You’ve worked hard on those biceps, triceps, and pecs to become a barrel-chested, six-pack-boasting muscle man. All that upper-body work maybe means you skipped a lot of leg days and now, you’re basically an inverted triangle.
What you’re wearing to the gym and out on the street could be emphasising your disproportionate body. Popular fitness gear, like training shorts, and fashion trends, including slim-cut suits and skinny jeans, aren’t doing you any favours. But, before you start overdoing it on the leg press machine, it’s possible to make a few closet swaps so you look sharp, not strange.
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“You have to wear what makes you feel good, not necessarily what’s in fashion,” says Victoria Trilling, head wardrobe stylist for Fox Sports, who works with athletes like Michael Strahan, Tony Gonzalez, and Kobe Bryant. “You might want to wear the biggest trends, like a super tight, cropped suit, but for a bigger guy, it doesn’t work. You have to do what works for your body.”
According to Trilling, try these three things to get your wardrobe in line—no matter what your shoulder to waist ratio.
Learn to love knits
“Things that really tend to work when you’re bigger on the upper body and not necessarily so much on the bottom is knits because they have a great amount of stretch and they hug the body,” says Trilling. “It really stretches to you.” Which means, think cotton tees and soft joggers.
Alterations are key
If you’ve got the dough to buy custom, go for it, but if you’re shopping off the rack you should make the tailor your friend. For many of her linebacker-size clients, Trilling buys clothes up a size and has them hemmed in at the waist. You’ve worked hard for those muscles, don’t settle for boxy or baggy; get your clothes altered for a perfect look.
Cheat it
“It’s all about proportion and balance,” she says. “There are skinnier cuts of jeans that aren’t jeggings. Maybe you wear a jean that’s a little bit fuller so your thighs look a little bit fuller than they are to balance out your big shoulders and arms.”
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health