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I was asked the other day by a reader where are the defining points to figure out body shape. n Is it bust, waist and hips, shoulders waist and hips and where are the hips defined from – the thigh or up on the buttock area?
For me (and I’m sure there will be some out there who disagree), I use the width of the shoulders, the waist and the widest point of the hips (whether it be a high or low hip).
The bust is what I call a ‘body variation’ large and small busts can appear on all sorts of body shapes, plus we may gain or lose fullness of the bust over our lifetime due to various reasons (breastfeeding, breast cancer, breast augmentation or reduction) but this does not change our body shape.
The body shape is based on the skeletal structure – if we have wide shoulders, it is because our bones have the width usually, yes we can work out lots with weights and alter our body shape to a certain extent, but we can never move the pelvis further from the ribcage (without rib removal) no matter how hard we work out.
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| V shape |
For example, here on this V shape body you can see that the outer edge of the shoulders is wider than the hips.
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| X shape |
Here is an X shape with shoulders and hips similar in width.
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| Waist and hip points |
Here you can see the waist is at the narrowest point on the torso, which is usually just under the end of the rib cage. The hip point – which is the widest point is up high for the 8 and down low on the top of the thighs for the A, X, and some other shapes.
O shapes may have been Hs or 8s or even Vs, they are much less likely to have been an X shape.
The best way to figure out your body shape is to look front on into a mirror in tight fitting clothing and see what the outline appears to most resemble, where your widest and narrowest points are and how different they are from each other.
Any measurement guidelines are really just a suggestion, as some people are more round and others more elliptical which can affect the appearance of the body shape.
Read up on the body shapes explained and see which you find most relevant to what you have found most flattering to wear in the past.
So Imogen, above, in the silhouettes, what are those body shapes? I recognize myself completely in the 3rd from the left. Is that a V shape?
LPC – in the top pic I think they're all somewhere between X shape and V shape – the one 3rd from the left is probably more V than X, but with a defined waist. It's just a stock vector image that I bought, not something I've had specifically made up.
Thank you for clarifying. I never really got the difference between X and 8 (and there are probably others I'm not thinking of right now)
Thank you! I've lost about 50 pounds this year, just a few more to go, and I am really excited to define my shape instead of guess at it. It'll be so much easier to go shopping when I'm well informed!
Imogen, I just have to say Thank You for your blog!! I found it a few weeks ago and have been reading up on your old posts. Your advice on dressing body shapes is particularly helpful for me. You definitely have a readership from around the world–I'm from the US (Idaho).
Thank you for addressing this. I had been wondering about it for a while. I guess I'm X (albeit a very flat-chested one!) as opposed to A then. Not that it matters a whole lot because I notice that the recommended dos and don'ts for them are almost identical.
In determining body types, it is the width of the rib cage relative to the width of the hip that really matters in my opinion as that is where you get the immediate visual impact of proportions. Some of the bodies that are pointed out as hourglasses look like pears to me.
Lola – why do you think they look like pears? The width of the hips of the pear is much wider than the width of the shoulders (the balance from shoulders to hips).
Very llate to answer for this post.
My measurement is 37″ shoulders, 32″ underbust, 24.5″ waist and 33″ hipswith an inseam of 32″ inseam and my height is 5’5 and very slim (wearing children size in jeans sometimes).
For years, Ive thought I was this body shape and are bit concious about my shoulders because they are 4″ wider than my hips, they make me look athletic despite Ive exercise or do any sport activities (and I doubt fishing/camping/golf activities have anything to with athletic sports…lol), but recently when looking at some outfits Im creating (to re-editing my wardrobe), I start think, I dont belong to this body shape (perhaps Im just decieved by the pictures…).
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/526801_591614687517821_1671647206_n.jpg
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/425102_591574214188535_696846713_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/47779_571882319491058_1459173301_n.jpg (dark picture)
Which body shape do you think I would “belong” to?
Lina/ Florentzia recently posted..FOTD: Lucky Green
opps meant, I thought I was a V/Inverted triangle body shape.
Lina – from your pictures and your measurements confirming I would say you are a V shape as you shoulders are wider than your hips.