Hello gals! Today I thought I’d broach the quandary of what to do about our flabby, fat upper arms. LOL! Well, change that. Let’s talk about what I should do about MY flabby, fat upper arms! I’m definitely working to tone my upper arms with strength training exercises for my triceps, but I also wanted to know how to minimize them when I dress.
Now I’m not really a proponent of hiding behind our clothes. But I am a firm believer in dressing in such a way as to maximize the positives and minimize the, um, less than positives. In this post in last year’s style series, I provided an overview of how to identify and dress your unique body variations. Those variations include things like a large bosom, a small bosom, thick ankles, a thick waist, an ample derriere, etc.
But I didn’t address how to minimize large upper arms in that post. And a lot of us more mature gals find our once toned, or at least slim, arms looking a little fat and flabby as we lose muscle mass. I have a link to an exercise video you might find helpful at the end of the post. But for now, let’s talk about how we can use sleeve choice and other style cues to help us minimize our larger upper arms with fashion.
First…know the enemy.
You can certainly still wear them. I know I will. But let’s understand that the basic t-shirt with a sleeve that hits mid upper arm and features a horizontal hem is the worst sleeve for a woman with large upper arms. The snugness of the fit, the fact that it hits right at the fullest place and the horizontal line add up to big trouble.
Like I said, I’ll undoubtedly still wear these basic tees. But this is definitely the time to add that fitted blazer, fun denim jacket, flowing kimono or cardigan.
#1 – Wear 3/4 length sleeves.
The 3/4 length sleeve is the most universally flattering sleeve length for women because it exposes a bit of the forearm and wrist, which are generally the smaller and more feminine part of any woman’s arm.
You can also utilize this sleeve length by cuffing or rolling up your long sleeves to this more flattering proportion, as in the above photo on the left. But it’s quite easy to find a large selection of 3/4 length sleeves in the stores during spring, too.
#2 – Add some interesting details to the cuff of the sleeve of a 3/4 length or long sleeve.
When you have a little interest on the sleeve further down the arm, the details draw the eyes away from the bicep and tricep area.
#3 – Wear an elbow length sleeve.
These days we’re seeing a lot of elbow length sleeves in fashions, too. These hit right at the bend of the elbow, concealing the entire upper arm. But you do want to make sure that the sleeve fits slightly loose on your arm, not tight.
In the photo above, the shirt on the left features an elbow sleeve with a nice width. Now if this shirt sleeve fits too snugly you’ll lose the pleasing effect, so beware. On the right we see a beautiful spring blouse that features loose ties at the end of the 3/4 length sleeve, drawing attention away from the upper arms.
#4 – Wear a full flutter sleeve.
A flutter sleeve creates visual interest and doesn’t fit snug to the arm, creating a visually smaller upper arm. For maximum effect, choose an elbow length flutter sleeve like the one to the left in the photo above. But if you want to wear a short sleeve, just choose a flutter sleeve that has a diagonal hem, like the one to the right. The diagonal hem is more slimming than a horizontal one.
#5 – Choose sleeveless options wisely.
If you’d like or need to, you can still go sleeveless. But if you’ll go with wider shoulder straps instead of spaghetti straps, you’ll minimize the heft of your uppers arms and your shoulders. Spaghetti straps visually enlarge the area around them.
Depending on the rest of your build (your shoulders, neck, etc.) sleeveless tops can actually be very flattering for a woman with fuller upper arms. Why? Because the focus is drawn to your shoulders, which is conventionally called the most flattering part of a woman’s body.
Cap sleeves, as in the photo above on the right, are often considered the worst sleeves for a woman with thicker upper arms. But if you do choose a cap sleeve, simply make sure it has a diagonal hem.
#6 – Use lace or crochet sleeves to camouflage the upper arms.
Fortunately these two beautiful forms of camouflage are trending right now. Make sure you choose sleeves that do not fit too tightly, but lacy or crocheted sleeves can also hide other imperfections, such as skin issues. Yep. I have those, too.
#7 – Stay away from short cap sleeves if possible.
Very short cap sleeves are everywhere. And they’re lovely. But if you’re trying to minimize fuller upper arms, you’ll do better to steer clear of these. Why? They cut right at the place where the thickness begins and draw attention to that area as well.
If you do want to wear a short cap sleeve, choose a flutter sleeve that has some volume, like the one above and to the left. The fullness of that flutter sleeve would make the arm look a little smaller in proportion.
#8 – Wear a v-neck shirt or top or dress.
I know a lot of us gals also lose confidence in our necks and decolletage as we age. So we may be tempted to shy away from exposing necklines. But the v-neck silhouette is truly the most flattering for most women. It draws attention to the face and exposes the collar bones, another very feminine and alluring feature of most women.
You’ll notice most of the examples I’ve selected feature v-necks.
#9 – Choose short sleeves with a diagonal hemline or create one if possible.
Sometimes a girl just needs to wear a basic t-shirt, right? But the traditional short sleeve that features a horizontal hem is potentially the worst sleeve for gals with fuller upper arms.
Try rolling up the sleeves of your t-shirt just a little to create a diagonal hemline instead. That may sound counter intuitive to expose more of your arm. But that diagonal line really does the trick!
Of course, you can also just select tops like the ones above, which feature fuller short sleeves that are hemmed on the diagonal.
#10 – Work the proportions and angles.
In the shirt below and to the left, the 3/4 length sleeves are perfect for the woman with full upper arms. But that cinched waist also creates more space between the arms and the body, giving the illusion of smaller upper arms. Also the interest in the center of the shirt draws the attention away from the arms.
And in the dress above, those ultra full elbow length sleeves cascade over and conceal larger upper arms. But the cinched, belted waist also draws attention away from the problem area.
BONUS Tip – Use jewelry or a scarf to draw attention away.
You can pull the focus to a more flattering part of the body with jewelry or a scarf. Looking back at all the tops featured above, picture an interesting necklace within the v-necks or on the neckline of the top. Or you could use a scarf in the same way. Again, earrings draw attention up to the face. Bracelets, especially with a 3/4 length sleeve or shorter sleeve, can draw attention down to the hands. Just make sure your bracelets are a little roomy and create the illusion of a smaller wrist.
I hope these fashion tips helped if you are looking for alternatives that will minimize your fuller upper arms. It certainly helped me to research this topic. I’ll still revert back to that horizontal sleeve every now and again, but at least I can be aware.
Meanwhile, I’m also upping my exercise routine for my upper arms. I found this video with 7 great exercises that target the triceps, the area on the back or underneath of our upper arms. I’m incorporating these into my workout at least 4 times per week, and we’ll see if I see any difference in a few weeks!
Shop these looks:
I’m including a shopping widget with all of the tops above. These are affiliate links, so I do potentially earn a commission if you purchase something through them. Thank you for shopping my links and supporting what I do here at Dressed for My Day. I really appreciate it!
06/04/2020: I’ve updated this shopping widget with current offerings. PLUS, I’ve noted the benefit of each in the caption.
By the way, it would do me a world a good if you would pin this post to one of your Pinterest boards!!! Thanks so much!
Blessed for My Day
When you get shaken, what comes out? Know how I mean? When life bumps up against you, what spills out of your mouth, what shines in your eyes and what comes from your hands and feet? I’ll have to admit, sometimes ugly comes out of me in such times.
But I’d prefer the fruit of the Spirit to spill out. The only way I know to ensure that God’s character comes forth when life bumps up against me is to be walking in the Spirit at all times. That begins before my feet hit the floor in the morning. I must choose to listen and lean in to the Spirit of God rather than giving in to the flesh of my own spirit throughout my day. Then when the world bumps up against me, His character will be more likely to spill forth.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. ~ Galatians 5:22-23
This was a great post! I would be happy to add some of these to my pinterest board. but I did not see a link or anything on how to do that. Please let me know when you get a chance. thanks.
Hi Cathy. Thanks so much. There should be a little Pinterest icon at the bottom of the post, just a little ways beneath the Blessed for My Day section. Click on that and you should be directed through the process. Let me know if you need more help. ?
Great post, Kay! I’m going to check out your video.Thanks. Happy Spring ????
Hi Joan. Well honestly I might should have mentioned that the woman in the video is annoyingly young and fit! Ha! But she does provide really good exercises and how to.
This post is excellent! I did save it to my Pinterest board and am going to spend some time today going though my spring wardrobe, using your post as a guide. I look forward to your blog everyday.
Thanks so much for your affirming words, Marcia. It’s good to know I’m on the right track! ?
Excellent post Kay! The information you provided will be extremely helpful. I’m glad that your daughter has improved.
Thanks so much Ginger. ?
Great information. I do want to disagree with the first photo – if you are going to wear (and not take off) a cardigan or jacket over that top then the problem is eliminated. ?♀️
But I love all the tips and have been looking for some arm exercises so will definitely check out the exercise video. ? Would love to hear back from you as to any results you’re seeing.
Exactly, Gina. I have at least a dozen of those regular t-shirts in my wardrobe and I wear them plenty. But I think when we’re choosing, say, a mother of the bride dress and want to look our very best it’s good to know what to look for and what to steer clear of. Thanks so much for sharing. And yes, I’ll keep you gals informed on my progress! ?
Where can I find the royal blue cinch waist top? It’s gorgeoius.
I really enjoyed & needed today’s post.
Thank you!
Hi Susy. It’s the black one in the shopping widget. It actually comes in several colors and prints. Very pretty. https://shopstyle.it/l/0ZEW
Such a timely post on the first day of Spring, with short-sleeved weather beckoning us! I did pin this to my “Fashion Tips” Pintrest board and am a Follower as well. I’m glad your daughter is better, which in turn makes you feel better! Have a blessed day!
I was just in my closet last evening trying on tops and wandering what happened to my arms during the winter months. Your timing for this post was perfect. Thank you!
Awesome post. My mom was a small lady with thin arms, but her upper arms flapped when she got older. I vowed never to have those arms. I’ve worked out with a personal trainer for years BUT I started to see my upper arms flap like hers, and it bothered me. I worked out harder, but they still flapped. Last year I went to three different surgeons to see about fixing them. They would cut a line from the elbow to the armpit to tighten. There would be a white line under the arm. One doctor said something that made me think. He said, “Some women still wear longer sleeves even after the tightening because they are conscious of their scar.” I started watching people on TV and personal friends. It is almost impossible to talk without lifting your arms. I knew I would be a woman always conscious about lifting my arms with a scar. Then I went into my closet and evaluated my clothes. The clothes I wear in public have some type of sleeves. All my tank tops are for wearing around the house or working out. I have a see-through net top that I throw over my tank top when working out with the personal trainer or if I want to make a quick errand run. I knew if I spent $12,000 on my arms, I still wouldn’t wear spaghetti straps when I go out in public. As a pear-shaped person, my smaller upper body seems more noticeable when I wear tanks anyway. I decided to accept the genetics I inherited and move on. I love your post and clothes. If you run across more cover-ups to throw on over tanks that would be great. Most of the cover-ups I find look like they are for swimsuits. You always do a lot of research for your posts. Thank you so much!
Barbara, thank you so much for sharing your story. Truly. Sharing that will do us all a world of good. I do think for many of us it’s just unavoidable. I too have worked out all my life and I still have a sag and a jiggle! Ha! ?But I’m quite fine with just making the same adjustments you’ve made. Do I get a little envious when I see other women with either more toned arms or just upper arms that aren’t as full? You betcha. But I figure we all have our “things”. Thanks again for sharing your experience. ??
I just read a article a few days ago that said it is the loss of testosterone that causes upper arm flap. Men have enough of the hormone, even when they have “low T” to keep their arm skin tighter. Like you, I have decided to accept the wave and I wear 3/4 sleeves year round. Most places are air conditioned so I would need a top layer over a tank anyway.
Huh. That’s interesting, Kate. And it makes sense. Because try as I do – and I definitely work really hard at it – I cannot get my arms to trim up. And I’ve got a lot of muscle in my arms! But they’re still thick and a little flabby. So if nothing else, you just made me feel better! Ha!
Hi Kay, Just as I was concerned about, I subscribed to be notified to receive comments and I’m getting everyone’s comment dropped into my email Inbox. Yikes..I can’t have that much email! Would you please change the setting on this for me. I don’t want to unsubscribe to your daily posts, just the comments coming from other people. BTW, you have personally commented back to me in the past but I’m never notified. The only way I’ve been able to tell you commented to me is click back into the today’s Post and scroll through the comment section until I find my name and your response. I hope this makes sense. I don’t know if others are having this issue or just me but wanted you to be aware that it’s very confusing to your readers. Thanks Kay!
Yeah, I’m working on this. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll work on it.
Thank you Kay! Shall I unsubscribe from you altogether then re-subscribe to get the setting removed? I’ve already had 2-3 comments come to my email Inbox this afternoon.
The struggle is real. Thank you for being so honest and open about this and sharing your tips. I work those arms as much as I can but still wave twice! LOL Will try some of the exercises from the video. Can’t wait to hear how they work for you. 🙂
Hey Kay,
I love your pictures. Who is your photographer?
Hi Abby! That’s the work of your amazing dad! Glad you’re feeling better! 🙂
Test.
Love this! In the future, will you share some ways to dress other common problem areas? I.e. short torso, thick middle, wide hips, short legs, ample chest, not-so-ample chest, etc. I feel like I am a little “top heavy” in the sense that my shoulders/upper arms are a little too big compared to everything below and I’m learning how to best dress for that…it’s a regular little struggle! 🙂 Thanks for all your awesome posts!
Hi! Where is the black button down top with diagonal hemmed sleeves (next to the blush, tie front shirt) from? I’ve been looking for something just like that!
Hi Teresa, I’m pretty sure the shirt was at Nordstrom. I can’t find it now, so it may have already sold out. The post is pretty old, so it’s probably gone. But you could scour their website if you’re really interested. I did look, but couldn’t find it. Sorry about that! https://shopstyle.it/l/4Z3S