Body-con tops are very fitted and a little tighter than tailored fits. They’re usually made of a knitted jersey or yarn across natural and man-made fibers. Although knitted tops and knitwear are stretchy by nature, many have a Spandex or elastane content for extra soft and comfy stretch.
Body-con tops are very tight. They cling onto the body and showcase the natural silhouette of your figure creating maximal structure. This creates the opposite effect of a fluid or oversized fit that hides your natural silhouette thereby creating an unstructured effect.
You don’t to have an extremely smooth upper body that’s void of extra bits to wear body-con tops. Longer body-con tops can be pulled up a little and ruched or scrunched across the midsection to conceal lumps and bumps. Semi-tucking a body-con top creates a similar ruched effect, and is quite concealing (especially with the girdling effect of a high rise). Body-con knitwear with stitch interest like ribbed surface interests are more forgiving over body bumps too. Generally, the better the drape and thicker the fabric, the more effectively a body-con top will camouflage the extra bits.
Body-con tops are back as a nod to the ‘90s trend. They work extremely well tucked into on-trend roomier high-rise bottoms, higher rise bootcuts and flares, culottes, paper-bag waists, and flared midi skirts. They are good to layer under a blazer or jacket.
More of my clients than I expected are back in body con tops this year, especially those who like to be bang on trend because they work well with the new look roomier bottoms. We’ve had to give foundation garments more attention though, because you really need to wear the right bra with these types of tops, and some clients are in shapewear. You can’t wear a bra with a narrow band that cuts into the flesh of your back. You need a more supportive bra with a wide band that smooths out back flesh.
Tailored and fluid fits are my favourite and that’s what fills my wardrobe. But I bought seven body-con tops this year, all of which are fine or very fine gauge pullovers. I needed the change, and wear all the tops except the citron patterned top semi-tucked or tucked into roomier high-rise bottoms, bootcuts, flares, wide crops, flared midi skirts, and a paper-bag waist. I don’t wear them with body-con bottoms or a tight pencil skirt because that would be too much tight-all-over for this leg of my style journey. I like body-con tops best remixed with bottoms that move in motion. Here are my body-con tops.
Over to you. Are you wearing body-con tops?