While women of the world recoil in disgust, again, at some sleezey bloke posting hacked images of female celebrities without their clothes (we’re hoping there’s a special, nasty room in hell where people like this are headed too) we’re looking today at revealing just the right amount of flattering flesh (or not) with the perfect neckline.
As an aside for you to think about, my first reaction to the current unpleseantness poor Jennifer Lawrence is suffering was, ‘will we be free of ageism when older women are included in the mix of nude female slebs?’ That’s how mixed up my older feminist brain is getting these days….Anyway, onwards.
Last week The Women’s Room went on a trip to Norwich (with The White Company, more on that soon) which required smart-ish clothes. Jane wore a terrific dress from COS (where else?) which had a really flattering neckline; slightly asymmetric, softly folded, a nice length of V dip and just unusual enough to make you want to know where it was from. It comes in grey (above) which shows the neckline nicely, or black and it got us talking about flattering necklines for grown up women.
Necklines can cause us angst as we get older as we can be sensitive about our necks, our cleavages (see Monday’s post on good bras) and what’s considered ‘appropriate’. We are firm believers in dressing however you damn well please at our age here at TWR, so if you fancy a plunging neckline, then go right ahead, why the heck not? But for those of you who may need a bit of inspiration ( and we’re assuming you’ve all read Nora Ephron’s wonderful I Feel Bad About My Neck) here are a few good examples…..
Image: The Sartorialist
My favourite neckline is always the shirt front. it’s so versatile, but you need to pay attention to the detail to make it really work. The shirt above looks like it’s in good linen, with a clean placket front (v chic) and a collar that’s not too stiff and awkward. Best of all is the great positioning of the loose choker-style necklace, which’d work well if you are a bit unsure of your neck.
Image: The Sartorialist
You can always do the hipster-button-up (no self respecting hipster ever seems to wear a shirt unbuttoned) as seen above. I love this, but can be a wee bit severe, so we love how this has been softened with a statement necklace. Collar size is crucial, both these examples have neat square collars, just make sure you choose one that sits well and is the right size (don’t buy em too big).
Image: The Sartorialist
To scoop or not to scoop? This is one area you need to be a bit careful with and it actually has nothing to do with age and everything to do with good design. The wrong shaped scoop is just a bit, well, WRONG. We love neat round necks, but that’s just us. The scoop above is beautifully proportioned, but if you are in any doubt, check out The White T Shirt Co, they have good shapes.
I’m taken with the retro funnel roll neckline on this Boden sweatshirt tunic top, shown here in soft grey, although I think I prefer the navy, which is a little more flattering for all.
Image: thebestfashionblog.com
Who doesn’t love a nan cardi? The neat round neckline looks great every which way, including layered up with strings of pearls at the neckline, but it’s also a good look when it’s kept clean and uncluttered as above, unbuttoned slightly, with a camisole underneath. Boden have them in a million colours The bohemians amongst you can play with asymmetric buttoning….Just miss-align the buttoning by one button, go on… give it a go. See how long it takes someone to say ‘excuse me, you’ve buttoned up your cardi the wrong way’ #noncreatives
Image: mastersmodels.com
But if you prefer, you could throw a softly tied scarf in a gorgeous print around the top….I love this coordinating spot look. So cool, but softly does it with the tie-tension…
Image: agencesilver.com
How low do you go with a V neck? I reckon about here looks good, mostly because I really like the image.
What do you think? Do you have a favourite neckline? Below are a few more suggestions…
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I like high boat necks the best.Closely followed by a shirt. Crew necks do nothing for me and there are so many of them out there! There are lovely images in this post.
Glad you liked them Claire! Ax