The End of the Hourglass Figure

If you thought that body shapes had changed over the last 50 years - you'd be correct. A new study has researched the body shapes of 6000 women and concluded that the fashion industry is woefully out of sync with reality.

The research found that although only 8 per cent of women now had the sort of hourglass figure flaunted by curvaceous 1950s film stars such as Sophia Loren, designers and manufacturers continued to make clothes to fit a slim-line version of that figure.

The changing figure size is a source of consternation for many fashion designers. Should they design clothes that fit the people - or rail on about how women are too big?

Sophia Loren (1955)
The quintessential hourglass

Welsh fashion commentator Jayne Blight said many women found difficulty in finding the right size clothes to wear. But she called on people to be more careful with their diet and to watch their figures.

She said, "In my opinion people should be more health and weight conscious.

"We have such high obesity rates in this country we are catching up with the US. I know that the retailers should make bigger sizes but also people should be more health conscious and try and stay within the structures that have been made over the years.(via icWales)

489 Comments(Now closed for this article)

Elena

Everyone disliking "rectangle" figures needs to remember they have the best legs. Whilst men apparently are only liking hourglass and pear shaped women, remember they (especially pear shaped) usually have legs like horses whereas rectangles have the hottest legs.

Jan74

There is no need to say pears and hourglasses have legs like horses either. Like I said, any shape *as long as the person is in shape* looks great. A 50-lb overweight person with any body shape, on the other hand, won't look very good.

Joe

Elena,

Your comments are kind of silly, hourglass is still by far the best shape. Rectangle is "Acceptable" as a second to hourglass and pear would come in third.
You obviously must be a rectangle.

Heather

Hey now, I wasn't insulting rectangles, no need to insult hourglasses!!!
Signed,
42-28-41
And I do have thick legs, because they're muscular and I run marathons and bicycle etc... and they are DAMN sexy!

Hanna T.

I don't fit any of the shape descriptions. I have broad shoulders, a small bust, a tiny waist, medium sized hips, and tapered legs. What shape is that supposed to be?

Jan74

You seem to be a triangle-hourglass. Most people are a mix of 2 shapes anyway.

Hanna T.

Thank you, Jan74. Also, I think there are five body shapes-the ones mentioned here and the apple, which stores most of its weight in the belly.

Jan74

An apple is really just an overweight triangle or rectangle - triangle if she gains weight in the middle and in the arms, and rectangle if she gains weight in the middle but still has thin arms.

Hanna T.

What sort of shirts am I supposed to wear? If shirts fit my shoulders they are huge in the waist, if they fit my waist it is way too small in the shoulders.

Jan74

Hanna, if you mean button-downs, you may wanna shop in a different store. Some cut them curvier. If you mean t-shirts and other blouses in knit materials, they should be easy to fit cause they are not supposed to be super tight at the waist anyway, but if you want them tight there, there are the ones that have spandex in them.

Also keep in mind a lot of blouses are being made baggier nowadays cause you are supposed to belt them and wear them with the slimmer jeans.

Jacky

Hey all! I'm so happy that this isn't another site of girls wishing to be skinnier, it's very refreshing to see. I am slightly confused about my shape... Here are my measurements:

Height: 5 ft.4
Bust: 38 (36 C)
Waist: 30
Hips: 36 1/2 (28 in jeans)
Thighs/butt: 38 1/2
Shoulders: 42 1/2 or 43
Inseam: 30

I know I am indefinitely a triangle (because of my shoulders) but I am also rectangle. Whenever I try on shirts, it's hard for me to find anything that accentuates my waist (because of my bust), so billowy tops are obviously off limits (unless paired with a belt, but I'm not big on that kind of thing)
It's not much of an issue for me to accentuate my hips, it's just hard making them look proportionate to my top half. I have lots of muscle on my upper body (except for my stomach... go figure) and my thighs and calves are definitely all muscle (and slightly bulky) Jeans are also hard to find because of my lack of height and "unique" frame. I have a medium/large bone structure. If any of you know good places to shop that you could recommend for my body type, please tell me!

I keep myself in excellent shape and maybe Joe got a little carried away, but he has a point. Too many women do not take care of themselves, but they look for men who do. I experience this all of the time. And my reaction is if you will not take care of yourself when you are single, i dread to think how bad it will get when you are with someone. Being too busy is not an excuse. Make at least some effort to stay in shape trhough legitimate exercise, (no walking on a treadmill does not count) and your shape would improve. Having kids is no excuse either, plenty of moms I know look fantastic.

Jan74

Jacky, wide-leg pants, a-line skirts, and shirts that are either long-sleeved or sleeveless (no short sleeves) will make you look proportionate. Also, when the shirt ends right at your hips, it enlarges them visually.

Elena

I don't know if I actually am a rectangle. I have broad shoulders (as in I can't wear my hair up because they're too big), I am about 34/36B with 28 inch waist and 36 inch hips, My legs aren't skinny but they're slim and quite shapely. I'm 5'7 and 140lb. What am I?

Ri-Na

I am 14 years old, 5'3" and weigh about 85 pounds
my measrment is about 22-20-22and i have an all flat chest and mostly flat behind.
up until last year i carried extra fat on my stomach. that time i measured 22-23-23, 5'1" and 81 pounds
am i a rectangle or a pear? it seems like now i am a rectangle but before i was sort of a pear (greater measurement on bottom). so does body type change over time or with weight gain or loss or waht?

Jan74

You are still growing, Ri-Na, so your shape will change many times over the next few years. You'll probably gain weight and grow taller, too.

FlowerFace

Dear Ri-Na,
No pear weighs 81 pounds and has 22 inch hips, silly! And certainly, no rectangle has a 20 inch waist! Your shape is what is best known as your basic tiny-twig shape. No doubt, you are also short-waisted. Short-waisted girls and women have the hardest time finding clothes.

I do not know, how much your body will change. Adults always assume that the bodies of young teenage girls will undergo some kind of major Alice in Wonderland-like changes into womanhood.

In most cases, the female adult size and shape does not deviate too much from the female teenage size and shape. When, I say "size" and "shape", I mean "bone-structure." I am not accounting for weight gain or weight loss. So, if a teenager is statistically smaller than others her age (which you are), it is very likely that she will be statistically smaller as an adult.

Chances are, if you are 14, you have reached puberty. Your hips have already undergone changes, and you are within 0-4 inches of your adult height. You are very thin with a small frame. I would not consider gaining weight to alter your shape (since that may be unnatural for your body type/metabolism), and I especially would not consider losing weight to alter your shape as you are already so little that it would be entirely unhealthy and unnatural. In fact, you may lose your shape altogether and disappear! I am certain that you have a beautiful shape and there is no need for concern.

If you are worried about not having a curvier figure, or wish to alter your figure somehow, I would invest in a very small corset or girdle, something to draw in your waist, and give you more "curves." Something, like Sophia Loren is wearing above. You will obviously not be volumptuous like she is, but you may feel more satisfied with your figure. You can get one off amazon, easily.

As a rule:
The reason why less women have less of an "hour-glass" figure now-a-days than in the 50's is, because women never had "true" hour glass figures to begin with, and recently no longer wear corsets. It has nothing to do with fat, thin, or average. All through-out history up until recently women have been wearing corsets and waist cinchers in one form or another. It is just very, very unusual for any woman to be naturally a 38-24-38 like Sophia Loren. Almost freakish. It is even very unnatural for beautiful Sophia Loren, who was probably more of a 38-26 or 27-38 without the help of corsetry.

The shape of a woman does not differ so much from one to the next. We are all very similar in shape whether fat, tall, thin, small, big, short, narrow, wide.

In fact, placing corsets (and certain parts of the female anatomy) aside, the shape of woman does not differ so much from a man at all. In general we are just less muscular and a bit curvier. Which leaves one question on my mind. How is it that a man can walk into a department store, find the right sized shirt by the size of their neck, and walk out looking nice? Men come in all different sizes too. Some are fat, tall, short, big, little, narrow, wide. It does not matter what store, expensive or inexpensive, men easily find a pair of pants or shirt that looks nice on them.

Think of all the money and time a woman could save, if she could do that? What a rip-off, right? I think it might be more helpful if there was more of a concern placed on this instead of whether we are box-shaped, ping-pong ball-shaped, lamp-shaped, or whether or not our shape has changed from a soup-can to an apricot, and "how can I be as nice looking as that lady over there who is lima-bean shaped?"

minnie

I´m too a hourglass, I guess. 6´5, 36-25-37, 34C, inner leg 32,5 and thighs 21. i have no idea how you are counting shoulder size since i´m not fluid in english, they are 17,7 inches from side to side.

I only weigh about 119 lbs unfortunately, and that´s sort of my problem. I have always wanted to gain about 10 kilos but it´s really difficult for me, since I have always had trouble gain weight ( even though i´m pretty sure it´s not impossible especially since i´m over my teens) and have a low appetite, and really have to work gaining appetite, planning extra meals etc.
I would like to be around 136 lbs at least.

how do you work out to gain more muscles/fat around your upper body? around your upper arms, and i need more stronger back muscles, i´m really petite there and with ALMOST watchable ribs. i hate it! i really want to look healthy and soft in my body, and want a bit more fat.

also i have a pair of very shapely kylie minougue legs but I would like mor fat and muscles there too, all in all I would more like to have the marilyn monroe profile :) than the laetitia casta-modellesque becaus curvy soft-looking women are the best, i think. even though i´m acutally not that shallow at all ;) but in my own preferences and to suit my bodytype.

anyway, i´m actually pretty pleased if not for the weight issue..

i too have problem finding fitting clothes, especially pants, since my waist is 25, size 8, and hips and bum size 37. I also have big thighs and small wrists? ancles?

same thing with shirts, pretty wide shoulders and breast and long arms, everything else narrow.

it´s good in a way when you want to have a sexy 40s, 50s profile but you can´t go around with an accentuated waist ALL the time, if you´re not a rockabilly or something. the pinup look can be quite fine but i´m more into the 60s profile with babydoll and a-line dresses and your waist drowns in that. anyway, not the biggest problems, but thats y p o v.

minnie

actually, could you be a darling :) and help me recommend jeans size? bought a pair of topshop last week and they were way to small, i never get that straight.. I pretty much always get skinny stretch jeans but when they are not stretch its really hard to find the right size.

when size 8 (25) waist, size 12 (37/38) hips, a very large and very pointy bum, inner leg 32,5 and sort of big thighs with petite ancles/vrists?, I prefer a smaller length size as it gives you a more curvy profile though, but what size IS that?

minnie

I also want to say though that ALL shapes are magnificient, I mean, really. men always like real women where confidence is key. all women have some curves somewhere or just a special bodytype to kill for, whatever bodytype. we are all pretty naked. and if we should go for beauty remarks the safest card is to be somewhat healthy. but we are all magnificient.

Tara

I too have trouble finding clothes. I am an hourglass (31-21-32) and I am 5'5'' and weigh 100 pounds. As well as all pants being huge in the waist, I have long arms and legs and 37 inch shoulders. I wear Gap skinny jeans, and my calves are so small that on me they are bootcut. Recommendations, anyone?

chrystina

omg! it's the hardest thing for me to find a proper fit. like seriously, my hips are huge, but my waist is small. I lost 30 pounds accidentally because of all the stress i have gone through, so im underweight at the moment. I'm slowly reganing the weight back, but you know, it's hard. I hardly have an appetite, so i force myself to eat half the time. Before, my body was like perrrrfect! I had beautiful curves, big boobs(D 36)5'4, 125 pounds, and a huge butt. I could never find the right size anywhere because of my hourglass figure. It was either, too big ontop or too big on the bottom. I took a size 5-6 in jeans, but now I take like a double 00. yeah, so i've realized, you people should really love your body no matter what! never decide to loose weight if your not over weight because to me, it's a big mistake, and i hope when i become that weight again, that my body will still be the same. so really, you should learn to accept what you got.

Ziri

I have the biggest problems buying formal gowns. The sizzing charts are all over the place I am a 12,14 and 18 it's totaly crazy.

Jan74

I've given up on sizes... I hold up what looks like the clothes I have hanging in my closet.

I bought a formal gown last week after hours of searching shops with regular number sizes, and then in a last desperate attempt, walked into a store that said "regular sizes and plus". Their formal stuff was sized S, M, L, XL, XXL. I put on a S and it was a perfect fit, hahaha. It was pretty cheap too, half of what I'd have paid at the other shops.

Cracked Hourglass..jk

ahh "Joe" dont be so agro!

i was just searching around for clothes to wear to the city, i dont like wearing casual clothes, i like corporate clothes! but my course is casual ~

Life of an hour glass runs fast when im trying to pick my clothes!

Bertha

my bust is 32"
my waist is 25"
my hips are 31"

what am i? can anyone help me?

im 15 years old, around 104 pounds, and 5 feet 3 inches

Jan74

You are a rectangle, Bertha. Most thin people are rectangles, like models tend to be rectangles, and athletes too. Typically an hourglass has a bit more fat, like Jennifer Love Hewitt.

iva

I used to be shaped like an hourglass or an upside-down spoon, and I could Never, Ever find shirts that would fit - if they had buttons they would pop open, and if I got a bigger size (like that chick from "What Not To Wear" recommends) then the shoulders and waist would be waaayy to big. I couldn't even try on bikini tops without laughing or crying - there was no way I could wear them in public, and I thought about designing my own "full-boob-coverage" bikini tops.

I found out that my BMI range was too high and so I lost some weight and went from being an hourglass/upside down spoon to a right-side up spoon. I didn't have to sacrifice my "bustiness," either - I went from a 38D to a 34DD!

And now that I'm in a healthy BMI range clothes fit much much better.

Melise

i am 27.5-22-32, what type am i
i am like 5 feet 1-and-a-half inches and 93-94 pounds
extremely FAT

Tara

You are a pear, and you are not fat. Your BMI is 17.6. That is underweight.

Jan74

Tara is right. You need to gain 5 pounds to be at the thinnest healthy normal, Melise. You are not fat.

Melise

er. iam eleven years old and i'vechecked by bmi and i am not underweight. i am at the 56th percentile and under 15 percent is underweight.

Jan74

Go to www.cdc.gov and check again, Melise.

sam

It is refreshing to know that i am far from being the only woman with an issue on clothes sizes.
I'm 38-26.5-36 measurements wise and a UK size 30G for bras.

I would love it if manufacturers would label their clothes according to the actual sizes, not just some mythical number which no-one can agree on.

Or even sell a range of clothing. I love bravissimo because they sell sizes 8 curvy, 8 really crvy and 8 super curvy! All sizes have the same waistline as a size 8, but have a different bust measurement to allow for different sizes. It is a wonderful plan, and i have no idea why more shops do not do this. My only issue is that the clothes are expensive, so i'm going to buy a sewing machine and try to alter garments i think.

Buying trousers is another issue, i am 5'4 and my inside leg is 27 inches on a good day. Some materials and sizes don't do well when you alter them.

I would love to have a shop that sold clothing in my shape.

Janie

I don't know what shape i am!!! i'm bigger on top ok my bust is 33, my waist is 26, and my hips are 34(they used to be 36 and i lost weight :(..) my shoulders are like 40, huge..oh and i have no ass.. i think i'm awkwardly shape

Janie

i have problems buying jeans too, they never fit my butt, there's too much space in the back.. i never used to have that problem oh and i'm about 5'6... i dunno how much i weigh

Daniela

hello everyone. I have a really big problem . iam 34B-25-40 and I can't ever find the right clothes to really perfectly fit my hourglass shape. The right clothes are always SO expensive and I don't know what to do! any help??? where can I shop?

Jill

I wish the jean manufacturers would read these comments - so many of them are about gapping in the back! I have that same problem, as well as difficulties finding clothing that fits well.

I'm an hourglass, 5'4" tall and in the 120's weight-wise. 38" (36C) - 27" - 37" and I gain weight mostly in my chest and then in my hips. I have a heck of a time finding clothes that fit - even the so-called "curvy" clothes aren't made for hourglass figures.

For jeans, though, I recommend going to western wear stores and looking for Wrangler Cowboy Cut jeans. They go all the way to the waist and there's no gapping in the back!

selina

I SERIOUSLY don't understand why people care about others being UNDERWEIGHT. Most of the time, "healthy weight" means, actually, "fat". melise is 5 foot one inch, and 94 pounds, and she is NOT underweight. she is at an ok weight. I am 5 foot 3 about 80 pounds and i look great and am healthy.

Linds

Welcome to an anorexic's mindset, eh?

Sorry, you're both underweight, but yeah, you keep telling yourself that you're not. We believe you.

Jan74

I won't argue with "look great" cause that is a matter of opinion, but you are definitely not healthy. Go to a doctor and have him/her confirm that you are healthy - have complete blood work done, and have him/her check your heart. A bone density scan would be good, too. But odds are you'll get the "you are not healthy" speech after just stepping on a scale, there won't be a need for all the other stuff.

Jan74

Sorry that was to Selina, not to Linds

selina

i'm only TWELVE_GOING_ON_THIRTEEN years old. my doctor says i will probably gain weight in the next two years or so.

Jan74

If you got that way by restricting your food intake so you can "look great", chances are you won't. And that would not be healthy at all.

12 or not, if you are the height of a grown woman (5' or more), you shouldn't weigh that little, barring a recent growth spurt (2-3" in the past 2 months or so), food restriction, or some kind of disease. So unless it is the growth spurt, the other 2 are not that healthy.

selina

some grown women are not 5 feet tall

and i eat practically half the food in my kitchen every day

and i am not all skin n bone like some people my height + weight i look some bit chubbier than they do but i weight about the same.

and the only food i don't eat is pork. i don't believe in eating it when i am born in the year of the pig.

but i eat every thing else and a lot of it.

selina

and i live partof the year in a dance academy so we just get plenty of exercise

Jan74

dance academy + "i look a bit chubbier than other people do" are signs that point to a distorted view of your size, Selina.

Tara B.

My measurements are:
Shoulders: 35
Bust: 29
Waist: 23
Upper Hip: 29
Lower Hip: 33

Le'Ann

Hey ya'll how are you doing today?

Well you see I don't know whether or not if i do have and hourglass shape or a pear shape. I'm 5'3 1/2 and my measurements are 36DD-32-42 and i weigh 153. The issue here im trying to get down to 134lbs because i still have a stomach and its small and my arms are kinda big and i have slight back fat. I hope it's possible to be these measurements 36DD-28-42. The thing is my breast dont look like a 36DD because my breast aren't as full as people who are that size...welll i dont know.

shane

Im pretty sure women arent changing, they just wore incredibly tight corsets back in the day.

Jan74

I completely agree with you there.

karie

Le'Ann just remember the last place you gained it will be the first place you loose it. So if your waist was smaller before, it can be again. If not, area specific exercise may be in order.

karie

I also wanted to add that if you are a true hourglass, you cannot follow the scale. Lbs mean nothing, Hourglass' gain muscle easily which makes you heavier.
you should always monitor your weight in inches, so if you are trying to loose weight you don't become frustrated.

Renee

ok,so ive read the body shapes and measured myself,but i still dont know?
bust is 34'' waist is 27'' and hips 35''
what am i? an hourglass pear?

faith

well, I had to get measured for a wedding yesterday, bride to be's mom is a seamstress. So, being this is the first real time i have gotten measured and the first time i have cared, it made me a little self conscious and the comments weren't nice either. My measurements came out 31 27 31, i am a mom to 4 little girls, merely 26 yrs old, 5 ft. I thought i wore a certain size bra, but i think after reading i am an A cup (gee, thats backwards for having kids) either way, i know i am a rectangle, anything to accentuate ANY bit of slightt curve i have? i was told i look like a boy :o( that wasn't very nice.

Jan74

I wouldn't worry about trying to accentuate curves. Your figure is in balance, and just like I don't think a chubbier but balanced figure needs to "hide it" by stuffing herself in Spanx and what not, I don't think you should try to create curves as if that is the only beautiful thing.

You are pretty slim, so I'd accentuate the positives: wear skirts when possible, to show nice legs. Short or fitted sleeves, to show slim arms. Keep in mind that with a small bust, the same tops that would look trashy on a woman bigger than you look classy on you: go for that deep v-neck. It won't look like you are desperate to "put it all out". The only not-so-strong point about your figure is the waist, so I'd stay away from big, boxy stuff and wear fitted jackets, knits, and enjoy this trend of belting things now, cause it defines the waist.

colleen

I too have an hourglass figure...with measurements of 41-29-41. i have a 34E chest and nothing fits me. i wear a 34 jean but need a 36 length because i have extremely long legs. shirts and dresses almost never fit because when i get them to fit my chest they are then way to big in the waste. my sister makes many of my dresses and i have begun to wear empire waists and cute shorter sweaters to pull things in. i also find belts to be a life saver because they sinch in the clothes and define the waste. i recently found that moto jeans fit me really well so for all of you ladies having trouble try them...they are fairly reasonably priced as well.

natalee

i am 5'1 and measure 28-22-32. however my hips measurement is mostly my butt measurement. my butt sticks out behind me but my hips are actually pretty narrow. to the contrary, my chest is very flat (i barely wear an AA) and so my top looks wider from the front than my hips, even though my hips measure more.

what shape am i?

plus how do you slim down the butt area? its not too easy finding jeans

Elle

Hi everyone,

I also have an Hourglass figure (Bust 36, Waist 27, Hips 37 5'7") and I found the perfect solution to finding clothes that fit...I use vintage patterns from the 1950's, the time when the Hourglass shape reigned supreme!

Now, I sew, but having a seamstress whip up a few dresses is surprisingly economical. Not only can you choose the fabric, but she'll alter the dress (or pants) to fit you exactly. In the long-run, a one-of-a-kind dress that fits you perfectly will be much cheaper than an off-the-rack garment that will usually have to be altered anyway.

Check out www.etsy.com and eBay for some amazing vintage patterns. Just be sure you measure your bust (over the fullest part,) your waist (the smallest part - just below the ribcage usually) and your hips (the very fullest part, not over the bone) accurately before you purchase the pattern as patterns from that era were for one size only and grading a pattern up or down is rarely worth the work, even for an experienced sewer! If your measurements don't match the pattern exactly, always buy based on bust size. It's much easier to add or subtract from the waist than the bust.

For women with the other shapes (it seems to be like hair...no one's ever fully happy with what they were given,) I'd recommend taking a look at fashion over the ages as each decade seems to have had a different shape that has been held up as the ideal. The 40's were the triangle, the 20's were the rectangle or cylinder, etc.. Check out the incredible "A Dress A Day" blog for a post on this exact subject: http://www.dressaday.com/2006/11/are-you-ruler-or-apple.html

Cheers and good luck to everyone in finding creative ways to embrace the gorgeous bod you were given!

Elle

lauren

dude:
I'm 5'9, about 138 pounds, work out a lot (but not all the time, I love to exercise though) watch what I eat. And I do run into the same problems as you guys do! I wear a size 5-8, and I struggle to get the pants up my huge hips, then I have a baggy waist.
American clothing lines suck.
Also, my measurements are 38-25(sometimes 26, I work out my obliques)-38, the "perfect" hourglass measurement...I'm a pear! I mean, I could be an hourglass..but I don't know exactly

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The End of the Hourglass Figure

489 Comments(Now closed for this article)

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The End of the Hourglass Figure

489 Comments(Now closed for this article)

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