One body type, diverse women
Having a defined waist doesn't mean you need to have a wasp waist. It's all about proportions. In other words, you can have an hourglass body and be tall, short, slim or curvy.
The Neat Hourglass and Full Hourglass.
The best way to describe the difference between the two is simply, one has 'fuller' curves and the other has 'neater' curves. As you can see from the picture above, Holly Willoughby is a fuller figured Hourglass. Her curves are more obvious than Emma's curves on the right.
Generally, a measurement of 36 inches at the bust and hip and 24 inches at the waist is considered an ideal hourglass figure. Scientists believe that a woman's figure is an outcome of evolutionary adaptation for reproductive fitness.
The hourglass is the rarest body shape!
I'm going to show you how to achieve that hourglass shape even if you weren't born with it. It's all about creating optical illusions that trick the eye and balance your proportions.
As an hourglass-shaped woman, your proportions can be summed up in one word: DRAMATIC. Your defining proportion is your bust/shoulder measurements are within half an inch of your hips, AND your waist is very defined, meaning it's AT LEAST 25 percent smaller than your hips and bust/shoulders.
Pear Vs Hourglass
An hourglass-shaped woman will equal shoulder and hip measurements. Not only that, but hourglasses don't have the full, rounded, curvy rear a pear does. Their hips mimic yours from the front view, but from the side and rear view, their bottoms are flatter than a pear-shaped woman's bottom.
A true hourglass figure is fairly rare. Less than 10% of women come by the shape naturally. Much more common are the banana, apple, or pear shapes with the banana shape being the most common. With the banana shape the torso is fairly straight up and down.
Petite refers to stature not weight. Most people still think petite means skinny when in fact petite has nothing to do with weight. Petite is the term used in the fashion industry to describe a woman who is 5'3 tall or under. Petite women come in all shapes and sizes, whether they're a size 4 or 14.
Whatever your generic body type, if you are 5ft 3" or under you are officially considered PETITE. Petite clothing is specifically designed to fit the shorter woman with suitably adjusted measurements and proportions.
Petite means you have a shorter scale but you still have the attributes of one or more of the 5 body shapes, hourglass, pear, strawberry, rectangle or apple. The problems petite ladies find when buying clothes is sleeve length, trouser length and waistlines not being in the right place.
Best Features of Petite Hourglass Body Shape:
You have a slender, defined waist. You have a full chest area. You have full, rounded hips.
Your best casual tops should be those with a lower neckline because they break up your wide chest. Lower necklines like the deep V neck and the sweetheart's neck would reduce the width around the bust and make you appear slender. They should be your best pick because they tend to be more flattering on your shape.
The average height was 65 inches (5'5”) with a range of 60 inches (5') to 71 inches (5'11”). The average weight for the Hourglass category was 133 pounds with a range of 103 to 211 pounds. The body measurements used to define the Hourglass category were the bust, waist, and hips.
Contrary to the body shapes of most supermodels, the hourglass figure is more round and curvy, with a well-defined waistline, fuller hips and bust/chest and generous thighs.
Hip dips are common in most body shapes, including pear-shaped, hourglass, and athletic. However, they tend to be more noticeable in people with a curvier figure, such as those with wider hips and a smaller waist.
The Hourglass Shape Body Type
A rounder, softer shape with weight gain everywhere, but is often obviously noticed through the face first. Weight gain is almost always evenly distributed, including the knees, lower legs and arms. The Hourglass (formerly "babyface") tends to crave foods high fat dairy and sugar.
It's healthier to be a pear than an apple when it comes to body shape, research has shown. A study on mice appears to demonstrate that those who gain weight around their hips (pear-shaped), are better protected against the diseases linked to obesity than those who accumulate fat around the abdomen (apple-shaped).
The difference between the spoon and pear body shape is that a spoon-shaped body may have a larger tummy, too, while the pear shape typically doesn't. This shape is different from the hourglass shape in that the bust is at least 2 inches smaller than the hips, and the waist is defined.
Celebrities with a pear-shaped body
If you're hoping to find some style inspiration from the red carpet, take a look at some celebrities with pear-shaped bodies, like Kelly Clarkson, Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Iskra Lawrence, and Shakira.
While most women in their teens and early 20s define themselves as a neat hourglass shape, women in their 30s and 40s consider themselves as full hourglass and those in their 50s and 60s are most likely to be apple. 'Your body shape changes as you age, partly as women put on weight in different places,' said Jedinak.
The hourglass body type, where your hips and bust are wider and your waist is well-defined, is often associated with curvy sirens like Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe. However, you can still be an hourglass figure if you carry a little extra weight around the middle, as long as the sides of your waist dip inward.
The Hourglass shape is characterized by shoulders and bust that are equal to the hips and a waist that is well-defined. Variations on this body shape include the high-waisted Hourglass, also called the “8 Shape”, and the “Spoon Shape” which features higher hips that are often called “Shelf Hips”.