IT or rectangle updated - YouLookFab Forum

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Body Type

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IT or rectangle updated

shaz

Hi so I'm still confused on body shape thought I might be rectangle shaped and also possible I may be it shape it's all confusing my shoulders are 39 inches waist hovers between 28 and 30 inches and hips between 35-36 inches wide small bust long legs small bottom can anyone help it would make shopping so much easier

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Body Type

18 replies

Latest reply was from shaz

April

Veteran

Hi Shaz, and welcome. In determining your body type, your measurements are not actually what's needed. What you want to know is the relative proportions of shoulders, waist, and hips when measuring (or just looking) straight across the front view.

So if you're standing in close-fitting clothing such as a stretchy cami and leggings, if your shoulders are the widest point, your waist is not super-defined, and your hips are narrower side-to-side than your shoulders, you're an IT. If your shoulders, waist, and hips are all kind of the same, you're a rectangle.

Make sense? If not, if you can post a photo of yourself in close-fitting, stretchy clothes (straight-on front view, arms at your sides), we can get you sorted. You can photograph from the neck down if the idea of posting that sort of photo is unnerving.

shiny

Veteran

What April said, but also, if you tend to take a larger size in your tops compared to your bottoms, and it's because you need to size up to fit your shoulders (rather than your bust), then you are probably an IT.

That's the case with me. I often need to size up on top to fit the shoulders. So I'll take say a size 2 in pants but a 4 in jackets. Another IT clue is dresses: I'll need a size 4 to fit my shoulders, but sometimes the dress will then be too baggy around the hips. But this is a generalization because certain brands or styles are designed for ITs so they will fit fine without having to size up or down.

shaz

Yes shoulders look quite a bit bigger then my hips and I am a size larger on top then bottom half perhaps why none of my shopping was quite working thank you both for your help

Helena

Veteran

Shaz, just looking at some of your photos and your shoulders really don't strike me as wide. Perhaps you might not want to play them up, but I don't think they need to be de-emphasized at all. I'd say rectangle with slight IT tendency. But take that with a grain of salt as I am not well-practiced with body types.

shaz

I don't know tbh it just gives me s headache trying to work it out ha ha have some cheap leggings coming soon can do the photo thing then it might be easier to know for sure

Gigi

Veteran

Yes, if you could do a photo that would help a lot so that you could be more sure. Though if you are a size larger on top than on bottom, that's usually a pretty good indicator of IT. But you might have a secondary shape too, as torontogirl pointed out, and a pic will help with that.

Gaylene

Veteran

Shaz, just curious about how knowing you are an IT or a rectangle will make shopping easier?

shaz

Gaylene im a terrible shopper I've always bought clothes simply because they cover my body and keep me warm and not because I like them or think they are flattering. This year I'm hoping to change that habit and buy a few items I love with the helps of angies guidelines to start me of on the right path Gigi and Torontogirl I think my secondary body shape is Apple as weight only goes on my stomach but nowhere else unfortunately

Helena

Veteran

Shaz, based on the photo, I would agree with your IT assessment. You are so slim through the hips and legs. I don't see apple at all tho.

Just adding to the discussion of Gaylene's excellent question, I find sometimes these guidelines are really helpful when you feel like something isn't working but don't quite know why.

shaz

Happy dance now a shape has been picked when I first joined I thought I was an apple without the boobs then I thought rectangle so tried shopping for these shapes and nothing quite worked the jeans keep the softer parts tucked away Thanks so much for the help

Anonymous

Based on what I saw in your photos, you are Slim with long legs. I don't see any apple, unless you're disguising a tummy very, very well
I always thought knowing your body type was just kind of a fun thing to know--kind of the same thing as knowing your astrological sign.
And it is definitely a useful tool for knowing what to wear, if you're not particularly intuitive about what looks good on you.
I thought ai was a pear for a long time and sort of restricted myself to a-line skirts. But I'm not really a pear, even though my bottom half is a bit bigger. So now I'm wearing tube skirts and am pretty happy about it.

I suppose knowing what shape you're NOT is just as important as knowing what you ARE.

shaz

You have a good point I know I'm not pear or hourglass so that helped some bit ha ha. I find its more my leg length that restricts what I wear the shops here have a very poor selection of pants and jeans and more often then not they have to be ordered online so I rarely get a chance to try any on before hand

Gaylene

Veteran

Thanks for satisfying my curiosity, Shaz. In my case, I guess I've never found the guidelines very useful since I'd rather put the focus on clothes which fit my lifestyle and personal aesthetic. I rather like my broad IT shoulders and narrow hips so I'll happily sport turtlenecks and narrow pants instead of V-necks and full skirts. Like colour analysis, there are so many factors which can affect the "rules", to say nothing of how hard it is to fit oneself into a category, I've come to the conclusion I'm better off using the mirror--or maybe a close friend or my husband--to give me feedback about flattery.

shaz

Very good points gaylene I'm putting my clothing issues down to possible mid life crisis ha ha unfortunely I now live in a different country to all my nearest and dearest apart from my little ones who just give a cheeky grin to whatever I put on anyway so no one to offer advise at the moment apart from the mirror that I'm avoiding since my hair started falling out in clumps, if i can't see it then it does not bother me. My clothes work for day to day crawling around playing with the kids I'm never bothered if anything gets spilled on then etc but every once if a while o think it would be nice to get a little bit dressed up and go for a tidier look then what is my usual

Anonymous

You are a rectangle, I'd say!

shaz

I haven't a clue Smittie think I'll settle on long for today

Gigi

Veteran

I am with torontogirl that I would say the photos show IT.

I found that knowing my body shape was a big help when I was just getting started. It gives you some bearings, something to go off of, while you experiment. The guidelines helped me confirm types of clothing that I thought were unflattering in the past (A-line skirts, I'm looking at you!), and they also introduced me to other silhouettes that I hadn't thought of wearing. After I worked with the guidelines for a couple of years, I felt ready to branch out and try to make some of the less flattering styles work. But I needed the "training period" to get to that point.

Another great site for body shape guidelines is Imogen Lamport's Inside-Out Style.

shaz

Thanks Gigi very helpful