Necklines

Boat Neck – A wide cut that exposes the collarbone, can be circular or straight.

Collared – A top with a collar, sometimes decorative and doesn’t have buttons to close it.

Cowl Neck – A neckline of stacked fabric similar to a turtleneck, gives it a more scrunched look compared to a turtleneck.

Crew Neck – Collarless round neckline that doesn’t expose very much skin as it sits high up close to your neck.

Half zip and Quarter Zip– A zipper that goes from your mid-chest usually to your neck. About half the length of what a regular zipper would be on a top. Quarter zip is half the length of that, upper chest to neck.

Halter – A neckline that uses fabric tied or hanging by the back of your neck. Can be either ‘closed’ to not show skin or ‘open’ showing your skin.

Hooded – Has a hood. Because of this it will almost always be attached to something like a crew neck.

Keyhole – Similar to halter neck but with a piece of fabric closing it together, creating a circle (the keyhole) on the upper chest. Or otherwise just a ‘cut-out’ on the chest.

Mock Neck – Similar to a turtleneck but usually a bit shorter as there is no fabric to fold over

Off the Shoulder – The neckline exposes your entire shoulderline, often without straps but usually has sleeves. Can refer to tops where only one side is off the shoulder.

One Shoulder – A neckline usually held up by fitting onto one shoulder, usually for asymmetrical garments.

Open Front – Any neckline that is left open all the way to the bottom of the garment or closed with buttons. If a top (rather than a jacket), wear something beneath to not flash people.

Plunging – A very low neckline intended to show off your chest as much as possible. Not specific to shape but specific to how low the neckline is, so it can scoop or v-neck for example.

Scoop Neck – A lower version of a crew neck with a circular cut to it. Can vary in depth of how much skin it shows but is always lower cut in the front than the back.

Shawl – Almost collar-like it has folds going down your chest, a few inches past the collarbone. They can vary in style but are typically thin at the base, rounded edges and get wider towards your neck.

Spaghetti straps – Very thin straps that hold the garment up and can usually be adjusted for height (but not always). Creates a very open view of the chest

Square – A square neckline, usually accompanied by wide straps

Strapless – No straps to hold up the top so it exposes your upper chest, varies in the height where it sits on your chest.

Sweetheart – A heart shaped neckline that starts with your boobs, sometimes shows cleavage and other times does not.

Turtleneck – Fabric that covers high up on your neck and folds down on itself one time to keep its structure. Most common on sweaters.

V-Neck – A neckline in a V shape, varies in depth and width.

Now that you’ve seen the necklines, let’s look at the tops!

Tops