heres my problem, I am in my 40's and have struggled for years with the right tops for my body type. I'm tall, 5'11 170lbs and muscular(due to my job) my shoulders and back are wide(38-40)my shoulders are very defined and my arms are bigger(bicepts)Most tops fit tight on my arms or look stretched. So what tops should I wear that minimize the width of my shoulders and back without looking pregnant? I struggle with age appropriate and flattering tops. I also need help with my muffin top and how to minimize it? Offten out of frustation I wear baggy tops to cover everything from the neck down to the muffin top....Please help.

Hm...I've never seen this problem on the boards before. Hopefully someone can help.

Do you know what body type you are? Not being familiar with the sleeve issue, the only things I can think of are
1) to get custom tailored shirts
2) get shirts slightly large for you tailored to fit, or
3) get shirts that can be "let out" at the arms.

I'm not sure what kind of top you're looking for - casual? Dressy? Cotton? Silk? They do make "flutter sleeves" on tops that fit loose in drapey folds over the arms. Sometimes they're split down the sleeve to the shoulder (usually for casual hot weather tops). However, those might accentuate your broad shoulders rather than hide them. Taking the whole outfit into consideration though, you could probably *balance* your proportions by wearing a tulip skirt or something else that will counterbalance the width of the shoulders.

As far as the muffin top is concerned - have you tried playing around with different waist band sizes?

Anyone else have suggestions?

I was hoping you would get more help than you have. I also have wide shoulders and know a few things to avoid but am not good at explaining.

Try this and also www.myshape.com and read whatever they say about body types with wide shoulders.

Maybe you'll get more help soon.

This reminds me of the Olympic swimmer episode. They did a makeover for Tara Kirk. The episode originally aired on Friday, July 28, 2008. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the full episode anywhere on the 'Net. Seems they do a good job of taking down unauthorized sites. Anyway, they do a lot of repeats, so you might catch it again.

They talk a bit about fitting clothes for muscular arms (flutter sleeves, longer "short sleeves, etc.). I think that if you take this advice and combine it with the advice Stacey and Clinton give to curvy gals (tailored, structured items), you'd come out with a nice set of outfits.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of more exact advice right now. Let me put this on the backburner and see if I can't have something in a few days.