How to dress when you have a belly: what actually works

This question lands in our inbox constantly, and it almost always comes wrapped in an apology. So let's settle one thing before we talk clothes: the point of this article is not to make a belly disappear. It's to spare you the three or four cut mistakes that genuinely draw attention to it, and to show you what hangs well when your waist isn't the narrowest part of your silhouette.

The one adjustment that changes everything: where the waistband sits

A low-rise trouser cuts the stomach in half and creates a roll where there wasn't one. A high-rise sits above it and smooths the line. This isn't about body type, it's geometry: the waistband belongs in the natural hollow just below the ribs, not in the middle of the area you'd rather not showcase.

The trap is the stiff high waist. A cardboard-rigid high-waisted jean squeezes and spills over. What you want is an elasticated or smocked waist: it sits high, it holds, it doesn't cut in. In plus sizes it's often the only construction that's still comfortable after eight hours.

Fabric matters more than colour

The old "wear black, it's slimming" line is half a piece of advice. Thin black jersey clings and outlines everything; loose ecru linen shows nothing at all. Colour has never slimmed anyone. How the fabric holds its shape does.

What works: linen and cotton-linen blends, flowing viscose, crepe, a slightly substantial poplin. What gives you away: fine ribbed knit, very soft satin worn close to the body, cheap cotton jersey that buckles after three washes. Test it by pinching the fabric between two fingers. If it keeps the crease, it will keep the outline of your navel too.

Volume is your friend, in one place only

The classic mistake: a loose blouse over wide trousers. You vanish under fabric, and a silhouette nobody can see always reads bigger than it is. The rule that works: one volume at a time.

• Wide trousers, fitted top or front-tucked only
• Loose blouse, straight or slightly tapered bottom
• Flowing dress, belt sitting under the bust rather than at the waist

The front tuck deserves two lines of its own: you slide only the front of the top into the waistband and let the sides and back fall. It marks the waist without flattening anything against the stomach. It costs nothing and it changes an outfit.

Vertical lines, without resorting to stripes

An open longline cardigan draws two vertical lines down the whole silhouette. A V-neck lengthens the torso. An unbuttoned jacket does the same job. You don't need pinstripes to get the effect, and honestly a horizontal stripe on a fabric that hangs well causes no trouble at all.

Shapewear: useful, but not every day

A shaping bodysuit does two things. It smooths, and it stops fabric from catching — and it's often that second effect that matters most, because a dress that glides hangs straight. For an evening, a wedding, a day when you want a clean line under a fine fabric, it earns its place.

Don't count on it daily, though. Shapewear that's too tight rides up, marks above the waist and simply moves the problem higher. Take your usual size, never one below, and go for seamless or side-zip models, which are easier to get into and to tolerate over a long day. If you're between two sizes, size up.

Three things to stop doing

• Long tops that cover the hips. They hide nothing, they erase the waist and shorten the legs.
• Thin belts pulled tight at the widest point. If you want a belt, sit it higher and make it wide.
• Buying a size up to "float" in it. An oversized garment hangs from the shoulders and adds volume everywhere. Your real size in a loose cut is not the same thing as one size up in a straight cut.

The outfit that always works

If you remember one combination: wide trousers with a high elasticated waist, plain top tucked in at the front, open longline cardigan over the top, flat shoe or a low stable heel. It's comfortable, it passes at the office and at dinner, and it takes thirty seconds to put together. Everything else is a variation on it.

Read next

• Hot flushes: the fabrics and cuts that actually help
• Dressing after 60: what really changes

Unsure about a size or a fabric before ordering? Email support@voltelan.com and we answer within 24 working hours. Returns are possible within 30 days if the piece doesn't work out.