Does a peplum top hide a tummy?

Find your fullest point first

Stand side-on to a mirror in a close vest. Where does your middle come furthest forward?

• Below the navel: the natural waist above it is still your narrowest point. A peplum seamed at the natural waist flares out over the lower tummy and skims it. This is the shape a peplum serves well.
• At the waist itself: if the waist is the widest part of your middle, as it often is on an apple shape, a shaped bodice that ends there puts the tightest part of the top on the fullest part of you. A standard peplum will not help.
• High, just under the bust: the seam needs to sit above the fullness, which means raising it towards the under-bust. At that point the top has become an empire line.

The details that make a peplum skim

Our article on peplum tops and short kurtis explains how the cut is made and what to wear it with. For covering a tummy, these are the points that count.

• Seam height: a centimetre or two above your natural waist is often kinder than exactly on it, because the flare then starts before the tummy does.
• Flare cut: a circular or panelled peplum lies flat at the seam and opens out below. A gathered one bunches fabric at the seam, which is the last place you want extra.
• Peplum depth: it should end below the fullest part, around the high hip or lower. A short frill that stops mid-tummy cuts across it.
• Fabric: something with a little weight and drape, such as cambric, a cotton blend or crepe. Very stiff fabric juts out, and thin clingy fabric shows what is underneath.
• Bodice ease: the bodice should follow you without gripping. If it strains across the front, the seam pulls up and the flare tips forward.
• Colour and pattern: one colour from shoulder to hem keeps the eye moving. A contrast band at the seam does the reverse.

When an empire or A-line cut does it better

If your fullest point is at or above the waist, stop trying to make a peplum work and either move the seam or remove it. An empire line seams just under the bust, where the torso is narrow on most people, and lets the fabric fall straight past the whole tummy. An A-line kameez has no horizontal seam at all and widens gradually from the bust, which is the simplest way to skim the middle.

Both are also more forgiving through the day. A peplum relies on a fairly exact waist position, and a middle that changes after a meal or over a month shows in a shaped bodice sooner than in a cut that hangs free. Our guide to choosing a silhouette for your shape compares the options.

What to send if you want one made

A peplum is a design to show us, not a box on the quote form. Send a photo of the style, your bust, waist and hip measurements, the distance from the top of your shoulder to your natural waist, and a line saying where you would like the seam to sit. Tell us plainly that you want it to skim the tummy. You can do all of this through Send Your Design when you ask for a quote, and we confirm in the written quote what is possible on your fabric.