Shopping for Your Body Shape

Women Body Shapes

But we all know that just as we are combinations of color “harmonies” (seasonal color palettes) and “essences” (style archetypes) we also are often a combination of body shapes. Still, identifying  your dominant shape will give you clues about how to drape it in the most flattering manner.

Let’s look at what are considered the standard body shapes. (Thank you to Susan Tait Porcaro, who did all the following delightful illustrations for She’s Got Good Jeans.)

Flute: This is also called rectangular shaped. It describes a body in which the line from the shoulders to the waist to the hips is pretty much straight. This is a model’s body. It provides a perfect “hanger” for a garment to be the main attraction without distracting the eye too much. The good news is that this body type can wear almost anything and look chic. A flute-shaped person can add volume, if they like, with pleats, ruffles, ruching, belts,buttons, details, etc.

Pear: This is the body shape that carries most of its weight below the waist – hips and upper thighs. Pear-shaped women tend to have more sloping shoulders and delicate arms and hands. This is the kind of body you see a lot in classic paintings. To bring it into visual balance just emphasize everything above the waist: jackets or dress lines with broader shoulders, statement necklaces, horizontal lines (including patterns) – anything that creates upper body structure and emphasizes the “portrait” area. (The good news is that men love pear-shaped women. Honestly.)

Apple: Women with this body shape tend to gain weight in their midsection. (They also tend to have great legs.) That often makes them try to cover up or de-emphasize their waist entirely. It’s really not necessary. As with the Pear shaped body, Apples can emphasize the portrait area with styles that call attention there such as sweetheart necklines, wider collars, deeper v-necks, necklaces. But please, Apples, DO emphasize your waist regardless of its size. A peplum jacket or a blazer nipped in at the waist will instantly give you some curves. And don’t be afraid of belts for the same reason.

Hourglass: This is a shape that, as its name implies, is broad at the shoulders, narrow at the waist, and broad at the hips. It’s archetypically opposite in style to the Flute shape, in that ruffles, pleats and ruching can just be too much on this body. (Pleats will never hang right on an hourglass body anyway.) So go for what naturally flatters this shape: fitted and darted shirts and dresses, v-necks that emphasize your bust line, sheaths in drape-y fabrics that hug your curves gently, fitted bodices and flared skirts.

Inverted Triangle: This is very much like a Flute shape but with broader shoulders. They also often have a larger bust. So taking a cue from the Flutes, this type can wear much of what works for them too as long as the emphasis is on the lower body instead of the upper. An Inverted Triangle can look great in a halter or v-neck, can wear bolder patterns below the waist, and can balance out their broad shoulders with volume below the waist, e.g., palazzo pants, skirts with pleats or gathers, details and patterns on pants or skirts, color and details on shoes, etc.

I want to give a personal note of thanks to all of you who bought Shopping for the Real You. We sold out all 2,000 copies of the first edition and are now publishing the second edition through Amazon’s publishing wing, Create Space. Also, I’m currently working on the sequel with my mentor, John Kitchener of Personal Style Counselors. It’s going to be a big challenge to get all his brilliant knowledge into this second book, but I’m always up for a challenge! Onward!