I've done Imogen's Proportions Exercise-ok to adjust for big head? - YouLookFab Forum

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I've done Imogen's Proportions Exercise-ok to adjust for big head?

rae

(website)

Veteran

Consider exhibit #1, in which I used my entire head length for Imogen's exercise. According to this, I am short eeeeeverywhere, except for my just-about-proportional lower abdomen. This was not very helpful to me, since it not only went against a lot of my hard-learned rules (e.g. carving up my upper bust with low necklines), and also confused me... if I'm consistently short... does that mean I have a big bobblehead and a squat figure? No one's ever called me squat in my life...

Now consider exhibit #2, in which I use my *exposed* head length for the exercise (concealing bangs having been acquired to visually shrink head in the first place). THIS makes more sense:

Long in the upper chest - explains why I feel like a topheavy Hulk in crewnecks and turtlenecks unless there is some kind of necklace involved.

VERY short in the upper torso - this confirms it: no wide belts at the waist for me! A wide belt will just turn into a boob shelf.

A bit long in the lower torso! - surprise.. I know the distance from crotch seam to hip bones is short, and thought this why I cal wear low-rise and low-riding jeans/shorts. I don't know what to make of this, though... is it proof that I don't need petite tops, even though my upper torso is short? If you add the extra lower torso to the missing upper torso, it seems to balance out...

Short in the upper leg - no shock... OTK socks are always thigh-highs on me.

Slightly long through the lower leg - what to make of this? Mid-calf boots are ok, because of the long shins? Slightly tall boots are ok as well? Wait... is this genetic predisposition for boot lust??

Ahem... feel free to laugh at me.

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38 replies

Latest reply was from Mochi

catgirl

Veteran

This is the best and funniest thing I've ever seen. Great way to depict what this exercise is about... You are the BEST!

Mochi

Veteran

Ha! I love it! You get an A+ and a gold star. And I suspect that if I lost about 40 lbs (and a lot of chestage along with it), my body and proportions would closely resemble yours. (How tall are you, if you don't mind my asking?)

I'm still not applying my findings...I will go back to Imogen's site and try and make sense of it all when I have some spare time. It's confusing still!!

rae

(website)

Veteran

Haha, thanks AG!

Mochi, I'm 5'4". Barely non-petite.

Anonymous

You're so funny and cute! I'm feeling all old-fashioned with my little piece of string.

rosee

Veteran

hilarious pic! To be expected of you.

...ok, so how are we to measure the head again? I got 8.5" from just above my hairline (I have a high forehead) to my chin. But what if I went to the tip top of my head, there would be the curve around my frontal lobe and then I get 10.5". Isn't it supposed to be the visible part of you head in a 2-D picture? Confused still....

Suz

(website)

Veteran

OMG, Rae, this is hilarious!! Not to mention adorable.

As I understand it, you've got to use your full head length. I redid my own measurements on this basis (and also to account for the fact that I had screwed up where the leg break was supposed to be) and learned that I am short EVERYWHERE except chin to bust!

The way I see it, the relative size of our heads is merely evidence of our high intelligence.

I once heard that many actors have larger than proportionate heads because this is good for the showing their expressions. Maybe we missed our calling?

rosee

Veteran

Sorry to be a spanner, Suz, but Albert Einstein had a really small head, as did many famous intelligent scientists (studied this in several Physical Anthropology classes for my degree).
I agree that many actors have larger heads -- or at least it looks like that on some very skinny bodies.
Looking at DaVinci's pic again and assuming his possible thinking, I'm guessing the 8.5" measurement is more accurate than the 10.5" one -- otherwise I'd have to go under my feet too to compensate at the other end.
I'm going to do this again. I also get different results for the upper leg depending if I use the leg break or the crotch /inseam measurement. I too think I have a longer difference between those 2 measurements.

Interestingly, there are at least 4 threads on this topic. Maybe Angie will have to create another post category soon.

Diana

Veteran

I think that the 8 head lengths = body measurement is probably optimized for Leonardo Da Vinci's ideal man... which means that most women will probably measure short somewhere. Also, although I think that head size doesn't really correlate with height, I suspect that for those of us who are on the short side there will be a bigger discrepancy. (My head is 8.5" long and I am 63.5" tall so that means that I am only about 7.5 head lengths total, so obviously I have to be short somewhere.) I do think you have to use your entire vertical head height though (so not taking into account any curvature, just the "height" of your head). Interesting thought about visually changing your proportions with bangs too...

I love your visuals, by the way!

Anonymous

Good job Rae, I vote for the small head measurement. I've been playing around on Imogen's site this evening, and there is acually a category for you and Suz with this long rise thing going on and a Polyvore of styles that cut across the lower abdomen to divide and conquer (think yoga pants with a contrasting fold-over waist band). Very interesting stuff! Of course it's also an easy place to have your untucked top end too, if you're wearing jeans/pants.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

It's a Totem Rae!!! Too funny, but awesome, too.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Diana, I'd forgotten to do that part! I went back, and with the shorter head measurement, I'm almost *exactly* 8 head lengths... With the larger head measurement, I'm just over 6!! so it seems like the bangs are a good idea!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Rae you'll have to teach your neat trick. I have a pic just waiting to be 'totemed' lol.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Mo, I used Photoshop, but you should be able to use a program like Paint as well. Draw lines across the points Imogen uses for measurements. Then "select" your head, making sure the selection exactly touches the top and bottom, no further. Copy the selection. Then just keep pasting heads into the picture, lining them up from top to bottom and overlapping whenever you get to a line marking a new section of the body.

AJ

Veteran

ROFL!!! This is AWESOME!! You must send it to Imogen!!

Aziraphale

Veteran

LMAO! And now my belly hurts. I think I've pulled some stitches. Rae, you're hilarious. Someone should definitely call this thread to Imogen's attention.

I agree that most women are going to be short somewhere. The eight-head thing is the so-called 'ideal', not what always happens IRL, because yes, some people have longer heads than others. And it's an ideal for men, anyway, not women. But it's an interesting exercise.

I read somewhere once that the average model has a body that is nine head lengths long, instead of 7.5 for the average woman (or 8 for the average man). Or maybe I heard it from an art prof. This is the kind of stuff that comes up at art school.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Something else just occurred to me. Since this is all about proportions, who says that the head -- the first proportion you measure, and the standard by which you measure all others -- is always the so-called 'ideal' length? If you can have a longer-than-average rise, or a longer-than-average calf or thigh, who says you can't have a longer-than-average noggin/face? And this will naturally mess with all your other measurements. As Rae has so delightfully demonstrated.

san

Veteran

This is a great visual Rae. Thanks for doing this! It's so interesting to know that others have a long chest like I do, and a long torso yet a short waist with a long rise. At least that's how I understood your pictures.

sarah

Veteran

I don't have any idea what you're talking about (I don't have time to spend much time on any fashion sites but this one), but you are adding humor to my day, and I thank you for that!

Claudia

Veteran

Rae, you are so funny! That's such a great and memorable visual! Clever girl, you.

I appreciate all the threads and people that have posted their findings. I find this so interesting, and not just from a fashion standpoint.

The role of height on me and my small head:

BTW, the first time I did this exercise I measured from my hairline to my chin but soon realized while doing it that this had to be wrong by how my proportions were coming out so freakishly long so I rewatched Imogen and added the distance from my hairline to the top of my crown to this unit.

Four out of the eight measurement zones came out long on me: my upper torso (chin to chest, chest to natural waist) and my lower legs (knee to foot which was quite long in particular). My more balanced zones were my rise and thighs. No zone turned out short on me.

I am almost 5'9" with a small head (I have smallish bone structure in general I think based on my dainty ankles, small wrists and ring size for my height -- my whole life people much shorter than I am have commented on how little my wrists and ring size are compared to theirs). While 5'8" or 9" is on the tall side, it is on the low end for buying Tall Size clothes, yet those are the size range I have always preferred on my body. I knew I had long legs with a long inseam, but I didn't think my torso was long. Because I have big boobs, I always imagined I was even a bit short waisted and my need for Tall Size tops was because of the large boobage.

On a personal note, doing this exercise made me feel better about my huge bust. This week I also learned that I require a G cup. There was relief in knowing that the large amount of real estate that my breasts take up, was some what helped visually by having a long torso.

After doing this exercise, when I look at people, I now notice their proportions at a glance, too.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Elizabeth, that's exactly what I thought! I've always known I have a large head, since hats are always small and shallow, but I don't have much trouble fitting clothes.

San, I hesitate to say I'm long in the rise, because regular-rise jeans go up practically to my natural waist, well over my hip bones. I don't know what *else* to call it, though. Maybe I'm long for my body, but short compared to the world at large.

Claudia, I'm glad someone else noticed that the proportions came out wonky because of head size! Cool that it explains cup size, too.

Suz, we should have been movie stars.

Patty

Veteran

Suz and Rosee---Merv Griffin once said "TV loves a big head". That's why he hired Vanna White. LOL

Rae--Love this !!!! but you've got to measure like you've got no hair!---go a little lower on your head if your hair has body or poofiness.

I wish the clothing makers made clothes to 8 heads --that way I might get something that fits!!

Jonesy

Veteran

Fabulous pics!! I find this head-measuring thing too complex, but I am enjoying watching along :).

Suz

(website)

Veteran

In my re-measurement I discovered that I am a head length (MY head length) short of ideal, because I'm almost 5 inches short on top, and almost 5 inches short on the bottom. Making my top and bottom (torso and legs) EQUAL but just short all over!!

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I just redid mine. I used a metal measuring tape and put one hand on top of my head to mimic the bar that is on the old style scales that used to be in doctors' offices. Once I had it to where I thought the bottom of my chin was, I locked the tape in that location and turned sideways to verify it was close. I was wearing a horizontal striped t and that made it easier to do the torso measure. The head measure was about 9". Multiplying by 8 would make me 6' tall and I am 5'5".

My chin to mid-bust was about an inch longer than head length. My mid-bust to waist measure was only half or 4-5" short of a full head measure. I faced the mirror and lifted one leg to identify the break point and used the center of the thigh for the waist to legbreak. It was about an inch short. My thigh measure was about two inches short but my calf was even or just a bit longer than the head.

Last I measured from head to leg break and from floor to leg break. Head to leg break was about 31-32" and leg break to floor was about 33-34".

I am very short-waisted an my calves are longish for my legs. I gain weight more in the hip thigh area which are short compared to the rest of me.

I have always found empire tops or those with a seam below the bust don't fit me properly. I was told once that they are cut for a C cup and that is why the seam always seemed to be too high. I guess the long chin to bust measure also contributes to this but a long neck would impact this too.

Thanks again Suz. Very interesting article.

rosee

Veteran

Because I like playing with math, I figured my ideal measurement would be my height (5'6") divided by 8 , so 66" /8 = 8.25" so my head is 1/4" too long, and my other measurements are up to 3/4" too long or too short.
(But if I was a supermodel, that throws things off considerably, my ideal measurement would be, 66" /9 = 7.3". Pygmy head syndrome.)

Patty

Veteran

For rounding out sake--I have a 10" head.
10" X8 head heights=6'4" I am closer to 5'10".

Patty

Veteran

To add---our anatomy skeleton's head is 7 1/2 inches skull cap to chin--just sayin'.

Adding---the distance from end of palm to tip of middle finger is the length of your face from chin to hairline--roughly. Your arms straight equals your height--roughly. There are other comparative body lengths I can't remember right now--roughly.

ImogenL

(website)

Rae - I love your pic - it's genius! You're a 6" tall babe hiding in a 5'4" body! You should be 6' because of the size of your head.

Men are more 8 head lengths, women are usually shorter (particularly if they're shorter than 5'6") but clothes are made for a 8 head length woman - in very standard proportions - which is why stuff doesn't fit! I've read somewhere that women (average height not petite) are averagely around 7 3/4 head lengths not 8.

Do email me photos if you want some help.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

This was so much fun! And very interesting, Imogen! It really does emphasize the importance of befriending a tailor (or learning to sew) and it takes some of the shame out of things not fitting!

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