The Truth About Stripes: Why You Should Embrace Them

Stripes are everywhere this season, from high-end fashion shows to everyday clothing stores. Designers are loving them, and so should you. But why do people think horizontal stripes make you look wider? It's time to debunk this myth. The idea that horizontal stripes make you look wider is actually false. In fact, horizontal stripes can make you look narrower. This is due to a couple of optical illusions. The Helmholtz illusion shows that a square with horizontal lines looks taller and narrower than a square with vertical lines. This is because our brains perceive a space filled with horizontal lines as taller, not wider. Another illusion, the Oppel-Kundt illusion, shows that a filled-in space looks bigger than an empty one. So, when a square is filled with horizontal lines, it looks taller and narrower. This is why horizontal stripes can make you look narrower, not wider. But what about real people? Do these illusions apply to striped clothing? Some scientists have been studying this. In the early 2000s, researchers suggested that the Helmholtz illusion might only apply to 2D figures. They thought that vertical lines on a 3D object could create the appearance of depth, which might have a narrowing effect. In 2011, a pair of British psychologists tested this. They found that mannequins wearing vertical stripes appeared wider than those wearing horizontal stripes. For the horizontal-striped mannequin to look the same as the vertical-striped one, it would need to be 10. 7 percent wider. However, there are some caveats. The effect of these illusions might vary depending on a person's size. One study found that the Helmholtz illusion was stronger for thin people and might not apply at all to larger people. Interestingly, our misconceptions about stripes might actually affect how we perceive them. A 2015 study found that most people think horizontal stripes make you look wider, likely because they've been taught this. This shows that our assumptions can literally change the way we see the world. So, if you've been avoiding horizontal stripes, there's no need. Wear what makes you feel good. But now you know the truth: horizontal stripes can make you look narrower, not wider. So go ahead, embrace those stripes!