Styling Tips to Hide Your Arms

Before we get into today’s post, let me just quickly say that you are perfect just the way that you are, and know that you are beautiful, regardless of your waistline or your t-shirt size.

But as humans, we are prone to insecurities. No matter how much we can love ourselves, we also can be our own worst critics, especially when it comes to our figures.

Although we may wish we were slimmer in some areas and curvier in others, the beauty of a great outfit is that it can give that much needed confidence boost that can help you power whatever worries you have about your body. And if your arms are not your best feature, we’ve totally got you covered with our latest list of style hacks.

So if you need some assistance masking the size of your arms, here’s how to go about it:

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Go for longer, looser sleeves

Probably one of the most obvious ways of minimizing the appearance of your arms is by wearing long sleeves, preferably ones that are also loose. Tight long sleeves are fine, though it definitely comes down to personal preference, since not everyone will be too keen that their arms still seem to be on display. The best kind of sleeves are those that leave some wiggle room in your arms.

When it’s too hot to wear your long sleeved-items, you can roll them up. You also have other options of sleeves, such as 3/4 sleeves. You never really want to go shorter than elbow, as anything shorter will definitely accentuate your problem area.

In general, these are the sleeves to avoid:

• Ruffled
• Cap
• Puffed
• Bishop
• Petal

Remember that the key is not only the length of the sleeve but also the width. Peasant blouses, kimono-style items and anything with bell sleeves will work to flatter your arms.

Show off your shoulder(s)

Baring your clavicle and your shoulders are an awesome and effective way of drawing attention away from your arms! And the amazing thing about off shoulder silhouettes it that it works on every body type, whether you’re apple shaped, concerned about your arms or broad-shouldered.

There’s more than just the off-shoulder blouse that you can wear. Don’t forget that there’s the cold shoulder, as well as the one shoulder, so feel free to play around with those shoulder baring tops!

Keep in mind that the tips about sleeve length and style still apply! Although the sleeves seem a little shorter than elbow-length, the Assym Top overall has a very relaxed silhouette that you can get away with. Plus, people will be paying more attention to your bare shoulder rather than your arms.

Throw on a layer

Another easy way to cover up your arms is by actually covering up. Cardigans and kimono-style cover-ups can be worn over tanks and tees, and if you want to go for something more business appropriate, a blazer will clean up your outfit and hide your arms. For more casual options, you have denim jackets, chambray shirts and cropped jackets.

Change the focus of the outfit

As I have already mentioned, bare shoulders draw attention away from your arms. To expand your options of tops and one-pieces, you want to follow in suit, finding other items that will shift the focus from your arms. This can be done in lots of ways, such as prints and specific designs or detailing in your blouses. Not only is this Off Shoulder Blouse in fact, an off shoulder top, but it has this very interesting oversized shoelace detail running down the middle of the top. Thus with this top, either people will be noticing your shoulders or focusing on that middle detail, and definitely will not care about the size of your arms. You won’t care either!

Play it safe with dark colors

When you absolutely have no clue and don’t feel like wearing any of the tops above, dark colors are the way to go. You can always rely on blacks, navies, dark grays and deep purples to help slim down the arms (and also the rest of your body!).

Let’s use this Alexa Plus Size Checkered Top with Sleeve Ribbon Tie as an example. Even though it is a print with a tie detail on the sleeves, the color scheme and all the details together are actually very flattering for both bigger body types and slimmer ones.

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