https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:08:40 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023849 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 20:50:01 +0000 In My Joi 1023849@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>WOW WEE, what an amazing self-discovery! Thanks for sharing your journey So often we do tend to focus on this flaw, or that flaw, rather than viewing ourselves as whole. Love this:&nbsp;<br />'our body is not defined by just ONE part, but the combination of all parts, both good and what we perceived as 'flawed'.</p> <p>Who defines what a "flaw" is, anyway?!</p> <p>#realtalk<br />#truth<br />#selfaffirmation </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023797 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 19:11:50 +0000 CocoLion 1023797@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I wanted to add that changes in fashion change our perception of our body types. &nbsp;I have always been primarily an hourglass. &nbsp;But when the style was fitted, body con tops and flared/boot cut bottoms, all I saw was my little "pooch" belly so I considered myself a secondary apple. &nbsp;But when styles changed to bodycon skinnies and looser tops, my tummy got hidden and suddenly all I saw was my curvy hips. &nbsp;So now I perceive myself as a secondary pear, because the skinny bottoms style really emphasizes that part of your body. &nbsp;Add to that, I am petite and short waisted so most tops end at a very different point on my body, often right at my hips, further drawing the eye towards my hips. &nbsp;When tops were fitted and cropped, the eye didn't travel to my hips, it travelled to my belly, further reinforcing my self-image as an apple. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023794 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 19:01:39 +0000 Firecracker (Sharan) 1023794@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>MsKatie, I like the way you put it, that our body is not determined by one part. I had a similar experience. For years I thought I was a pear, because I had hips and a very small bust. I couldn't figure out why the guidelines for pear shapes didn't seem to suit me. So I just tried to camouflage my hips and my not so narrow waist. About 5 years ago, I realized the shoulders play a part! Once I discovered I was an hourglass, albeit a straightish one, I started consciously highlighting my waist and felt a whole lot more attractive and confident in my clothes. Now I've gone back to a lot of waist-surrendering styles, because I like them. I'm more conscious of the overall effect I'm creating, though--the body as a whole, as you point out--and I feel so much happier with my clothes and my body. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023766 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 18:17:27 +0000 MsLuna 1023766@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>@Angie - I've seen you in both rectangle-type and hourglass-type garments and you always look amazing! I love looking at the outfits you come up with! And you are right - it's always good to pull in guidelines here and there for your secondary body type. At this point, though, I'm not quite sure if that would be apple or rectangle (I'm leaning towards apple because the bust/belly are quite rounded).</p> <p>@Gaylene - OMG!!! You are sooo my style sister! You had just finished posting something about flares earlier and now discovering that you're IT too... AAAA! This is amazing!&nbsp;</p> <p>The wide waist thing can totally throw anyone off, I find. I think because we women are so self-conscious of our wide waistlines that we forget about the rest of our body! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023743 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 18:00:49 +0000 Gaylene 1023743@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>*waving at another IT*</p> <p>You've pretty much describe my revelation that dressing my body wasn't all about hiding my mid-section. It sounds dumb not to have realized years ago that my straight shoulders are the widest part of my body and my hips are the narrowest. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023741 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:54:48 +0000 Angie 1023741@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>We are usually a mixture of body types, Ms. Katie. It makes total sense that your dominant body type is IT, but that you also consider the guidelines for apple and rectangle as secondary body types. That's an excellent epiphany. Well done. </p> <p>I'm not straight enough to be a true rectangle. But hells bells, I'm not a true hourglass by any stretch of the imagination. I battle to fill out a garment that hourglasses do so easily. But I <i>can </i>wear a straight cut and still look feminine, which is trickier for an hourglass. So I pop myself slap bang into the middle of those two body types and take guidelines from each. </p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023735 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:45:00 +0000 MsLuna 1023735@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>@Mo - It's so cool that the styles shifted with you! The loosely draped shirts are definitely in style these days, and I can see that working for some hourglass types!&nbsp;</p> <p>The jeans/shorts comfort is a really good thing to have. I could imagine the pulling being so uncomfortable!&nbsp;For the longest time I never wore jeans/shorts because they cut through my belly and cut my breathing ALL THE TIME! It wasn't pleasant, until I found American Eagle for jeans. Their jeans are low rise, but not too low rise and wide enough to accommodate the squishy belly. So yes... I CAN BREATHE AGAIN!</p> <p>so with regards to your style shift, the size has remained the same but the proportions have slightly shifted? That must be a bit more comfortable for you now! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023724 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:24:28 +0000 Mo 1023724@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>KatieKat, I found the styles luckily shifted with me - bodycon shirts fell out of favor for more loosely draping styles. &nbsp;Perfect! &nbsp;I now tend to wear a more fluid fit that hints at my waist than true waist hugging styles. &nbsp;Also, the slightly&nbsp;smaller hip just means more comfort in jeans and shorts; less pulling at the crotch. &nbsp;Hooray!<br />I should say that the shift is probably only an inch from hips up to waist. Like 1/2" or 3/4" bigger waist and likewise that much smaller in the hip.&nbsp;Size chart wise I am still the same size.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023722 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:21:55 +0000 MsLuna 1023722@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>@Janet</p> <p>I don't think it's often easy to discover what our bodies are like. Like you, I had a weird discovery about my body too! When I was taking a 3D modeling class back when I was studying graphic design, we had to model our faces and I discovered that my face was actually assymetrical! And I'm not just talking about one jawline being bigger than the other... One half of my face jsut looks like a totally different person! So you can see that I had one hell of a time modeling my face (lol). it wasn't pleasant, but almost heartaching. Here are my classmates with either perfectly symmetrical on only slightly assymetrical faces, while my face was almost totally different!</p> <p>Yikes!</p> <p>Good to know, though that your body is functioning well. Sometime we totally forget that the cosmetic stuff is just that - cosmetic. What counts is that we're healthy and happy! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023720 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:18:18 +0000 MsLuna 1023720@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>@JulieJohn</p> <p>Isn't it interesting that when we finally find clothes that fit right on us that we are a lot more comfortable? Of course, it also boils down to personal style and comfort. Some people prefer looser fit than others, while others prefer a tighter, slimmer fit.&nbsp;</p> <p>I base a lot of my style decisions on comfort now. And I believe comfort is relative, depending on the person. I have my fussy bits like my wide waist (low rise styles work best because they don't cut through the waist and prevent breathing lol!) and my feet (heel height between 1.5 to 2 inches. yes. They are&nbsp;THAT fussy). I need to take them into consideration because being uncomfortable is just not sexy! Just imagine all the fidgeting/squirming you do! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023718 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:14:38 +0000 Janet 1023718@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Well, I'm kind of a weirdo. I finally figured out in the last year or so that literally on one half of my body I am an hourglass. The other side of my body is more pear-like, due to scoliosis. I always wondered why certain pictures of me looked so lopsided, and I sucked up my courage, took some photos, and figured it out. I can't say I'm happy with my discovery, but these are the cards I've been dealt and I have to make the best of them. I have to remember that I'm lucky my issues are mainly just cosmetic and that my body works quite well!&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023716 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:11:41 +0000 MsLuna 1023716@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hi Mo!</p> <p>It's amazing how we get so fixated on what we think are the more prominent parts of us when we forget we have other parts to consider! LOL!</p> <p>When you were saying that your hips are shrinking and the waist is growing - did you find you have to shift the way you dress? How did that feel and how did that work out for you? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023715 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:10:09 +0000 JulieJohn 1023715@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love how you described this, Katie. </p> <p>I definitely had a similar experience. I used to think I had to wear more fitted items, because I am petite. But I find more comfort and versatility in a looser, yet still tailored, fit.</p> <p>I am finding that age brings wisdom, and acceptance of oneself. Instead of always trying to use clothes to correct figure flaws, we can play with fashion and use our bodies as our sandboxes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023714 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:08:36 +0000 Mo 1023714@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh, yes. &nbsp;I thought forever that I was a pear. &nbsp;Forever. &nbsp;Found out here I'm an hourglass. &nbsp;Made sense when I realized most size charts follow my own body measurements very closely. &nbsp;Having a smaller bust had me convinced I was all hips and booty lol. &nbsp;<br />Also, things are shifting every year after 40 and my waist is growing, while my hips are shrinking. &nbsp;Weird after being so hip conscious all these years. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/body-type-confusion-and-objectivity#post-1023709 Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:00:50 +0000 MsLuna 1023709@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Within the last few months, I realized that I've been dressing for the wrong body type. I've often believed myself to be either an apple or a "squishy" rectangle shape, mainly because I was so focused on my wide waistline. While dressing for these types through the years, I realized that clothes did not fit me very well, and I did not feel good in them.&nbsp;</p> <p>Being the designer that I am, I decided to look back at my own proportions. Despite my difficult emotional transition as of late, I tried to keep an objective eye, drew an imaginary line from my shoulder tips and down the length of my body.&nbsp;</p> <p>... and I found out I was actually an Inverted triangle. The shoulder line was wider than my hip line. So I experimented and dressed for this "new body type" and finally, I felt a lot better in my clothes.</p> <p>What I have learned from this experience is that I fixated too much on my flaws that I did anything and everything in my power to conceal it, but I have forgotten to consider the body as a whole! We are more than just are flaws - there are also many good things about us, and it's only fair that we highlight them as well! And better yet, our body is not defined by just ONE part, but the combination of all parts, both good and what we perceived as "flawed." It's all about looking at the body as a whole, taking an objective assessment of the silhouette, dressing for it, then highlighting the best parts of us.</p> <p>Anyone have a similar experience? </p>