Advice needed from those with hour glass figures

[grendel]

Despite being basically tubular in shape myself, I have somehow managed to produce a DD (15) who has the most amazing hour glass figure. As someone with no personal experience of this body shape (and little instinctive feel for style) I am somewhat at a loss on what clothing shapes she should be choosing. This has now become critical as we need to get her a prom dress.

My gut feel is that we should be looking at a very fitted dress with a nipped in waist, as otherwise her large bust makes her look big all over. I'm also thinking that she shouldn't be wearing anything too low cut as a) she's only 15 and it ain't appropriate, and b) there ends up with an awful lot of boobage on show as she's a 28 GG.

Could anyone who has an hour glass figure give us some pointers as to what shape of dress is likely to look good on her? I should mention that is she isn't particularly tall, about 5' 4" so we also need to avoid her looking dumpy.

How can we find something that fits both her bust (about a dress size 12) and her waist (size 8)? Is made to measure the only way this is ever going to work? Does anyone have any recommendations for clothing lines cut for this body shape? (We have had a look in Pepperberry (she's an "8 Super Curvy" in their sizing system) but their styles all seem to be a bit too grown up/frumpy for a 15 year old.)

All suggestions gratefully received!

grendel I'm 39-27-39 (or thereabouts!) so very similar indeed - I'm also not that much older than your daughter so pm me if your daughter wants any tips on non-prom/every day outfits, I've tried on pretty much everything everywhere so have a pretty good ranking of high street shops and styles for all occasions - appreciate what a massive pain in the arse this figure is to shop for!

Shotgun I wouldn't say the 50s look is that grown up - all depends on the styling really, I'd always go for very modern shoes, make up, jewellery, hair etc - don't want it to look too costumey. Agree with you regarding the full on ball gowns though! Problem with 20s style is that it has to fit like a glove to suit an hourglass (in my experience - especially if you're more the exaggerated end!) and they're often nigh on impossible to alter due to the placement of the beading. That said, if she wanted something a little more modern there's plenty out there that would work with a bit of careful styling/tailoring -
this - though may be difficult to get the sizing right
this - though be careful not to style into twee
this - still in the 1950s style, would need to be taken in at the waist though (also in black
depending on her colouring - I'd be far to pale to carry this off!
If this was tailored to an exact fit would be stunning - maybe a little tricky to alter though?
this - if considering full length?

Just a thought, is she likes the 1950s style stuff what about H&R or Hell Bunny? 50s style with a more "alternative" take.

Check out Tiger Milly for a good selection.

Tenuous, I'm the same measurements as you and struggling to get clothes!

Any tips on every day outfits would be very helpful.

Thanks for the suggestion fridgepants - just bought that dress for DD as it's amazing value on sale. Not necessarily for prom, but we'll see how it looks.

Generally she finds it hard/impossible to buy dresses that fit properly - they are usually much too loose around the waist if they fit across the bust, or else they are embarrassingly stretched across the bust if they come even close to fitting on the waist. Yes, very stretchy fabrics do seem to work best.

And thanks for all the other suggestions everyone. I hadn't heard of any of the clothing ranges that have been recommended on here. Very very useful.