How to dress for your body type

Women come in all shapes and sizes. So how do you find clothes that are flattering your specific body type. The key is to know your proportions and use fashion to accentuate your best features and hide everything else.

What are the most common body shapes ?


Every body is beautiful

Bodies come in all different shapes and sizes. That’s part of what makes each of us unique. It’s important to know that there isn’t an “average” or “typical” body. Some of us are curvier, some of us have narrower hips or broader shoulders — we’re all a little bit different. Still, most of us can categorize our shape into a few broad categories. For example, a 2004 study reported that descriptions of female bodies have historically been described in categories based on shapes, such as triangle, rectangle, diamond, oval, and hourglass.

 Some of the most common general categories include:

 1  rectangle

 2   triangle or “pear”

 3   inverted triangle

 4   hourglass

 5   round or “apple”

These are just a few of the different body types that you might hear about.

So what are these different body types ?

 

It’s important to remember that categorizing body types isn’t an exact science. Oftentimes, there’s a lot of variation within one “type.” You may find that your individual shape features characteristics from several of the different body types discussed below:

Rectangle, straight, or “banana”

If your waist measurements are about the same as your hip or bust, and your shoulders and hips are about the same width, you have what’s called a “banana” or rectangle body type. Stylists will probably point you toward off-the-shoulder tops, tube dresses, and belted waists.

Triangle or “pear”

With this shape, your shoulders and bust are narrower than your hips. You probably have slim arms and a fairly defined waist. Your waist most likely slopes out to your hips. Stylists often recommend clothing that shows off the waistline.

inverted triangle

The Inverted Triangle Body Shape is the most athletic looking silhouette, and is defined by broad shoulders, chest and back, with a narrower lower body

hourglass

Hourglass body shapes have a wide bust, a narrow waist, and wide hips with a similar measurement to that of the bust. This body shape is named for its resemblance to that of an hourglass where the upper and lower half are wide and roughly equal while the middle is narrow in circumference, making the overall shape wide-narrow-wide

round or “apple”

The round body shape is characterized by a wide mid section since the weight tend to settle in your midriff. ... This body shape has no waist definition, your bust, waist and hips are usually very close in measurements. You tend to have a fuller bust, small hips with no curves and you have shapely slender legs.