The best jackets for your body shape and our Spring jacket edit

It’s undeniable that a good jacket will take you places. From the office, straight to the pub or from your cafe breakfast to shopping in the city.

A beautifully cut jacket can hide a multitude of sins underneath. Your jacket will politely cover a chunk of lard, your side-muffin or saddlebag, the bit of under-bra backfat or the flabby tummy. Not that we have that stuff.

But you must buy a good quality jacket, made from beautiful fabric, well tailored and properly lined. Make sure you buy the right size, don’t buy a size up to fit your boobs, just find a better fitting jacket. Or if you do buy a larger size, make sure the shoulders fit well and then have it tailored to fit. It makes the world of difference if it fits you perfectly.

Here’s some tips on what jacket best suits your body shape.

Busty

  • Buy a well tailored jacket, I personally prefer single breasted, although a well-cut double breasted trench can do wonders for ones curves.
  • A tuxedo style with long lapels always works as it seem to draw the eye down the body.
  • Try and avoid padding or heavy materials as you will look bulky.
  • Don’t go for anything that buttons up too high, it should button just below the bust to emphasise the smallest part of the waist, you want to create a nice long V.
  • Be careful with patterns, just make sure the placement of a pattern is correct and doesn’t make you look more booby.

Pear shaped

  • Jackets are perfect for you as the structure gives you lovely shape.
  • You can carry off something very well fitted or even a waist belt as the shoulder pads create balance.
  • A mid length or longer line jacket is great and preferably something with wider lapels or detail at the upper part of the body to draw attention upwards.

Tall

  • Check that the jacket has a long enough waistline and doesn’t cut you off, same with the length of the arms. You may need to go up a size, but definitely get it tailored to fit you.
  • Look for longer line styles that don’t have as much of a nipped in waist, that way you are not restricted as much by the cut and positioning of the waist (which may be too short for you), a classic boyfriend blazer for example.
  • Because of your long legs, you’ll look fantastic in a cropped or boxy jacket, but of course it just needs to fit correctly.

Apple

  • Go for something that nips in quite tightly at the waist to give you a lovely shape. The jacket should button on the waist, on your narrowest point.
  • Make sure the shoulders are structured and fit very well as that will help to give you the more hourglass shape.
  • Don’t buy a padded or bulky jacket, it will make you look a bit bigger.
  • Totally go colour or patterned if you are into that sort of thing, but maybe wear all one neutral colour underneath to lengthen and draw the eye up and down the body, e.g. a black top and pants or a navy blue body con dress.

Hourglass

  • You look great in shorter style jackets, something well fitted that emphasises your gorgeous shape.
  • Don’t go for heavy fabric though, you don’t want to look bulky. And make sure the shoulders fit well as you don’t want to look top heavy and out of proportion.
  • You can perfectly carry off those very classic silhouettes, the vintage shapes with wide open necklines, think Christina Hendricks in Mad Men.

Very lean or athletic

  • You wear jackets beautifully, you can carry off the more contemporary or edgy look, like double-breasted or the boyfriend blazer.
  • Patterns can look great but watch out they don’t overwhelm you. And white looks fabulous too, lucky you!
  • You look great in the nautical look with super skinny jeans, a stripy T and a shorter, structured navy blue jacket.
  • Just be a bit careful or anything too masculine, you want to make sure you still look shapely.

And because we like to be supremely helpful, we’ve saved you a bit of time and done a quick edit of the some of the best Spring jackets around, in some of they key looks that are trending at the moment.

You’re welcome!

spring_jacket
FLORAL from left  –  ASOS Paper Doll Floral Jacket ; Cue Opulent Floral Jacket ; Fate Botanical Blazer at The Iconic NAUTICAL from left  –   Sussan Stripe Linen Blazer; Rodney Clark Stripe Classic Blazer ; Bardot Nautical Pep Jacket. MASCULINE from left  – ASOS Just Female Relaxed Dot Jacket ; Atmost&Here Boyfriend Blazer at The Iconic ; Country Road Linen Jacket; WHITE from left  –   Witchery Relaxed Boyfriend Jacket ; Cue Double Weave Cutout Jacket ; Camilla and Marc Strategist Blazer at the Iconic

 

 

 

 

Written By

Gillian is a marketing savant and brand strategist with over 20 years of experience in above and below the line marketing, digital strategy and creative direction. She is an exceptional people person who loves to collaborate with clients every step of the way to achieve the best possible outcome. Gillian is also a successful makeup-artist and make-up obsessive who loves to share her tricks of the trade and help women to look good and feel great.

13 Comments

    • Thanks Sonia! Yep I reckon you can’t go past a good jacket if you are a little curvy, it gives such beautiful lines. Although you’re so gorgeous you look fabulous in whatever you throw on!! MWAH xx

    • Lisa I so agree!! I am very much an apple, so I find jackets are awesome for defining my waist. And I can wear a fitted dress underneath and the jacket covers up the bumps and lumps. Love it! xx

    • Aren’t they awesome?! I love a floral jacket at the moment. I just remembered I actually think I owned one in the late 80s or early 90s (showing my age, ahem). Yes it wouldn’t be that easy to find a perfectly fitted jacket for your fabulous shape… have you thought of having something tailored? If you find one that is perfect otherwise but too loose in the waist you could always see if you could get it nipped in…. Thanks for stopping by! x

  • I rarely find a jacket that fits right – I’m your tall lean gal (whose height is ALL in the torso – stumpy legs!) who can’t find the right length jacket. Or who finds the buttons and/or waist is ALWAYS in the wrong spot. I usually get cropped jackets because at least they look like they’re SUPPOSED to be as short as they are!

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