensive subject, I shall try not to overwhelm you, and stick to one major lesson per post.

Lesson #1: Where you button, determines your shape.

Specimen 1 (The Middle Button): If you are naturally smaller chested, like myself, you may want to enhance the appearance of your upper curves. You do this by buttoning the button directly below your bust-line. You may choose to button all the rest of the buttons below this one as well if you want to show off your slim waist, but if you have trouble with tummy pooch, you may want to leave it unbuttoned below, as I did, because a) tummy rolls tend to show more when you try to reign it in, and b) notice the nice long isosceles triangle above my belt that gives the appearance of a more elongated torso.

Specimen 2 (Mostly Buttoned): This is a great choice for our bustier educators, because a) it holds the ladies in better, and is less likely to pop open unexpectedly, and b) it draws the attention to the thinnest point (typically the waist) without exaggerating your already bountiful curves. So you look more like this -->  ) ( instead of this > <.

Specimen 3 (The All-Button or the Cardigan as Sweater): Sometimes you may not be in the mood for the cardigan look, and want a sweater to layer with. Sometimes you don't want to layer at all. That is absolutely okay. You can turn your cardigan into a sweater by buttoning it up all the way.

Specimen 4 (The Uninterrupted Line): This is one of the greatest clothing illusions of all time. *Note: This can also be achieved by a properly fitting blazer. When unbuttoned, the eye is drawn to the two long, vertical lines in your center, giving one the appearance of being thinner and taller. This is true of vertical lines and stripes in general. *Disclaimer: The vertical stripes illusion is only successful when the wearer wears properly fitting pieces. The vertical stripes do no good if they are stretched to look like this ) ) ). If your vertical stripes are curving, try the next size up.

Specimen 5 *Not pictured (The Top Button): Favored by librarians everywhere (or at least in movies), this is an option for ladies who may not have the child-bearing hips, and desire an augmented appearance in that region. By buttoning the top button or two, the lines of your cardigan will do this --> /\.   *WARNING: There should be NO cleavage showing below this button, unless you are going for the superhero cape effect. I generally steer the more top-heavy types away from this method of buttoning.

So that's it for the first lesson. You can take a deep breathe, wipe the sweat off your forehead, get a drink, and be rested and ready to go for lesson 2. Ciao for now!

-Miss C