Ask the Image Expert Sherry Maysonave is the founder and president of Empowerment Enterprises, one of America's leading communication-image firms. Sherry conducts corporate seminars and coaches executives, professionals, and politicians in achieving excellence in communication and image. She is also the author of Casual Power: How to Power Up your Nonverbal Communication and Dress Down for Success Summer Clothing: Are Sleeveless Shirts Ok? Question: Hi Sherry! I have an hourglass shaped body, but after losing weight I feel that my wide shoulders are too much in focus. What kind of clothes should I wear to make them look smaller? Regards, Helen Helen Answer: You may want to rethink this request; wide shoulders are a plus for any figure type. The ideal figure is the V-shape, which is wider at the top than the bottom. With the hourglass body type, you need broad shoulders to balance your hips. If you narrow your shoulders too much, you could appear somewhat pear shaped, instead of the alluring hourglass. Since you have recently lost weight, perhaps you need some time to adjust to the “lighter” you. If you have a small face or head, it’s also possible that you may need a fuller hairstyle to balance your overall silhouette. With that said, here’s some tips to narrow the appearance of your shoulders: 1. Avoid heavy or stiff fabrics at the shoulders 2. Avoid tops that have shoulder seams that drop onto the upper arm area (off-the-shoulder seams or styles). This seamed look is often found in ultra casual garments, such as sweatshirts, etc. 3. Avoid tight turtlenecks and high necked garments that emphasize the shoulder line 4. Avoid boat-neck designs and tops or dresses with strong horizontal lines across the shoulders or neck area, including set-in yolks on blouses or dresses. 5. Avoid gathers at the shoulder line 6. Wear “Ragland” sleeves (with Ragland sleeves there are no shoulder seams; the sleeve and neck are usually cut as one piece of fabric; sometimes there is a diagonal or vertical seam line that hits several inches inward from your actual shoulder bone. 7. Wear tops with inset sleeves, where the seam line of the sleeve comes just to the mere edge of your shoulder bone or right on it. 8. Fashion pins, worn on one side of the garment or lapel, draw eyes away from the shoulder line. 9. Use vertical lines with center interest, such as buttons, chains, scarves, etc. 10. Choose narrow lapels, versus the wide or extra-wide lapels, on jackets and blouses. Best of luck to you, Sherry Maysonave Also see: Advice for dressing when overweight How much makeup should I wear at work? Ask your image questions Personal Power: A case study from 'Casual Power'