- Today, we're gonna hide that tummy with these 10 essential style tips. Hi ladies, it's Erin. And welcome back to my channel. My goal through my channel
is to help you look like the best version of yourself. And the reason I do that is
because when you look good, you feel good, there's such
a strong connection there. There's a couple of things I wanna talk about right out of the gate. Before I get into these
10 essential style tips to help you cover, hide your tummy. So, really great video. So, stick with me here for a minute, but these two things I wanna say out of the gate are so important. The first is you deserve to look good. Somebody wrote a comment
on my recent YouTube video where I featured how to look younger, and I'll put a link to that video below. It's really good, but
she wrote that sadly. She hasn't feel that she
deserves to look good. And I literally started tearing up, because I understand what she means. For some of us, things
have happened in our past where we don't feel that we're worthy. We don't feel that we
deserve to look good. I don't know if you guys
know this about me or not but I've been through a lot in
my life and a lot of therapy and a lot of different types of therapy. I really do love to try
alternative therapies. And one of the things
that hit me recently, that I had not thought of before, because I grew up with a
father that was an alcoholic probably also suffer from PTSD. He was a Vietnam war vet,
I think he was undiagnosed. Anyway, he abandoned the family. And I think because of
that for a very long time and I think it's something
that I still struggle with. I feel that I don't deserve love. That's a really powerful thing to say. And it's a really sad thing to say, but I'm a firm believer
in once you acknowledge something as an issue, then you can know, you know it's there and
then you can move forward and work on it, right? I know there are a lot of you out there who may not be feeling like
the best version of yourself. You're feeling overweight. You're feeling horrible about yourself. You look at people on Instagram and you get annoyed and
just don't even wanna shop or get dressed or do anything, because you just don't
feel good about yourself. I understand that I was
there fairly recently because of menopause
gained a lot of weight right around my tummy. And so, I think this topic, it's beyond just let's
hide your tummy, right? It's really deep and personal. Even if you don't feel great
about yourself right now have the hope and inspiration that you're gonna get
to where you wanna be. And just try to love the body
that you're in right now. I know that's hard to do, but
I think if you employ some of these styling tips, you
are gonna feel a lot better. You're going to feel more confident, and you're going to feel more like you. It's such a simple thing that you can do. You can pull something out of
your closet in a strategic way and lift your spirits,
build your confidence. So, for those of you who aren't
in menopause, peri-menopause you're not sure you haven't heard anything about menopause on my channel. I've done like four or
five videos on menopause and you can go back and check those out. And I'll put a link below. Essentially, I have been going through it. I basically started
skipping periods at 42. I'm now about 46, just about to turn 46. And through this process, I've done a ton of research and reading and really getting
informed about what it is what it does to your body. And so I wanted to share
something with you guys that I think is so poignant and important. When you're going through menopause, it means you have a loss of hormones. You have a loss of estrogen, mostly. With that loss of hormones, your body tries to make
up for it by storing fat deep under the skin. So, it's not that subcutaneous layer. It's actually called the visceral fat. It's called visceral fat. So, that's deep inside the abdomen. And specifically you gain
it right around here. So, if you're like me and you feel like extra squishy back here, and around here where you've
never been like that before or even here, there's a
biological reason for that. And it's because you're
lacking that estrogen. And basically that visceral
fat produces hormones. It also produces other stuff. That's very unhealthy for you, that can cause heart disease
and high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type
two diabetes, et cetera. But I wanted you to know that because I want you to understand that if you are all of
a sudden in that boat where you're gaining weight right here, there's a biological reason for it. And I feel like once you understand then you can kind of like take a different approach and combat it, maybe in a potentially different way. Maybe you try HRT replacing
that estrogen you're losing. So, for those of you who are struggling with weight gain here, or you
have a little bit of a tummy, or a pooch or whatever horrible
name you want to call it, I'm gonna show you 10 style
tips to help you mask it, to help you look slimmer,
to help you look your best. And hopefully that will lift your spirits, that will make you feel better both on the inside and the outside. So, enough rambling let's get started. Okay, tip number one to
help you hide your tummy is to wear body skimming tops. There's definitely a tendency when you're not feeling your best, you're feeling like you're
carrying your weight and your middle to go in the moomoo zone. The giant oversize tent top zone. Don't do that, instinctively,
you're wanted to do that, but don't do that instead
opt for body skimming tops. So, lemme give you an
example here on the left, you see I'm wearing a really
oversized voluminous top. It's a cute top, I own
it, it's in my closet, but this isn't gonna
be doing me any favors in terms of giving me shape. On the other hand, here is
a frame white v-neck blouse that is body skimming and
that does give me shape. And that's really lovely. And that's what you want to do, but it's still providing that
forgiveness in the tummy area. Now, depending on where your tummy is, you may need a longer top. It just depends on where
you carry your weight. The length of the top will
depend on where your tummy is. So, the lower tummy being
a little bit different than that upper tummy. The second tip is to look
for strategic design details. You want tops that have
a knot under the bust or a higher waistline, empire waistline, that will highlight that under bust area which is the tiniest
part on a woman's body. And obviously away from the problem area. Or maybe it's a fo wrap in the front, or maybe it's just
ruching in a strategic way or maybe it's a panel
across the under bust. You wanna find these
strategic design details. So, lemme show you an example
of what I'm talking about. So again, let's go to
our billowy oversize top on the left that has no shape,
just, you know, pretty basic. And then on the right top by Eero that has this beautiful
ruched panel under the bust. This top may not be ideal, if you have a lower tummy or a pooch, whatever you want to call
it, it's not that long. So, that could be an issue. You always have to think
about the length of the top depending on where you carry
that weight in your tummy and what kind of tummy you have. But a top like this, it will
definitely mask that tummy by highlighting the
under bust empire waist. You may notice that this Eero blouse also has beautiful broad shoulders. So, let's talk about tip number three, which is to build up the shoulders. And what that does is it makes and creates more width across the top. And in contrast makes your
waist look smaller and tinier. And that's another way and it's like more of an optical illusion. I use this one all the time,
because as you guys know as I talk about ad nauseum,
I am a rectangle shape. That means I do not have
a very defined waist. If you're not sure where your
body shape is, by the way I did a whole video to help
you determine your body shape. And I'll put a link to that
below in the description box, but I'm a rectangle. And so I love a broad
shoulder or a puff shoulder because that will definitely
make my waistline tinier. So, here is an example of before and after of me wearing just you, you know, your basic white silk blouse
button down blouse on the left and then on the right that
same frame, white blouse that little puff shoulder that adds that bit of width across the top. Choose like your shoulders, if you have a sleeve
that's more voluminous and eye catching that can
also build up some width across the top and make
your waist look tinier. It can also draw the eye to the sleeves and take attention away from the tummy. So, it sort of pulls double duty. So, I want to show you an
example of a before and an after. So, on the left here, I have
a basic express black tee on with a little tie knot in the front. This tee is great, by the way,
it does conceal your tummy, I just wanna show you the
difference between having more of a dramatic sleeve and
not having a dramatic sleeve. The expressed tee is also
awesome if you are busty because it is roomy in the bus area and then it cinches toward the hips. So, then on the right, I have this statement
top by Amanda aperture, with really puffy sleeves and
they end just under the bust. So where your sleeves end
is where the eye will go. I've talked about this before, these sleeves and just
at that empire waist which is a beautiful
place for them to end. It also has this really lovely neckline which I'll talk more about in a minute and it's a structured fabric. So, any kind of structured
fabric or fabric will have to it, will be more forgiving in the tummy area versus something that's
really lightweight Jersey that will be less forgiving. So, fabric choices and
another consideration, I wanted you to think about, the top on the right also
has this detail underneath the neck line that really
draws the eye right there. And then it has some
ruching toward the sides. It's such a standout top
and such a statement top. It's not one you're gonna
pull out to wear every day but I wanted to give you
an a dramatic example. So, you could really see
what that sleeve can do, for your waistline. So now, let's go back to the neck line which would be tip number five, to wear a thoughtful neck line because the neck line as you guys know, can be very elongating. I talked about this in
my look, slimmer video if you miss that one, that one's so good, I will put a link to it
below in the description box, but essentially, if you have something that's high on the neck, that is going to be less
elongating, less slimming than something that is
open v-neck scoop neck, bore-neck, portrait neck line, any kind of open neck line. So, here's an example on
the left of a high neck top and green this one's from Zuora. It's cute, right? It's so cute. But it's not elongating me. The one on the right,
which is again that frame white blouse has a beautiful v-neck, and that is more elongating. So, remembering to really put thought into that neckline choice, when you really want to,
you know, minimize the tummy draw the eye up and away from the tummy. Also elongate the upper
body, minimize a bust, if you have a big bust and the tummy, it does a lot of things that neckline. So, be strategic about your neck line. The sixth tip to hide that tummy and help you look slimmer and longer, is to look for a top
with a rounded hemlines. So, let's go back to
that green high neck top and the frame white blouse. So, the green high neck top, well, Q I told you it's
in my closet and I like it but it's straight across the bottom. So, look at that compared to the frameless which is slightly rounded on the bottom. And so what the rounding does is it actually elongates the lower body. It gives you more regular real stay, and it makes you look slimmer overall. So, that's another little detail that you can think about
when you're looking for that perfect tummy control top, without wearing spanx, by
the way, no shape wear, Notice all of these tips
do not include shapewear. So, let's just recap for a minute. So we've covered a lot of ground here. You want to do body skimming
tops, not oversized. You want strategic design
details that can seal the tummy maybe by highlighting under the bust, or they're just gonna mask that tummy. You wanna build up your shoulders to great the illusion
of a smaller waistline. You wanna do a more dramatic sleeve to draw the eye out and
away from the tummy. You wanna think about
that neck line as a way of minimizing tummy bust and
along getting the upper body. And you want to look for a rounded hem to elongate the lower body. And again, just keep you looking longer and leaner and leaner. Another quick and easy way
that you can mask your tummy but still create a waist. Let's go back to that
big oversize tent top that I showed you earlier on. So, take that tent top and then
put a little jacket over it. The hemline of the jacket
hits at a really lovely place. It gives me a waist, but
the blouse underneath actually gives tummy forgiveness, right? It's covering and masking that tummy. And I showed you guys
this tip and my look, younger video, dress younger video, which I will put a link to below. I love that video to such a good one. But layering that jacket over the tunic will again pull double duty. It will mask tummy, it
will also create a waste. So, thinking about that combat, I know if you're in a sweltering,
hot climate right now, you can't do this, but it's something to just keep in the back of your mind, for when the weather
starts to cool down a bit. Tip number eight is something
I've talked about before. And it is just a really easy tool that you have in your toolbox. Pull out in a pinch. It's kind of like shape wear but not just wearing a
higher rise pair of jeans can really make a big impact in masking and also just sucking in the stomach. So, it almost works like shapewear. Remember to look at the fine details on the jeans that you're ordering because it will tell you what the rises. So high rise is nine inches or higher and that will hopefully help to suck in your tummy a bit more. And when it's higher rise too? You're not gonna have
the muffin top hanging over the jeans like you
would if it's lower rise, thinking about wearing higher rise jeans, instead of low-rise jeans, as a way of combating that tummy. Now some of you have the lower tummy and if you have the lower tummy and you wear the high-rise jeans and you belt them, it's like a, hey, look at my tummy? Thinking about all of those top tips that I already shared
with you to wear over the high rise Jean. 'Cause the last thing you wanna do is highlight a pooch or something. Tip number nine is to
wear vertical stripes. So, instead of horizontal which contend to make you look
wider, wear vertical stripes. It's very simple. This is one that we probably all know but it's worth repeating. So, lemme show you an example on the left. You see, I am wearing a
horizontal striped t-shirt, again nothing wrong with his t-shirt, but if I'm trying to mask a tummy, this is not my best foot forward. Okay, we've got a higher neck line, we've got the horizontal stripes creating that illusion that
I'm wider across the top and the tummy. If you switch to vertical stripes, that will be more forgiving
and more elongating and mask the tummy better. So, if you want to wear stripes, I would go with the vertical stripe versus the horizontal stripe. But if you do wanna
wear horizontal stripe, just throw a little blazer over it. This is that lioness blazer. I've featured a bunch of times. That is an a knit fabric. So, it's very casual. You also can throw a jacket
over the vertical stripes which is also a really nice look. This blazer by the way, is from Nordstrom. I've talked about this one a lot too. It's also not very casual. Tip Number 10 to help you mask a tummy is to wear a third layer. And I've talked about this one. I feel like, I don't know. You guys have to over and
over and over again, right? The issue is right now, it's hot. And so, the third layer is tricky. Here in Colorado, we
get pretty cool at night and we're also pretty cool in the morning. So, it's very realistic for us
to be wearing a third layer. If you're in Texas, South
Florida, Southern California probably not going to be the case, but just again store this
in the back of your mind for when the weather does cool down a bit. I did find a duster
cardigan that's really chic and paper then this one
is by scoop from Walmart. And I really love this cardigan. And if you're looking for
a summer weight cardigan that won't break the bank, this one is an awesome option that comes in a few other colors as well. Throw that third layer over it, It like skins the side. So, it sorta like takes
away any muffin top that you might have, and it elongates
you, it masks the tummy. It does all the things
for the tummy, right? It's just something to
think about something to have in the back of your mind, again, a tool to have in your toolbox. I am a firm believer and accepting and embracing and loving
the body that you have. And so, please don't watch this
video and think, oh my gosh Aaron is saying that having
a tummy is a bad thing. I am not saying that at all. I created this video because frankly, so many of you have told me
that you have issues with tummy. And so, I hear that often
enough and I'm like, all right, let's get in there, let's dig in there and let's do this. And also I did do a video
with my friend Kelly. It was like 20 tips to hide your tummy. I think it was called, this
was a couple of years ago. And that video is also
about hiding a tummy. And you may wanna watch
that one after this one chock full of tips, just ignore the fact that
I'm standing on my tip toes. I got so tired of hearing
people complain about that that I actually started
deleting their comments but the reason I'm on my tiptoes is because Kelly's very tall, and I wasn't able to wear
my shoes in her house. So just ignore the tiptoes
and look at the tips. One quick bonus tip, I just
wanted to share with you cause I didn't really
talk about dresses at all. So, if you're looking
for sort of the perfect tummy control dress, obviously you don't wanna go in the like the super tight zone because that's gonna highlight
a tummy like this dress by rag and bone, it's a racer back, sporty, fitted tank dress. I happen to really like it but it definitely does highlight a tummy. You also don't wanna
go in the moomoos zone again, oversize, billowy, huge. It's gonna make you look bigger all over like this dress by Sansia. You wanna go for something
again that's incorporating all those things I've
talked about with the top, you know, having that
thoughtful design detail, highlighting the under
bust, like this white dress. It also has a beautiful neck line. It also has sleeves,
it has an a line skirt which gives you a lot of
forgiveness in the tummy area. It also creates more
of an hourglass shape. So, thinking about
dresses that look similar to this silhouette, that's your
best bet on the dress front. If you liked this video and you haven't already
subscribed to my channel, I hope you'll hit that subscribe button because I have a lot more
styling tips on my channel especially for those
of you who are over 40. Also I'm over on Instagram at Busbeestyle with just, you know,
everyday outfit, inspiration. If you just want some ideas casual kinda everyday outfit looks, thank you so so much for watching. I am your number one supporter, I am so grateful that
all of you were here. I love all of you I think you're amazing. I know that a lot of
you are having struggles with your bodies
especially for those of you in perimenopause and menopause, but I I'm going to do
everything I can to help you. I promise that's my pledge. And I mean that from my heart I will see you guys next time, bye (upbeat music)
