http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/330221p-281994c.html
Muffin-top mayhem!
Can you smell what's cooking in New York? It's a
fresh batch of muffin tops summer's new faux pas
By MARK ELLWOOD
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Ladies, it's time to admit the pants don't fit...
...Trash 'em and keep your spare tire under wraps.
Kelly Clarkson looks great, usually. But what was up with this getup at a recent concert?
Forget wearing white after Labor Day - there's a new fashion violation in town.
It's called a muffin top: that unsightly roll of flesh that spills over the waist of a pair of too-tight pants, like a muffin bursting out of the pan. And this fashion affliction hits celebrities as much as civilians, according to In Touch magazine's Jarrett Weiselman. "Queen of the muffin top is Courtney Love," he says. "And before she got pregnant, Britney Spears was also guilty."
Christina Aguilera is a reformed muffin topper, often spotted onstage during her wild-child period in a pair of badly fitting pants accessorized with an ample tummy roll. Kelly Clarkson is also a repeat offender. "Especially when Kelly first won 'American Idol,' the muffin top was the one thing that was common in everything she wore - nothing fit right." And her tummy can still be seen rising over the pants she's poured herself into on tour this month.
And it isn't just femme fatales that shop at the belly bakery; screen hunks can sometimes fall victim, too. Their condition? Stud-muffin top.
Matt LeBlanc has been known to top-out, and at the "Wedding Crashers" premiere, Vince Vaughn was hanging out a bit over his pants.
Midriff-bearing men needn't worry as much as their girlfriends, though: the problem's less acute in guys, says Shop Etc's fashion editor Kate Dimmock. "It definitely can happen, but isn't as exaggerated: Men are less inclined to force something. While women will say, 'I'm going to wear this no matter what,' men will say, 'This doesn't fit me, so I won't wear it."
Dimmock's point is crucial. The muffin-top problem isn't about fat but about bad fit: Even skinny supermodels can risk a tummy crust if they jam themselves into the wrong pair of jeans.
"If you don't dress right for your body, it doesn't matter what you're wearing," Weiselman notes. "Unless you have abs of steel, wearing anything that's too tight will immediately result in a muffin top."
And low-rise jeans have made things only worse: Where traditional jeans had a thinning silhouette, hitting at the waist, low-riders sit at the hips - or what Life & Style's Tamara Glenny calls "the bulging point."
Glenny also cautions that ill-fitting tops are as deadly as too-tight pants. "Tight stretchy tops are a problem, even though we always think of stretch as a good thing," she explains. "There's only so much stretch can do: if there's a lot of you, and not enough stretch, it actually enhances the muffin top."
Of course, that muffin top tends to occur just after you've gained weight (that extra hamburger or two on the barbecue all summer can pile on the pounds). If you are a little heavier than usual, you have a choice. Either admit it to yourself, buy a larger size and look as good as ever, or deny it entirely, squeeze into the same old jeans and show the whole world your bakery special.
"People think that wearing something tighter is going to be more flattering, when it's just the opposite," says Dimmock.
But those who follow every fashion rule and still suffer from a little tummy crust needn't worry - it does have one tasty benefit, according to Dimmock. "Men seem to like it," she says. "My husband likes to grab my muffin top and give it a little squeeze."
* * *
Summer's least tasty fashion violation is busting out all over town. Here's how to avoid it.
Tip 1: Minimize, sister!
Pick up the same magic underwear that Gwyneth Paltrow used to stay skinny-looking in the weeks after Apple's birth. "When Gwyneth still had some baby flab, she wore these amazing minimizer things called Spanx body shapers - like a tube, they can roll over any spot on your torso," Life & Style's Tamara Glenny says. Get 'em at www.spanx.com.
Tip 2: Get waist-ed
If you're still devoted to those hipsters, "look for a wider waistband on the trouser, or wear a wide belt with them - it holds you in a little bit more," says Kate Dimmock of Shop Etc.
Tip 3: Junk the hipster jeans
"There's a return to a higher rise right now - a lot of the super, uber-cool people aren't wearing tight, low-rise jeans anymore," says Glenny. For men, Dimmock suggests jeans by James Cured by Seun, which have a special, muffin top-fighting feature: an extra inch of room in the crotch for a comfier, less-constricting fit.
Tip 4: Cover it up
Wear floaty summer dresses, since they always offer a muffin-top-free silhouette. "Longer, Empire-waisted tops are also very trendy now, and they help everyone," says Glenny. "Made from soft, silky material, they hang gracefully instead of gathering tightly at the waist." You can still wear a midriff-baring baby doll; just remember to slip it on over a longer waisted tee, which then holds in any flab.
Muffin-top mayhem!
Can you smell what's cooking in New York? It's a
fresh batch of muffin tops summer's new faux pas
By MARK ELLWOOD
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Ladies, it's time to admit the pants don't fit...
...Trash 'em and keep your spare tire under wraps.
Kelly Clarkson looks great, usually. But what was up with this getup at a recent concert?
Forget wearing white after Labor Day - there's a new fashion violation in town.
It's called a muffin top: that unsightly roll of flesh that spills over the waist of a pair of too-tight pants, like a muffin bursting out of the pan. And this fashion affliction hits celebrities as much as civilians, according to In Touch magazine's Jarrett Weiselman. "Queen of the muffin top is Courtney Love," he says. "And before she got pregnant, Britney Spears was also guilty."
Christina Aguilera is a reformed muffin topper, often spotted onstage during her wild-child period in a pair of badly fitting pants accessorized with an ample tummy roll. Kelly Clarkson is also a repeat offender. "Especially when Kelly first won 'American Idol,' the muffin top was the one thing that was common in everything she wore - nothing fit right." And her tummy can still be seen rising over the pants she's poured herself into on tour this month.
And it isn't just femme fatales that shop at the belly bakery; screen hunks can sometimes fall victim, too. Their condition? Stud-muffin top.
Matt LeBlanc has been known to top-out, and at the "Wedding Crashers" premiere, Vince Vaughn was hanging out a bit over his pants.
Midriff-bearing men needn't worry as much as their girlfriends, though: the problem's less acute in guys, says Shop Etc's fashion editor Kate Dimmock. "It definitely can happen, but isn't as exaggerated: Men are less inclined to force something. While women will say, 'I'm going to wear this no matter what,' men will say, 'This doesn't fit me, so I won't wear it."
Dimmock's point is crucial. The muffin-top problem isn't about fat but about bad fit: Even skinny supermodels can risk a tummy crust if they jam themselves into the wrong pair of jeans.
"If you don't dress right for your body, it doesn't matter what you're wearing," Weiselman notes. "Unless you have abs of steel, wearing anything that's too tight will immediately result in a muffin top."
And low-rise jeans have made things only worse: Where traditional jeans had a thinning silhouette, hitting at the waist, low-riders sit at the hips - or what Life & Style's Tamara Glenny calls "the bulging point."
Glenny also cautions that ill-fitting tops are as deadly as too-tight pants. "Tight stretchy tops are a problem, even though we always think of stretch as a good thing," she explains. "There's only so much stretch can do: if there's a lot of you, and not enough stretch, it actually enhances the muffin top."
Of course, that muffin top tends to occur just after you've gained weight (that extra hamburger or two on the barbecue all summer can pile on the pounds). If you are a little heavier than usual, you have a choice. Either admit it to yourself, buy a larger size and look as good as ever, or deny it entirely, squeeze into the same old jeans and show the whole world your bakery special.
"People think that wearing something tighter is going to be more flattering, when it's just the opposite," says Dimmock.
But those who follow every fashion rule and still suffer from a little tummy crust needn't worry - it does have one tasty benefit, according to Dimmock. "Men seem to like it," she says. "My husband likes to grab my muffin top and give it a little squeeze."
* * *
Summer's least tasty fashion violation is busting out all over town. Here's how to avoid it.
Tip 1: Minimize, sister!
Pick up the same magic underwear that Gwyneth Paltrow used to stay skinny-looking in the weeks after Apple's birth. "When Gwyneth still had some baby flab, she wore these amazing minimizer things called Spanx body shapers - like a tube, they can roll over any spot on your torso," Life & Style's Tamara Glenny says. Get 'em at www.spanx.com.
Tip 2: Get waist-ed
If you're still devoted to those hipsters, "look for a wider waistband on the trouser, or wear a wide belt with them - it holds you in a little bit more," says Kate Dimmock of Shop Etc.
Tip 3: Junk the hipster jeans
"There's a return to a higher rise right now - a lot of the super, uber-cool people aren't wearing tight, low-rise jeans anymore," says Glenny. For men, Dimmock suggests jeans by James Cured by Seun, which have a special, muffin top-fighting feature: an extra inch of room in the crotch for a comfier, less-constricting fit.
Tip 4: Cover it up
Wear floaty summer dresses, since they always offer a muffin-top-free silhouette. "Longer, Empire-waisted tops are also very trendy now, and they help everyone," says Glenny. "Made from soft, silky material, they hang gracefully instead of gathering tightly at the waist." You can still wear a midriff-baring baby doll; just remember to slip it on over a longer waisted tee, which then holds in any flab.
haha
neaky:
