Inverted triangle body shape: dressing broad shoulders

The rule

For an inverted triangle, the whole of it is one sentence: softness on top, a marked waist, and a clean leg line.

Each clause carries the measurement relationship that selected it, rather than a conclusion you have to take on trust. An inverted triangle that sits near one of these thresholds would have been given the neighbouring clause, and the condition is there so you can tell which side you are on.

No other shape in the set produces this sentence, so the three clauses are doing the whole job here.

• Softness on top, because your shoulder is already well clear of your waist, and structure adds to a line that is there.
• A marked waist, because your waist sits well inside your chest, and a straight-hanging piece throws that away.
• And a clean leg line, because your torso and leg divide near the middle, so the leg only has to avoid interrupting itself.

The two zones worth holding in your head

The full reading knows six continuous numbers, and saying all six produces a description rather than an instruction. These are the two where an inverted triangle reads furthest from ordinary, so they are the two that decide the most garments.

• Your shoulder line.
• Your waist.

What to buy

Ranked by how hard the rules argue, in either direction. A firm "leave it" is as useful as a firm "buy it", and both beat a lukewarm suggestion.

• Careful: A structured shoulder. Your shoulder line already leads. More structure there tips the whole silhouette top-heavy.
• Careful: A skinny leg. A skinny leg under broad shoulders exaggerates the triangle into a caricature.
• Buy: A soft, unstructured shoulder. A softer, unstructured shoulder lets a strong upper body read relaxed instead of imposing.

The thing you were about to try

Skinny leg, to keep the line narrow. A skinny leg under broad shoulders exaggerates the triangle into a caricature.

It is here because it is the answer most people arrive already holding, and for an inverted triangle the rules argue against it harder than against anything else on the list. The condition: your torso and leg divide near the middle, so the leg only has to avoid interrupting itself.

Every garment, scored

Each garment in the list below was run through the same rule table the product uses on real product pages, on a mid-height inverted triangle with a medium bone scale. The number is the net effect on the silhouette score. A garment that is missing is one no rule had an opinion about, which happens more often than a styling article would admit.

• Wide-leg trousers: works (+12). Volume below the waist answers the shoulders and evens the silhouette out.
• Unstructured blazers: works (+12). A softer, unstructured shoulder lets a strong upper body read relaxed instead of imposing.
• Structured blazers: skip (-15). Your shoulder line already leads. More structure there tips the whole silhouette top-heavy.
• Skinny jeans: skip (-14). A skinny leg under broad shoulders exaggerates the triangle into a caricature.
• Chunky knits: skip (-11). Heavy fabric up top piles mass onto the half that already has it.