Who has a flat butt and how do you dress it, or lack of it! - YouLookFab Forum

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Who has a flat butt and how do you dress it, or lack of it!

karymk

Veteran

Even though I am a pants girl, I doubt I even look great in them. I like my butt in underwear and bathing suits because I try my darnedest to keep it in shape! And it is the best I can get it. But when it comes to pants, where oh where is my Back?? Baby wants Back!!

My rear appears flat and shapeless in most every Jean or trouser. I have a few pairs of trousers that work better than jeans do. But most boyfriends are a sag story from behind unless they are freshly washed.

I have tried embellished pockets, no pockets and flap pockets. I have tried skirts, but would hate to feel they were a default.

I'm just going to grin and bear it knowing that my rump is really high and mighty under clothes. What more can I do?

if this is your figure challenge, and I hope it is not, please share how you dress your booty to its best effect! Name your favorite pant brands if you will.

k

Urgent

25 replies

Latest reply was from UtahDesert

Sharon

Veteran

Haha. I don't have much of a butt, however I can't say I've ever considered it a figure challenge. I think it's just in the last few years that having a round butt has been considered desirable and sought after or that is my perception anyway. I think if it is still defying gravity, you are doing well! Maybe ponte or scuba pants might be good for showcasing that.

I was reading an exercise article about developing a respectable booty and the answer seemed to be hip thrusts. Like I'll be doing those in a gym full of "bros". Not.

Anonymous

Hey, wait a minute..! I have to disagree loudly with the statement that "it's just in the last few years that having a round butt has been considered desirable..". Maybe the open public approval has been recent but as a long time owner of one,for decades, it's been one of the most consistently complimented components of the package!
Luckily for us all, some like more, some like less, and some are too busy looking at some other part they like better!

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

I feel your pain. Unfortunately, I think only pilates and yoga can fix it. And not all the way.

rachylou

Veteran

I wonder if that's why I like jeggings? I used to have a butt. Don't know where it went!

(Also: you have shed new light on that song for me)

Day Vies

Veteran

Ah... well the grass is always greener. I have always been pleased with my lack of butt it made pants and miniskirts very easy to wear. I tend to wear lighter colors and volume on the bottom to fill things out a bit.

Joy

Veteran

I used to have a nice found bottom but woke up one day in my early 60's to find it gone. I blame gravity. I understand your problem very well. Skinny jeans aren't bad but for other styles and trousers it is very very hard to find a fit.
Have you tried undergarments that are supposed to lift and shape? I find that they can help somewhat.

Grey Rainbow

Pancake butt here. Always had a flat rear; at this point (I'm 56) I am resigned that I always will. And a pants girl, always. I do own one skirt... One dress too! My rearmost challenge is the excess fabric that droops half way down my thighs like deflated balloons, from where a backside should be.

Jeans are better for me than trousers. My,current favorites are Gap real straight, their faded wash. The higher percentage of cotton means no baggy butt syndrome. Jeans with poly blend seem the worst for baggy butt, even higher end and even if they're mixed with stretch. My old Paige Hidden Hills flares are OK but benefit from the miracle of the semi tuck, the asymmetrical and the high-low top. Boyfriend cardis and blazer jackets, Gentlewoman style, also disguise my derrière. 26-28" is Enough for me at 5'6" with short waist.

Ah, no jeans at work: my go-to for trousers is Theory. The friend of the vanishing rear. I do have Calves, at 15" they're like my butt slid all the way down to my lower leg. So some of the slim-leg are too tight on the calf when they fit waist/hips/thighs.

OTOH, EF harem pants and EF jersey and silk slouchy ankle pants, those just drape without obstruction, and make me feel extra lean and elegant.

Even with the marvels of Theory, it all works best with a silky top in a semi tuck or some kind of topper cutting at least half way across the conspicuous absence of Back.

Sharon

Veteran

isabel, yes, I meant in popular culture, of course. There always seems to be some body type or part that is considered aspirational/fashionable and this is just the first time I can recall booty having it's time in the sun, so to speak. At an individual level there has always been much more diversity in what people find attractive than is portrayed in the media. Thank goodness for that, or I might find myself an unwilling celibate. The trick is just to find the partners who are enthusiastic about your particular arrangement of anatomy.

Jeanie

Veteran

Gosh, you can have some of mine. I've seen padded underwear to add some volume. IDK, maybe?

Summer

Veteran

Another flattie here! Like sharon and Day Vies, I've never really considered it a probem. Jeans and trousers always seem easy to fit for me, and I spend most of my life in them. Having said that, I do tend to like a little coverage at the back, so perhaps I'm a rather more concerned than I thought.

By the way, I love Jeanie's first sentence. We're never satisfied with our lot, are we?

Erin

Like a few people already mentioned, I think having some coverage in the back helps (half tuck, blazer, etc). Also, pencil skirts are less about the butt and more about the hips so they work too!

kkards

Veteran

i've got no butt, never had, wear pants almost exclusively. and frankly i like the butt i have. i like how pants flow over it. but other than wanting to be taller, i've always been pretty happy with the body i have.

Beth Ann

Veteran

Everytime I pull on a pair of embellished pockets and wince, I shall think of you..... or put on a pencil skirt that makes my rear end look like a speed bump.

I always felt I would seem more refined with smaller butt. I guess we always want what we don't have!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Heh, I've never had much of a butt. I got comments from a classmate when I was in junior high letting me know that, and one of my best friends reminded me of it last year. For better or for worse, all my padding seems to be on the sides, sigh. But I've never despaired for lack of booty, really -- I'm not unhappy with my behind. I'm much more self-conscious of the hips and thighs, as you know. I've yet to see those become fashionable.

However, I do have to say that running has helped my butt more than anything. Cycling seems to help my legs (at least cellulite-wise, nothing seems to eliminate the saddlebags). But you have no issues in that area -- lucky you! The grass is always greener, isn't it?

I sometimes wonder if it looks a little weird to have significant hips but no butt, but I don't exactly loose sleep over it. I just don't worry much over my rear view unless something is really unflattering (I'm looking at you, Rag & Bone Dre jeans in that unfortunate wash) or ill-fitting.

I do think my skirted leggings and my more body-con dresses give a curvier impression to the rear end, as do skinny jeans and ponte pants -- at least from what I can see in the side view. Anything with significant stretch that doesn't bag out and give me droopy butt.

Anonymous

I've had a flat butt all my life (thanks genes from Dad!!) I'm also elliptical in shape, as in I'm narrow from side view and wide from full front view. Add to that the fact that I have high bits of 'padding' just below my waist at back either side of my spine and my rear view is just wide and flat. Oh and I have a large waist and my belly sticks out (I look back to front!!). I live with it, simple as that I'm afraid, as I have no choice. Exercise firms things a bit but doesn't alter my overall shape, so I always prefer more firmer structured fabrics and steer clear of slinky un-patterned fabrics and as others have mentioned a top that hangs down a bit at the back. I also wear clothes that highlight my good bits (I must have some somewhere!!) and of course a big smile

Joyce B

Veteran

I find that squats help shape up the butt. I don't have a flat butt but I can see the difference that daily squats and some holding your squat/sustained squats can make.
Maybe those can help a little?
If I may say this, you look fabulous in everything I have seen you post. Sometimes concerns are more perceived than real.

Anonymous

Yeah, echoing JoyceB, you always look ah-ma-zing! Off to do some squats now

flnu

Agreed!

merwoman

Veteran

I feel your buttless pain karymk! There is no junk in my trunk! I use many of the same strategies that Grey Rainbow listed. Low rise jeans work best on me and helps minimize the pancake effect. The bright side is I can wear tight leggings in public

Sal

Veteran

I also have a bit of a flat butt!! Definitely have suffered from droopy seat in the odd pair of trousers or jeans. I do now do a lot of squats lunges etc and it does help but I am wider from front view than side view especially in the legs area.

I find getting the right jeans important....I do have boyfriends but doubt they do my butt any favours at all.

I think other people don't really notice and I have never noticed it on of any of the people who have admitted the same problem above!

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I prefer gluteally challenged and am a member of the group. I did squats with 75 lb BB three times a week for about a year combined with conventional deads with 125 lbs. I MAY have added a tiny weeny little bit of glute but I doubt it was discernible without a magnifying glass.

I just got back from 5 weeks in Mexico and I spent a few hours a day walking on the beach and on high tide days, I walked in water that was ankle to mid calf deep (hard work). I think that I added more firmness and shape to my butt in that 5 weeks than all my weight training. Sadly, there is no beach at home.

As to clothes, the usual suggestion of pockets with flaps helps to add volume in back. I find the worst thing is jeans/pants that are snug across the lower butt. I test out pants with a second opinion and ask how butt flattening they are before considering.

I think it was Claire who suggested the calinetics (sp) DVD for this purpose. I bought one but never got around to trying it. Another good exercise is bridges - you can use a weight plate to make it more challenging.

I think you look great too by the way.

dashielle (Ann)

(website)

Veteran

Am also 'on the team' and always have been. From my experience, 3 things contribute to my less than stellar rear view IMO. I have very little spinal curvature in the lower back. Really not optimal for spinal health, so the 'junk' is really the least of my problems in that area. The second and third have to do with underlying musculature and overlying fat distribution. I have spent a lot of time palpating the differences in structure between DH and myself (TMI?), since he has more junk than many women (in a lean, guy-like way). I found that when I was lifting and doing lots o squats, I could only make marginal changes. When instructors say 'activate those glutes' I have never been good at isolating them...it's almost like someone forgot to wire them up, lol! Anyway, DH likes mine, so I have chilled out and stopped wearing push-up/padded drawers (yes, I tried those) and fall back to several options. The pads help when wearing a jersey type dress so I don't look like a board from the side. Skinnies and leggings, tight enough so the butt doesn't sag. I also have found the Gap skinnies, Joes, Paige and Kuts to be best. Low rise helps, but they bug me in front, plus, without hips it can be hard to keep them on. I love my EF harems, like Grey Rainbow, and find certain drapey looser fits (with elastic waist please) to help immensely. Tiny pockets in the right place. Bottom line (ha) is that I have no idea how to help. I try billions of pants on to find a good pair, probably not unlike everyone else. I embrace BF jeans, though usually with top covering most of the sag, which is then intentional vs ewwww. I'll have to take a picture for you guys to feel better about yourselves. When I'm in my one piece race leathers walking around I have the worst baggy butt/full diaper look, but then, so do all the other guys (and gals). Tight while standing makes it impossible to crouch on the bike, so we make do and accept that it's not a fashion show

Aziraphale

Veteran

Well, I have a tiny backside too, but I like mine that way. Rather than think of it as 'shapeless', I think of it as 'small and firm'. And I don't care if the seat of my pants is a little loose -- in fact I think, on my particular figure, that they look better that way.

Think of it this way: the thing about bodies is that there is more than one shape that looks good. I round bubble butt looks fantastic on Kim Kardashian, but it wouldn't work on Keira Knightley at all. It wouldn't go with the rest of her.

ETA I don't think I answered the actual question -- 'how do you dress it' -- very well. As far as jeans go, I wear ones that fit but aren't too skintight. I find that going for jeans that are fitted but with a little 'ease' tend to emphasize my slim short figure -- the whole of it. It's not that I'm dressing around my bum, or trying to emphasize it or hide it or anything. It's just part of my overall gamine figure. I find that if you kind of go with what you have, things work out, you know? I drown in really loose jeans, and really tight ones tend to make me look unbalanced (top-heavy). I can wear different styles of jeans, though -- skinnies, boyfriends, bootcuts -- provided I stick to ones that are neither too loose nor too tight.

As for back pockets, I hate lots of embellishment. Especially rhinestones. Not my thing at all! So I steer clear of those. I do like the look of flap pockets, though, and I can get away with the bit of extra volume they add.

Marley

Veteran

I just wear what fits the best on my body - and then don't think about it after that. I'm aware that some of my pants/jeans are droopy in the back, but I've always been a "front-view" girl rather than a "back-view" girl so it doesn't really bother me!

UtahDesert

I've got a flat butt too. I'm not sure if it was always that way--I never paid much attention to it before. But now that I'm 55 and have lost 50 pounds in the last year to get down to my more or less ideal weight I've noticed it. My personal trainer and I are working on my glutes, but in the meantime there are pants that make a difference. In Hudson jeans (the Collin cut) my rear end looks a lot more shapely. And also flattering, of all things, are my hiking pants--Columbia's City Slickerz.