A newbie's introduction and on body shape calculators

Hello everyone!

I'm a new member but I have followed this forum for several months now. First, thank you for such a wonderful place where it's safe to talk about different body types and personal experiences. I haven't seen a single troll on these forums and believe me, it's amazing. Love it!

About me: I'm a Finnish lass, 23, and on a personal quest to accept my body. I'm also learning how to dress it, because my history is full of baggy, unfitting (men's) clothing I used to hide myself. Like many of you have been, I'm a bit confused of what my body type is, but I'll save the detailed information on that to another post.

Obviously I have spent many, many hours taking measurements of myself and using those body type calculators on several different sites. I've done the fruit type test, MyShape (when it was still up), Trinny and Susannah's, ecto,-meso,-endomorph test etc. etc.

I was very curious to begin with but unfortunately, even after all these tests I still don't know "what I am". The test result can vary a lot. One test keeps giving me banana/straight as a result, fairly many give hourglass or even pear/triangle. When I look into the mirror, I really don't know what to believe.

So what do you think? Have body shape calculators been helpful to you, have they done harm or do you avoid them altogether?

12 years ago

Inge

(website)

Moderator

Welcome to the forum, Hopsie! I already look forward to hear and see more about Finnish style through you;-)

I've never really used any of the body type calculators or methods, so I'm not much help there. I did post a picture when I first found YLF and asked Angie for input. I now know I'm an hourglass with rectangular tendencies and that does help me interpret certain trends for my own body and better understand why other things don't work so well (but I never really was much of a "body type analyzer", and it appeared I was intuitively dressing for my shape anyway, so there you go:-)

If you like, you can always post a picture on the forum so Angie can help you determine your body type. (form-fitting clothes and a picture with your arms down is best for this).

Hopsie

Active Member

Thank you Inge. I'll ask a friend to take some photos. It's good to have opinion from other people, even if they're just " a hunch". They can set things back in perspective.

I remember when I went to see a physiotherapist because of my body asymmetry (my left side is slightly different shape than my right side). I was very self conscious about my waist, which has a nice curve on my right side but is bulkier on the left side. She made a good point that there hardly is a single person with 100% symmetrical body, and since my asymmetry was hardly noticeable, didn't cause me pain or other difficulties, I shouldn't spend any more time worrying a trivial detail like that.
It really helped, now I spend my time worrying other trivialities!

Anyway, about the calculators. I do like to picture myself an hourglass or a pear(ish), but body shape is not just about bust, waist and hip measurements. This curiosity is probably about self exploration, not just self appreciation I'm looking for. I kept my body veiled in over-sized clothing so long and I never paid attention to it until now, after getting fed up with my old ways. Calculators offer clear answers so easily and with little effort and it appeals to the laziness and impatience in me. Unfortunately laziness, impatience and getting to know yourself (or building a new wardrobe) don't really mix.

Meanwhile, let's hope I can show you at least some of Finnish style in the near future!

JennyAnne

Veteran

When I first started posting on this site, just a few months ago, my first post was to find out my body shape. I got a lot of help figuring that out, but one thing I've learned here is that body shapie is not the be-all and end-all of style. If you just start photographing yourself in different outfits (invest in a $10 camera tripod), and post them here, you'll get lots of feedback and find out what looks great on you!

nancylee

Welcome, Hopsie! I've never used any body shape calculators, but several YLFers recently tried the body proportions method shown in this link with great results:

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....iscoveries

Thanks, nancylee! I've just read the thread and done the measurements: apparently I'm in the "long chest/bust club" too. It could be because of my long neck. Not sure if my head is any bigger or smaller than average...

The measuring session was rather quick and maybe I could have been more careful, but it seems that the rest of my sections are in balance, with only quarter or half an inch shorter or longer.

Knowing my proportions and looking myself in the mirror it seems that I'm a rectangle with a teeny weeny bit more curves. On Finnish sites and books there's a body type called "soft H", which is basically a curvier rectangle, or a body type that is in between rectangle and hourglass/pear. Doesn't seem too bad, but I guess I'll take pictures anyway.

Ana

I just wanted to pop in and say hello and welcome! : )

Transcona Shannon

Welcome to YLF Hopsie - you will get so much help and support on this forum. Looking forward to seeing your Finnish style!

kimlee

Welcome to the forum! I look forward to getting to know you and seeing your style.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

The lasses have you sorted Hopsie, so I'm just popping in to say welcome! And I look forward to seeing more of your style

rae

Welcome, Hopsie! I can see how the body type calculators can be misleading, especially if you're a person like me who carries weight front to back rather than on the sides. Lots of times calculators tell me I'm a very pronouned hourglass, when actually I look almost rectangular from the front.

Personally, I don't much find body types helpful. Rather, I think it's sometimes helpful to think in terms of specific areas (e.g. "how to minimize my shoulders" or "how to minimize my waist" rather than "how to 'correct' my body shape").

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