Body shape questions thread 💃🏻

[ConscriptMother]

Is anyone else “between” two body shapes, or having similar questions? I have spent a bit of time measuring body proportions and I really seem to be stuck between rectangle and hourglass.

However, hourglasses are generally described as voluptuous, small-waisted, curvy - and my upper half only really seems to balance out lower half bc of broad, straight shoulders and big rib cage. My poor bosoms are not voluptuous in the slightest these days! My waist technically is small enough to fit the definition of hourglass but it doesn’t seem small. I really can’t tuck in tops or accentuate waist with a belt, which seems to be a key recommendation for this body type. Wrap dresses make me feel like a rugby player.

But, for rectangles they really seem to emphasize the long straightness of the figure, and general hipless-ness - and this is not me! But a lot of the “bulk” of my lower half isn’t represented in the hip measurements, as my inner thighs and upper back thigh (under butt- what is this called?) are areas where I tend to carry weight. So there is def plenty there in the hip region, and I can’t really pull off the Rectangle recommendations either.

To make matters worse* my other stats are similarly borderline. Height 5’7” so tallish but not tall. Weight around 10 stone so not overweight but I am apparently small-boned (measured wrists and ankles) so I would certainly look better with fewer pounds on. Neither long legged nor long waisted but not really balanced looking somehow.

Anyone else in a similar boat? Any recommendations? Don’t even get me started about trying to figure out my “season” or even whether I’m cool or warm. As for face shape (to figure out best glasses/hairstyles) - forget it!!

• I know none of this is a real problem. But I’m trying to improve my look in general and it is frustrating not being able to figure out anything about myself even when I go to this effort!

I think many of us don't fit neatly into any of the conventional 'shapes'. I have wide hips and a small bust so that would make me pear-shaped, but I also have a large waist and broad shoulders so am I actually a rectangle?

Yes for pear shapes, the “narrow sloping shoulders” do seem to be emphasized don’t they!

I guess, someone might say “so what if you don’t fit into a type?” But it’s so hard to judge what looks best on me - I’m sure other feel the same way - especially as the popular silhouette has changed with more higher waists, shorter tops, non skinny jeans. It takes a bit to figure if something is flattering or not, esp when your eye isn’t used to looking at yourself in, say, a crop-top!

(note that no actual crop-tops have been worn here 😆)

Yes I get this. I'm an hourglass with a fat tummy. Always have been - thighs like tree trunks, round limbs, proportionally small waist but always had a very round and prominent flabby lower tummy. I am very short waisted as well. So I have huge tops of thighs and gut all sort of melting into one.

I laugh when I see 'apples have good legs' and 'hourglasses have flat tummys'.

I even have a weird face - I have quite high pronounced cheekbones and a strong nose which doesn't go with the softness of the rest of me at all. Pah!

Do you know what clothes do and don't work for you because it's not that interesting unless you're trying to figure out that or maybe if you have birthing hips or something. They can be useful handlebar but they only say so much and there's lots of other factors and once you get fluctuating weight and the impact of hormones it completely comes undone IMO.

Also, a lot of the advice is really bad, I'm about as precise of a classic hourglass as you can get by the measurements but I'd be so miserable dressing according to that prescription and in a lot of cases it would actually be the opposite of the promised flattering. As annoying as it is, I just don't think there's a shortcut to training your own eye and you have to put the work in and suffer a few style mishaps here and there.

Most people won't fit neatly into it, if it helps you get dressed in a way you like more power to you but it's probably a small group of people that it actually helps.

Cheekbones! Another thing I cannot figure if I “have” or not! For a fairly non-vain person, I have spent a lot of time staring at my face/body in the mirror 😆

Do you find that you are able to wear the longer/a line skirt with a belt and/or tucked in tighter top look? That always seems so flattering to me and hopefully good on your tum?

I don’t think I’m a very good judge of what looks best on me, so yes, I am looking for a shortcut! But I guess like with many things, it makes sense that there really isn’t a shortcut with this.

What is the way to train your eye, though? I’ve been kind of interested in clothes for years, read threads on here (so many people who post on here DO have a good eye for fashion and what suits them, it seems!!) read fashion magazines, read body type blogs, follow Instagram accounts etc. I just have a hard time judging myself?

I am afraid one answer will be to hire a consultant but 1 don’t want to pay the money 2 what if they recommend things I don’t like? It would really be a waste in that case.

I get the concept but don’t know what I am. A SA in John Lewis told me I was an inverted triangle but I was a stone heavier at least.

I think the traditional body shapes 'system' doesn't work for everyone. Although it's very convoluted, I quite like the Kibbe 'image ID' system, which is about wearing clothes which harmonise with your body rather than hiding 'flaws'. Might be worth looking into?

I agree that many of us do not fall neatly into a category. I have a small waist and big bust but narrow hips. Effectively all you really need to aim for, if you want to balance out your body, is to make sure your shoulders are approximately the same width as your hips and your waist is narrower than both those, even if for some that means making the shoulders and hips appear bigger. And also make sure your waist falls at a flattering place, ie not too low or too high to make sure your legs look in proportion. So proportions across and up and down.

Oh yes I forgot about my foray into Kibbe types! That was honestly even more difficult bc there seemed to be SO much you had to judge about your figure/look. I can stare and stare at myself and not be able tell “how my vertical line appears” for example!

I read about this on a subreddit- do you have another source that you find helpful?

This does makes sense but then it is in the execution of the principle that I fail :(

Also, it’s sort of more than that too, isn’t it? Like my hips and shoulders can be balanced with smaller waist, but if thighs proportionally bigger than calves/derrière/hips that doesn’t look ideal, even though lower half in general
is balanced with upper half.

Was it helpful for you, at that time anyway, to know your shape? I mean, did you choose some outfits etc that you wouldn’t have otherwise, that ended up being “flattering”, whatever that means to you?

How's your posture OP? I always find that missing in talk about how clothing looks on the body and it makes quite a difference how clothes look on. Anterior pelvic tilts especially undo a lot of the body shape theories. Personally, I'd spend a good sum of money on some pilates reformer classes or some other posture improving exercise class with close guidance over some style consultant with a generic system to fit you into.

WRT training you eye, it's probably easier if you look at things more abstract as opposed to specifically to clothes as you're more likely to fall into replicating things. Theory on proportions, ratios, etc. I find it kind of difficult to say exactly how as I'm not really sure how exactly I picked it up but I'm fairly sure I didn't come out of the womb with the skills 🤷

Do you find that you are able to wear the longer/a line skirt with a belt and/or tucked in tighter top look? That always seems so flattering to me
If this combo suits you, then you probably suit fit and flare style dresses and maybe slimmer top with bootcut or flared trousers. You might need to have a day shopping and trying different silhouettes. Take a couple of pairs of shoes with you - heels, trainers, boots (whatever you like to wear).

Thank you for this advice. You know, I probably need to work on posture as I look a bit hunched over in photos. Not extremely so, but it’s definitely not a great look!

Oh, no, I Wish I could wear that combination was what I meant! I just think it looks nice plus wearing a looser skirt would be comfy, not have to worry about VPL or the appearance of thighs. Alas I really cannot. When I tuck things in I look like a rectangle and not in a good way.

I think bootcut trousers are good, just not with anything tucked in, and then it kind of looks random and not out together. And then the whole thing of what shoe height for the bootcut trousers, and then it just becomes too much!

Also, how do others wear tight tops or other articles of clothing if they are not really really slim? I know, I know, “love yourself” but I feel v conscious of stomach rolls, etc etc etc.

@ConscriptMother it was more of a passing conversation when I was looking at things than an in-depth analysis. Can’t say it’s changed the fact that I buy what I buy as long as I think it looks or will look good.

You sound like you’re describing me!

i’m 5”7, I’m a size 12 bottom and 10 top; when I was a stone lighter I had a narrow waist but now I’m carrying an extra stone all on my tummy. I am a runner and work out a lot so I am heavier round my hips and glutes. I am extremely flat chested but have a broad rib cage. I am not a slight, dainty build. I feel like I have no shape and I literally don’t know what to wear. The only thing i wear and feel good in is gym wear, or I like a shirt style midi dress with a nipped in waist. I have very skinny ankles so a midi length works for me, but it’s too formal for everyday and it’s too cold.

it’s depressing, I love clothes, I want to look nice but I literally don’t know what to wear. I desperately need new tops and I just don’t know what to wear, everything I put on just emphasises my mum-tum and my non existent bust 😂

We definitely have some similarities! (Also age, going by your name 😛) I think you have a lot to work with though, bc some of our differences I think are in your favor - for example, being quite flat chested (as opposed to me just being smallish but def still needing support) gives you lots of opportunities for tops- you can wear more v necked tops which are flattering on wider shoulders without worrying about them showing too much? What about button down shirts, boobs often get in the way of those. They can be worn in so many different styles, you could have unbuttoned a bit further if not at office as not concerned with cleavage.

And modern bralets are not supportive- I’ve seen more flat-chested women wearing them with shirts that do down a bit in the back in a way that exposes the pretty Lacey back of the bralet.

If you feel good in gym clothes (leggings? Shorts?) then that sounds like you have great legs and would look nice in shorter skirts too, as well as the midi length you prefer. Def some of my thigh-bulk is working out related, but I can’t blame it all on muscle at all. Leggings don’t feel flattering at all on me.

I also have skinny ankles which I guess is good but really just seems to emphasize the parsnip-ness of the entire leg 😂

I am not this critical about myself in real life, btw. If I didn’t care about clothes/fashion none of this would matter, but I DO!!!

@ConscriptMother I found extracts from the original book online via the subreddit and just found the general description that resonated best with me. I think if you are 5'7 there are only a few IDs you could fit within so you can probably narrow it down quite a lot with that. But it's by no means a perfect system either.

I truly think the only way you will really resolve this successfully is by talking to an expert. They are trained to solve exactly the problems you have.

Can you ask in local online groups for recommendations of stylist type people that others have used and liked?

And then - yes it might cost you a small amount - but how does that compare to how much you have and could spend on clothes that don't make you happy, and how does it relate to how much time this takes up in your head?

I know two excellent stylists in the SE if you're anywhere near, but either way I'd highly recommend giving it a go. Well meaning strangers who have never seen you in real life can be super kind and helpful, but unlikely to magic up the perfect advice while running blind.

Thank you. Yes I am that height but none of the options really resonated with me, but I am going to give this another shot:)

Oh dear, I think you are right 😅I guess I was hoping for ideas like checking out Kibbe, which I had forgotten about, but you are right that going to an expert is clearly the solution here. Not in the SE but do appreciate the offer.

Or… as a last ditch effort, if anyone has any other suggestions of websites/insta that you’ve found helpful in suggesting flattering clothes for your body type …. 😅😆

Thanks all, for the input!

My daughter very kindly told me I'm not quite an hourglass, more like two Doritos stacked on top of eachother, point to point. Technically hourglass but more angular with very broad shoulders, wide ribcage, wide hips. I'm tall and I gangle, but I'm not a beanpole like she is. I've given up trying to determine my "shape" and just wear what makes me happy, to hell with whether it's flattering or not.

If you don't fit a body shape stereotype, search for outfits that hide or show off a specific body part rather than outfits for a shape.