Black tunics and baggy layers promise to flatter a fuller midsection after 60, but they add visual bulk instead of solving the problem. A blazer with defined shoulder seams skims the body without clinging or tenting.

📖 The book I mention in the video — Chic After Sixty: https://margaret.myreads.store

High-rise trousers with an 11-inch rise or higher define the narrowest part of your torso and lengthen the leg line, while mid-rise cuts bisect you horizontally and widen the middle.

Medium-weight fabrics like ponte knit, crepe, and stretch cotton twill skim without clinging and drape without adding bulk. V-necks and open collars create vertical lines that elongate, while crew necks draw a horizontal line across the widest part of your body. The strategic half-tuck defines your waist without a belt and creates a vertical center line. Open-front cardigans and dusters in the 28 to 32 inch length range frame your body with parallel verticals. Monochrome dressing in one color family from shoulders to shoes creates an unbroken line, while contrast at the waist cuts you in half visually.

Three mistakes undo the work: oversized tunics and kaftans that balloon around the body, an unsupportive bra that lets the bust sit low and merge with the midsection, and hem lengths that end mid-thigh or below the hip and turn the midsection into the visual center. The formula combines high-rise straight-leg trousers, a V-neck shell in the same color family, a front-tucked silhouette, and an open cardigan or blazer that skims the body.