I have muffin top, I know, hard to believe (not). It’s the curse of most H shapes I think as we have shorter waists usually and we put weight on first around our waist so it doesn’t take much to make a muffin top. There are many 8, V and even some A and X shapes who also have this common problem.
There are four things I do to help me conceal my muffin top.
1. Wear mid to high rise jeans and trousers.
A higher rise will have your muffin tucked in rather than spilling over the top.
2. Wear a shapewear cami
(and not the shapewear Spanx style pant as they create more muffin top!)
3. Wear a wide belt over the top of my jeans
The wide expanse of leather hides my muffin and conceals the top of the jeans
4. Wear a Blouse
Wear a blouse or looser fitting top, you can tuck and blouse if the shirt is too long proportionally for you to be flattering.
Stunning in the last picture… A Kylie minogue look-a-like.
Handy ideas. Question though… what if you’ve had 9 pregnancies and your muffin top isn’t accommodating & move up or down either side of the wide belt?
Are your stomach muscles properly realigned after your pregnancies Meredith? As this can cause stomach distension. A muffin top is usually just the love handles that sit over the top of your waistband, not more than this.
I had to have a pigskin 25 x 20 cm to hold everything in. Best they can do. I couldn’t do any exercises for my abdominal incase of protrusion of the bowel. Charming eh? Hubby’s abdominal are in great shape he works them twice a day!
??
Thank you for great tips on hiding the muffin top! I often wear a third piece – a shirt/cardi/jacket, it helps, when it’s not too hot, of course.
yes that’s another great way Jelena
Meredith, I thought of what you wrote and remembered an article I read recently. There’s a condition called diastasis recti, which means separation of abdominal muscles. It happenes to women after multiple pregnancies. Perhaps you could talk to your GP. Please, don’t get me wrong, I’m only trying to help.
Not offence taken at all. Had a 4″ hernia that needed repairing. It’s quite deep muscle that’s damaged. I wear a full body support to hold it firm ?? I have had lots of pregnancies close to gather. My sister ripped into my hubby about it once! Too many!!
It’s very hard to conceal and I’ve tried many many styles. I can out my finger into my tum for at least an inch. I find it distressing at 48 to be experiencing difficulty dressing no matter what I do. Gynaecologist says I have good skin and should be glad it’s not worse (gee thanks) but he says if you have very soft skin outside it’s the same make up inside, soft and therefore easily yielding. I met another woman once, grocerers wife, with my EXACT story. She worked 12-15 months to get it back to normal. stern discipline but not home educating. Guess it’s get up earlier or stay up later. Thanks for your words.
I’m so sorry to hear it ? Having a large family is a blessing, but sometimes coming with a high price, at least for women… I was recently examined by a doctor and she asked if I had a hernia as a child and I replied that I only had a baby. I hope something can be done to prevent the streching.
I’m so sorry to hear it ? Having a large family is a blessing, but often coming with a high price, at least for women…
Great tips on concealing the muffin top. I also blame the poor quality of many tops to be at fault. They are far too stretchy and thin to flatter. You can see every lump and bump through them, even on very slender women. I have a very long rise so the pant’s rise is crucial for me.
Yes so many poor and way too thin fabrics!
Agree! You have to pay for quality and its always a wiser investmebt. Cheap clothes conceal zip!
Agree! You have to pay for quality and its always a wiser investmebt. Cheap clothes conceal little. Give kmart a big miss.
Great tips Imogen, that I too follow and I must add – wear correct high rise underwear !
Lorena, beautiful outfits. Are you lorena from oakleigh SDA school? Not many Lorena’s around and when I saw your name I was wondering?
I already follow the high rise jeans idea (if I can find any that fit me nicely at the waist, which is wider than is standard). But I didn’t think of the wide belt or shape wear cami idea though. I agree with Rebecca about the flimsy material used to make tops. They should drape but just cling to any lumps or bumps you have.
You can also wear a beautiful one piece bra and knickers with lovely comfy boy short nickers attached with medium support in the centre. Practical and doesn’t squeeze you. I love it for when I step outdoors.
Thanks for linking up to Top of the World Style. Your post is awesome. I had to pin it
Thanks so much Nicole
Helpful, Imogen, for my newly diagnosed H shape. My tummy is protruded, with the hip-bone high end of tops suggested for Hs, this presents a problem for me. Any creative ways to handle this problem? Even with tummy “concealers,” I have a problem. Peplums are better at covering my tummy. I will value your comments.
I would wear tops that are looser that don’t sit tightly on your tummy, also if you end your tops just under the mid/widest point of your tummy, rather than cupping the whole tummy, it can make it look less prominent. Those drape blouses can work well too.
Ranting about jeans:
We are constantly told not to wear high-rise jeans – the dreaded Mom Jeans. Yet all advice on Muffin Top tells us…..high rise jeans are the answer. Can you recommend some brands of jeans with a higher rise that look stylish and not frumpy?
I am an 8 body shape and most jeans give me both muffin top AND gap in back. Anything with a low rise is just uncomfortable in addition to unflattering as they either sit in the wrong place or I am constantly hiking them up. Trouser jeans with a wide waistband are magic, but most flare below the knee and as a short-legged 8 they look terrible, even though the fit in the waist is right. Have tried some side-zip jeans with limited success.
Mom jeans aren’t just high waisted – they are baggy through the thighs then tapered at the ankles. https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2008/09/more-denim-matters-mom-jeans.html But a high rise jean in a straight leg is perfectly great at concealing muffin top and not creating an unflattering shape!
These are great tips for average sized and even slender women with muffin tops, but I suspect the rules change when you move up in size. High rise pants for extreme muffin tops can do more harm than good by drawing more attention to the belly and cutting into the waist.
I really like your idea of creating a new waist with a wide belt at the top of your pants. Very creative!
O shapes would dress differently from this style. If you read my O shape recommendations you would see that this style isn’t recommended at all for them.