How to Mix Proportions in Your Outfits
8 ways to create completely different silhouettes.
One question I often get from subscribers and Instagram followers is how to mix proportions when creating an outfit (side note: paid subscribers can ask me and the community questions directly in my subscriber chat). Another common question I get is around my height. I’m 5’4”, which surprises some people given my love for oversized clothing and the old advice that you can’t wear those kinds of styles if you’re on the petite side (not true! Just look at the Olsens).
A few tips to get you started:
If you’re new to wearing oversized items of clothing, try pairing them with slimmer-fitting pieces. This will create ‘balance’ and is a way to ease you into oversized without it feeling as though you’re swamped in fabric.
The same goes for flashing a bit of skin. If the idea of wearing shorts and a tank top feels too much, try styling them with a long-sleeved top or loose shirt instead. This also creates contrast in an outfit, which makes it visually interesting.
Tucking a shirt and leaving it untucked is an easy way to play with proportions. When tucking tops into trousers, think about how much fabric you have to work with. If you have an oversized shirt, chances are it will bunch up around the waist if you try to tuck it into a pair of slim-fit trousers. Try a roomier pair of trousers instead.
Changing one thing in an outfit, like straight-leg trousers vs. wide-leg, can make a big impact on the overall look. Play around with different shaped pieces to see what you like the look and feel of most. For more on trousers, I have two big guides: here and here.
Your top layer can also make a big difference to the silhouette of your outfit. A short jacket over a long dress will create a completely different shape than a long jacket over that same dress, for example.
Below are 16 outfits showing that in action. I’ve chosen similar outfits where one or two things have changed, so you can see how small swaps can impact the overall look.
Long top tucked in vs. not tucked in
First up: the humble tuck. With long tops such as this one, it’s easy to create different silhouettes in an outfit by changing its positioning. Tuck it into the waistband of your trousers and it creates a neat, cropped look and highlights your trousers (this works particularly well if they’re high-waisted and have a feature worth showing off, like the buttons on this pair from Studio Nicholson). It’s best to choose trousers that are roomy or have a wide leg, rather than slim-fitting, as there’ll be more space for the fabric (no weird bunching around the waist).
Leave it untucked and you show the full length of the top, and any other details it may have (side slits at the hem, in my case here). In this outfit, I’ve chosen linen trousers that have a similar level of looseness — i.e. slightly loose, with a relaxed fit and straight leg — to mirror the top and create an overall streamlined yet relaxed silhouette. I wouldn’t wear this particular top untucked with trousers that have pleats/a lot of volume around the waist, as it would bunch up around the waist, losing that streamlined look (and it would feel awkward to wear).
Shirt tucked in vs. not tucked in
Another example of a tuck vs. untuck, this time with a button-up shirt. Most of my shirts are oversized because I like that look, and I find that I can play around with how it looks in an outfit more. Take the first outfit — it’s fully buttoned, top button and all, the sleeves are worn in their full length, and I’ve tucked it into my trousers (again, I’ve chosen a pair of trousers that have enough space around the waistband to do this easily). The overall look is smart and polished (ish), and the oversized fit of the shirt mirrors the subtle barrel-leg of the trousers, so I still bring the all-important shape and volume that I love into the outfit.
In the second look, I’ve worn it untucked; the collar loose, only a couple of buttons done up, and the sleeves pushed up to the elbows. The slim-fitting trousers create contrast and balance to the oversized fit of the shirt. It’s a classic jeans and shirt combo that feels a lot more me.
Dress with a short jacket vs. a long jacket
In both outfits here, I’m wearing two very similar dresses. They’re both from Raey (RIP), both made from jersey, and both slim-fitting. The dress in the first image is a navy strappy slip dress (the same one I featured in my recent travel essentials post), and the dress in the second is black with long sleeves and a high neck. But both outfits have completely different silhouettes, and that’s because of the jackets.
The short jacket (unsurprisingly) shows off more of the dress, and the swingy, loose fit creates a really interesting contrast to the slim fit of the dress. With the second look, I’ve gone for a loose jacket again to add volume and contrast. The length and shape of the jacket bring it to the forefront; the dress becomes more of a supporting act.
Oversized top with slim trousers vs. oversized trousers
When it comes to wearing oversized clothing, there’s a common piece of advice to always ‘balance’ it out with something slim-fitting. It’s a good rule of thumb, and something I do often in my outfits, but oversized with oversized works just as well — you just might need to think about the individual pieces a little more if you don’t want to feel as though you’re drowning in your clothes.
The top I’m wearing in the first look above is long and very oversized, so if I wore it with oversized trousers like the horseshoe-leg pair in image two, I’d probably feel a bit swamped. The top in the second image is also oversized, but it’s cropped, skimming the waistband of the trousers. It allows the full shape of the trousers to be on show, gives me that voluminous silhouette that I like, but at 5’4”, I don’t feel as though I’m overwhelmed by lots of big shapes.
Slim fitting top with slim(ish) leg trousers vs. wide leg trousers
And on the other end of the scale: a slim-fitting top (this is a waistcoat from Aligne) worn with a pair of slim (…ish — these trousers have a subtle barrel leg) trousers, vs. a pair of wide barrel-leg trousers.
Changing the volume of the trousers creates two very different looks. With the slimmer trousers in outfit one, the overall look is quite streamlined, the curves of the hourglass shape in the waistcoat mirrored in the subtle curving of the trousers. In image two, the difference between the two shapes is more prominent. The slim-fitting nature of the top becomes more obvious when paired with the wide, loose trousers, and this contrast is heightened by the dark and light colours.
Shorts with a long-sleeved top vs. a short-sleeved top
Summer is tantalisingly close and so is (hopefully) warm weather… if you’re a UK resident like I am, you’ll know this is no guarantee. Shorts can be a tricky item to wear, but once you’ve found a style you like, the styling options open up (for me, that’s short rather than knee-length, and loose around the leg rather than tight).
If the idea of wearing shorts feels like too much skin on show, try pairing them with a long-sleeved top like in image one above. If that top is loose and made from summer-friendly fabrics such as linen, you’ll still feel cool in hot weather. Again, the long-sleeved top creates contrast and balance when worn with the shorts (you can see a pattern here), whereas the short-sleeved shirt acts as more of a mirror to the shorts. They create two very different silhouettes, but here, it’s just the sleeve length that’s changed.
Shift dress on its own vs. with an extra waist layer
Talking of summer… when it’s really hot, it can be difficult to create shape and mix up proportions in an outfit. You want to be as cool and as comfortable as possible, and often that means wearing a little as possible. You certainly don’t want to be layering.
I wore this off-white shift dress quite a lot last summer. It’s linen, has a classic shape, and was one of those easy feel-good pieces that worked in lots of different situations. It absolutely works on its own, but there were times when I wanted to bring an extra element into it — an extra layer that would add shape without adding heat.
That’s where the ‘waist layer’ comes in: a shirt, jacket, long-sleeved top or scarf (
does this well) that brings something different to the silhouette. I’ve done this in outfit two with a light jacket. It changes the look and feel of the dress and, bonus points, gives you an easy-to-reach layer if it does suddenly get cold.Oversized jacket with wide-leg trousers vs. straight-leg trousers
Here we have the same jacket: my trusty oversized trench coat from British designer and maker Louisa Charlotte Oates (she doesn’t have a website, but is very responsive on Instagram DM). But the two outfits have very different silhouettes, and that’s down to the shape of the trousers.
In the first look, I’ve ramped up the volume with a pair of wide-leg trousers, using a regular-fit black jumper as my ‘balancing’ piece, so I’m not swamped in everything oversized. In the second look, I’ve gone for contrast: a regular-fit T-shirt and straight-leg jeans, so the only oversized element is the jacket.
Parting words: Mixing up proportions in your outfits can feel daunting if it’s not something you’re used to, but there’s fun to be had in playing around and experimenting with different shapes. Sometimes, ‘mistakes’ are actually where the magic happens, so don’t be afraid to try something different or that goes against the ‘rules’.
If you’re looking for more advice on mixing proportions, I highly recommend giving this post by
a read. Sogole breaks down different ways to style a tunic, and so much of her advice can be applied to other pieces too.Any items marked with * have been gifted by brands. All thoughts, picks and reviews are my own.
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Angharad this was an absolute MASTER CLASS and I’m just lucky to have been a student. Soooo many great tips here and I love how you showed the different proportions - lends such clarity to it all!! Thank you for the shout out too- tunic dressing is alllll about getting proportion right and you nailed it! Xx
One of my favourite posts of yours to date. Love everything 😍