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 thought Trinny and Susannah did their best stuff back when they had a column in the Telegraph. Don't know if any of it's still around but, if it is, I assume it's behind a paywall.
I still see their books in charity shops and I'd say 'What not to wear' (the first one I think) has lasted the best - very negative title but positive in tone plus more about individual features than body shape, although I remember them doing this annoying thing of pulling sad faces when modelling outfits you weren't meant to like, some of which looked fine.

It's also interesting that it's not just the clothes in WNTW that fell out of fashion (indeed certain things have come back around) but some of the ideas too, e.g. they take it for granted that the worst thing you can do is wear something that makes your arse look bigger and there's very little about the waist. It's why I'm sceptical about the 'I don't follow fashion I just wear what suits me' school of dressing - I believe what we consider flattering is subject to fashion too.

And.... I'm not doing a very good job of selling T&S am I! But at that time I'd never seen anyone talk about this stuff before and it was a revelation to me. It's kept me fond of them even though by the time 'The Body Shape Bible' came out, they'd well and truly jumped the shark.

I gather Trinny's still on YouTube and
Instagram but I've not checked her out.

@Floisme I actually dug my Trinny and Susannah books out the other week to refresh myself on the principles. It’s tricky though because the styles are dated now.
I’d love them to bring a new one out.

I bravely stood in front of the mirror in my undies this morning and clocked that I am still an hourglass, just a size 18 rather than my beloved 14.

Some of the difficulty for me is that fashions seemed to change over lockdown when I wasn’t actually paying attention.

@Floisme I recommend watching Trinny on YT as it’s nice to see someone who is enthusiastic about high street pieces as well as designer pieces. The fact that she has had a lot of pieces for a number of years is encouraging too. Her series ( also on YT) where she goes shopping with members of the public is worth a watch.

I also recommend on You Tube a You Tuber called Double Vanilla who asks people what they are wearing in different places like New York and Paris. It’s great to see how people wear and style things both high, low and a mix of the two. I think it’s good for inspiration and actually seeing people wear what they want and not necessarily following trends etc.

Haha, no, you are selling T&S just fine! I remember reading some of their stuff a long time ago but couldn't find anything really older online, I guess you're right, that it would be behind paywall if even still available!

I know, what does "suits me" even me if not examined through the lens of fashion?? What I'd wear to look nice in 1923 is certainly a lot different than now..

I'll keep an eye out for their old book, and @Niftythrifter I'll look at those youtubers too!

bodyshapestyle.com/2011/03/11/what-trinny-and-susannah-body-shape-am-i/ Was it like this one I found online?

Trinny and Susannah's advice hasn't entirely aged well, some of their suggested outfits are dreadful even when considering the fashion of the day.

The TV shows were good, lots of focus on a decent bra, clothes that fit, and enjoying yourself with a few tweaks to accentuate the features you like. The books aren't as good I have What not to wear and what not to wear 2 somewhere (freebies).

I will try to find them and post a couple of examples

I thought the first couple TV of series were good but went downhill after that. I can't imagine them making a comeback - these days they'd say something rude and get done for hate speech . But it would be fun watching them trying to row back on all those things - high waists, pleats, anything 80s - that they were so dismissive about. That said, if they could still winkle those gems out of the high street like they used to then that would be worth watching, so if that's what Trinny does on YouTube then I should watch.

Yeah Conscript that link looks like the kind of stuff they were coming out with towards the end: 12 body types - I'll never get those hours back that I spent trying to decide which one I fitted.

Yes post examples! I was reading a very old Color Me Beautiful book from decades ago. It had outfit suggestions too. I should have kept it for the hilarity alone but alas I was decluttering hard.

I wonder if there are so many Instagram/TikTok/Facebook pages dedicated to similar things now that there just isn’t the market for them? They were sort of novel back in the day but now there are platforms for everyone

@Floisme you are spot on with this: “believe what we consider flattering is subject to fashion too.”

to me, when middle aged women like myself say something is flattering, they often mean it makes them look as small/slim/petite as possible, whereas with current fashion a big curvy bum is seen as a plus (though we are in the cusp of going back to super skinny as an ideal, it seems)

by letting go of the idea that something has to be flattering, you can start having a whole lot more fun with fashion and clothes.

I am not a big fan of these kind of “rules” about dressing for your body shape, or wearing certain colours. The only solid fashion advice I follow is to only buy something if it gives you joy. I have to feel excited about wearing it the first time

bought a pair of jeans yesterday that took me back to the 90s, same cut and size I used to wear 30 yrs ago. When I was 20, I worried about my wide hips and big bum. Now I thought: my bum looks nice in this. Extremely unlikely that, objectively, my bum is in better shape at 50 than at 20 😂 so I guess my attitude has changed, and also that I am not immune to the Kardashian epic grip on modern day beauty standards…

(I am also not heeding the advice to not wear a trend the second time it comes around in your lifetime)

there is a kind of freedom in the way younger people dress, they worry less about body size and what is flattering, which I like

No, I can't see a place for them now, but it's so easy to forget that at the time there was no one else doing this kind of stuff (unless maybe you went to model school or something). They did a show with a woman going through the menopause that made me cry - no-one talked about that on TV then except to make hot flush jokes. So I always defend them but wouldn't like to see them try and make a come back.

Sorry cross post with you Howdo!

I'm surprised some young influencer hasn't made a career with reacting to old Trinny and Susannah episodes yet, it would probably horrify younger generations and make for excellent clickbait.

I think what was good about the show is that they had a few contestants who absolutely did not play along. I remember there was a woman from Guadeloupe (I think), really thick French accent, massive personality and chest to match, wore very colourful and skintight clothing and her teenage children were very embarrassed and were the ones who signed her up. But despite all the well meaning advice she just went out and went on a shopping spree (I think it was quite a lot of money) buying what she loved and drove T&S to near madness.

In the end there was some sort of comprise for the sake of the show narrative but T&S did acknowledge that their rules didn't always work universally and they were somewhat powerless in the face of someone with a strong sense of self and confidence to match. (And as far as I'm concerned that's what you should be aiming for when it comes to enjoying clothes/fashion).

The ones who all desperately wanted to be made over by T&S all sort of ended up looking a bit samey, with the same short sharp bob dyed mahogany. I wonder how those women progressed after that, surely there's one on MN, we should petition MNHQ for an AMA.

I don't think Trinny is picked up by younger people. She's put this young woman with her on Youtube who is sort of like an assistant and does this annoying voice from behind the camera, Trinny has a young team but I don't think young people are tuning in.
Even now in her makeover show she takes women to zara and dresses them like herself. I saw the same thing happen to GokWan's show, they end up churning out the same looks for all women, overly done up and very extroverted in your face looks that don't reflect realistically on the women. It's like a mini-me factory.

I quite like Melissa Murrell on Youtube (MM Styling) as she's more realistic and clothes geared to real life British women. I also like Busbee style (american but good with body shapes dressing)

Oh I’m having a flashback. Wasn’t there some other show with an American woman who did similar? Not quite as early as t and s. Black hair w a white streak in? She put everyone in a little jacket and they all looked the same. And far less comfy than in their “ horrible” before sweatshirt !

Stacey London? I think there was a gay man as her sidekick? Think it was a US or Canadian version of what not to wear.

I don't know about the current crop as I don't follow any of them any more, but that first generation of stylists miserably failed to take account of personality, which was bizarre as it's surely just as big a factor as the size of your arse.

Well, unfortunately no, I think that's the point of these stylists, colour consultant's, etc. They position themselves as arbiters of good taste and will make you appropriately fit in whatever particular bandwidth they're selling, caring about your personality doesn't come into it much. I wouldn't really have so much of an issue with it if they were just honest about it, you're getting styled not style itself. The financial model is entirely reliant on feelings of insecurity and wanting to fit in. It will only ever marginally improve, enough to see a difference but not enough to resolve the underlying feelings entirely, because otherwise there's no long term financial security for these businesses.

It wasn't that long ago when that whole Styled by Susie Facebook group erupted on here. I can't remember the particulars but I think a lot of people were very upset to find their bespoke advice of belting everything to an inch of your life and chunky trainers were not actually a bespoke advice but rather the same generic advice on a shoddy pdf full of images that the stylist probably didn't have a commercial license to use that everyone else received.

I think in terms of this thread and issues discussed and raised the biggest takeaway is that confidence is the key and especially in following your own style and being confident in that being “enough” as such. I started a thread about the power of fashion mags and maybe what has come out of that and the rise of people sharing their outfits on Insta etc is that people feel more comfortable in their own skin and in their own fashion choices whatever shape, size and budget.

I really struggle with tops
Hourglass (very busty 34K), 5ft 10 but also broad so I have almost a mans width/shoulders but small waist

Need longer length tops due to height but I can't wear crew neck, roll neck, polo neck, slash neck, or anything that's basically not a V or I look like a pair of tits on legs. Annoyingly I like slogan/graphic t shirts but they never come in a v neck...

Oh yes, you're right. He was Clint or Clinton or something like that; did the hairstyles.

I've seen some tutorials where people cut up bigger Ts to make v neck, arms shorter, etc. Obviously that would be a very casual look, but if you're wanting to wear a slogan T, that's probably what you're going for anyway? Just an idea!