Why are all clothes made for hourglass or pear and none for apples?

[WatermelonLolly]

Sad apple here feeing despondent after another failed shopping trip….

I’m a normal weight, average height but just look disgusting in everything in changing rooms and have no idea how to dress to not look hugely overweight or accentuate my stomach area.
Miscellaneous
There seems to be minimal options for those with no waist, but there are loads of us, why is this?

I agree Op! Like Appalonia, I have a big bust too, and what with slim hips and narrow shoulders, clothes shopping is a nightmare!
All my weight is carried in front of me ifyswim.

I’m fairly tall so what I find works is fine, ribbed polo shirts with a v-neck and collar and wide leg trousers. The ribbing gives good shaping without being bulky.

I wear this combination in different degrees of formality : casual, office & going out. But they are all basically the same shape.

In general though, I think this season’s styles are difficult with the over-sized boxy shapes. And the short tops which don’t cover a big tummy. I think asymmetric cutting and more fitted shapes at the actual waist line help give an illusion of a nipped in waist.

I am going to try and experiment with some shoulder pads too,

It’s a nightmare!

It was still bad when I was skinny but even worse now I am fat.

As far as clothing manufacturers are concerned all women have small waists compared to thighs. The straight up and down / apple shape is not a thing.

So either things fit my waste and look ridiculous on the legs or fit the legs and cannot do up on the waist. My eternal problem.

That’s a different issue. That’s about style not fit.

The problem as well is ignoring those of us in the middle. So regular lengths tends to at a push go up to 5ft 5 / 5ft 6.

Tall lengths start from 5ft 10+.

The rest of us do not exist!

Oh and on top of being a fat apple I am tall. And manufacturers seem to think tall women have long legs…but regular length arms!

I feel your pain as a true apple. I am slim but basically go straight up and down and any weight gained forms a direct rectangular central lump. I actually find that weirdly, some cheaper brands aimed at young people look better. I find some of the youtube videos good for advice on tucking blouses strategically to hide waist etc etc. Recently bought some ankle barrel jeans from Cos which I never in a million years would have thought good, and yet they do.

My apple dressing tips so far based on personal experience are, empire line or ruched dress, slightly ruched blouses, v neck type blouses NOT turtle neck or higher neck, blouse tucked in then pulled slightly out, with a very slightly longer jacket over it, tops that are shaped to gently cinch in just below the waist, longer trench coat as opposed to any coat ending at the waist or hips, slightly wider belt, What really looks bad (on me anyway) is skinny jeans, polo shirts or other tight fitting T shirts, anything ribbed, narrow belt, little handbags, Also I find a more pouffy push up bra has the effect of creating more waist.

I’m an hourglass and absolutely everything is massive on the waist but fits my hips, plus being tall, so called dresses with a waist sit under my bust rather than on my actual waist which is about a foot lower down, I don’t think clothes are made for any women with an actual shape, be that hour glass, pear or apple, clothes are made for women who are shaped like a rectangle which there are not many of I’m sure but rectangle clothes are cheap to make and manufacture, no need to make clothes with a waist to hip ratio that would actually fit, darts in shirts etc. etc, it’s all down to making things as cheap to make as possible.

It's not really, they aren't cut the right length to look right on an hour glass. Boxy tops look OK if they stop at your waist and can be worn with trousers and a skirt which show off the waist. What I find when I put them on is they sit on my hips.

I've recently lost weight due to illness so I was thinking silver linings and all that I might get some clothes that actually fit me now. NOPE.
We should go back to having our clothes made for us. I'd love to go in a shop get measured and clothes made for me. I'd have sleeves that actually get to my wrist, trousers that don't flap about in the wind and tops that aren't exposing my full chest.
I'd be happy to pay more than high street prices for quality pieces that will last. I know that economically for a business that doesn't make sense these days but I wish for it to come back.

Please tell me where you found all the hourglass clothes because I've been looking for 30 years at this point!!

Try being a tall apple!! I have an enormous stomach compared to my ridiculously skinny (relative to me) legs.
I bought some black stretch trousers from LTS a while ago thinking I had found the holy grail! What could possibly be wrong with them....same as every other pair of trousers, fit round the waist but dangled limply around my arse and legs. I looked like Nora Batty ffs.
I find Jonie dresses and thick black tights work in winter and they are great in summer as they are with a pair of nice sandals.

Where are the pear-shaped clothes hiding?
By the time I get my thighs into trousers, there's inches sagging off the back of the waist flashing my pants to the world.

Even sports leggings are badly cut for leg muscles and tend to bunch on my knees where there's less tension.

Small bust and muscular back/ shoulders are a bad combo if you fancy moving your arms at some point.

A triangle some of you say?? What about meeee - I am the triangle that's like an upside down toblerone. Honestly if you looked at me from the back you'd think I was a man. Shoulders wider than waist and no flipping hips.

Most trousers are far too wide at the hips and make me look like I'm wearing jodhpurs and about to compete in the gymkhana. Then I've no waist either and because I'm broad across the shoulders the bust part of tops are too big.

I think I'll have to go out naked or something! I find shift dresses work as does anything not sculpted on me. I'm size 14 top and 10 below the belly button area. Nightmare. But look, I'm healthy and well and I'll cope!

I’m a classic fat hourglass.

This is what I can’t wear…
Puff sleeves - not with boobs - turns every outfit into looking as wide as the talking wardrobe in Beauty and the Beast.
Cinched waist - doesn’t ‘emphasise’ the waist as you might imagine. It just highlights the size of the tits and huge stomach.
Anything straight or ‘bodycon’ - just totally unflattering.
Anything high necked or sleeveless - just ugly.
Anything ‘oversized’, boxy or baggy - adds way more bulk.
Jackets, kimonos - same ‘wardrobe’ effect as puff sleeves

What I can wear:
V neck fit and flare dresses.

Yabu.

Agree with apples. Have always needed a size bigger for my tummy than my legs/ bum. Always been a size bigger in trousers than coats/ mist dresses. Now I am less slim it’s even more obvious. Really struggling with jeans these days.

Because they are the most common feminine shapes. Most women go in at the waist, out at the hips and have a bust, regardless of dress size.

Try being an inverted triangle with a waist and long arms. I look like a robot! 😂

Seriously though, you need to shop in stores that cut for apples, such as Next, Wallace and New Look.

Those looking for nipped-in waists need to try H&M, Levis and Karen Millen. Nearly every other shop cuts oversized or straight.

It would be helpful if company logos had a little apple or pear symbol at the end to help us.

Clothes aren’t cut for a body shape at all now, they’re just cheap shapeless mass-produced bits of cloth.

I went to India a few years ago and in the shops you'd find
( I don't know how to describe it as you don't have it here ) material for a tunic that you could then get made up for your body shape. I thought it was such a genius idea! Like a pattern in fabric that would then be cut and sewn to fit you. Does anyone know what I'm getting at?

I feel it’s the complete opposite. I’m an extreme hourglass and things are either fit on the top but too loose on the waist or vice versa. Drives me mental. Nothing tailored looks good - only stretchy bodycon and I’m really too old for it ans it looks positively indecent.
I’ve taken lately to wearing fitted T-shirt last and baggy trackies. But I envy those who can just wear a nice tailored suit off the rack.

I don't think they are, OP!

I have an hourglass figure and buying clothes is a nightmare!

If they fit on the boobs and hips, they're huge on the waist.

I live in wrap dresses because they're the only things that fit properly. I can't wear anything 'fitted'.

My daughter is the same shape as me. I'm a 12 and she's a 6. She has exactly the same problem and lives in joggers and t shirts most of the time.

I am a bit surprised by all of you talking about hourglass bc there is literally NEVER any decent extra fabric around the bust or any kind of waist. Everything is just straight up and down cheaply cut like a square?

I’m an hourglass and I still find clothes a struggle to fit. If I want it to fit on my bust then it’s too big on the arms and jeans and trousers if I want to fit on my thighs have a massive gap at the back🤦‍♀️. At this point I don’t think clothes are designed to fit anyone.

Ha! Cross posted dramatically with @GreyCarpet Who seems to have exactly the same problem !! Zero darts in clothes now.

Same! Different sized waist and hips!