Cardigan Geometry: How to Highlight or Disguise Your Boobs with a Cardigan

With September drawing to a close, we're getting into Autumn weather. I wanted to talk a bit about the various ways that cardigan sweaters (jumpers) can be worn. Cardigans are often considered to be one of the 'tricky' items for full-busted ladies, and as a result companies like Pepperberry have made them with extra boob room:

Pepperberry V-neck Cardigan

This is great if you're looking for a sweater to wear buttoned-up, but that's not how I like to wear my cardigans. I prefer to wear them open. What I'm about to suggest is a little unorthodox, but hear me out.

The key to flatter a full bust with an unbuttoned cardigan is to SIZE DOWN. You should think in terms of buying a size that would NEVER button over your boobs, and maybe wouldn't even button over your waist. The function here is to eliminate flapping, bagginess, and shapelessness that can come as a result of wearing an unbuttoned cardigan. When the size is significantly 'too small' for you, the entire body of the cardigan will sort of contract around/behind you and just gently lurk around your body without any issues of draping or hanging. I tend to be a size Medium in tops, but I favor an Extra Small in cardigans for this reason.

When sizing down this much, you can just let the cardigan hang down under your arms and it will look fine. But you can also pull the top of the cardigan over your boobs and let it sit there. Here's where things get interesting. Cardigans that have a gently tapering neckline--or in other words, what would look like a V-neck if buttoned, will play up, highlight, or create the illusion of an hourglass figure.

In this diagram, you see the lines that are created. The cardigan tapers in at the waist, and out at the neck and hips.

While some of us like to highlight an hourglass figure, others of us prefer to conceal or downplay the size of our boobs. I'm definitely one who has plenty of days where I want to balance out my boobs and disguise the comparative smallness of my waist. To achieve this look, use a square-neck or boat-neck cardigan--one where it buttons all the way up to the neckline.

Compare the different lines created by this cardigan. The smallest opening is at the bust, and it gets more open through the waist and hips. This visually tricks the eye into seeing the bust as smaller.

How do you like to wear your cardigan? Do you like to play up or camouflage your boobs? If you have any thoughts or other tips for cardigan use, let us know in the comments!