Ask Angie: am I an apple or an hourglass?

I'll have to take a picture of me in some revealing clothes
I'm sooo confused. I'm supposed to be an hourglass, all the tests say so, but hourglass clothes don't flatter me that much.

Here's my measurements:
height 5.5 - 5.6
weight 100-110 lbs
shoulders (around) 37 inches
bust 35.5
underbust 30 (cup B)
waist 26-27, depending on how much I ate
lower belly\hipbones 34
hips/butt 35.5

If you look at me straight on, my shoulders look a little wider than my hips, but if the pants aren't flattering (high waist or pleated), shoulders & hips seem to be about the same width.
I have high hips - meaning the distance between waist and hipbone is very small. My lower stomach and my hipbones are on the same level. Visually this part of me is the widest, because I carry my fat in my lower stomach and my hipbones are rather wide. If I gain weight, some of it goes into my ass & tops of thighs & back, but this zone (below navel) becomes the most prominent one.

As for the rest of me - average neck, short torso, long slim arms and legs, average bust for my height & size, thin wrists and ankles.
I won't gain weight easily unless I live on pizza & pie, but I still have some strategic fat reserve and it's mostly situated in my (otherwise rather flat) butt & lower stomach.

Thus the hipbone thing confuses my dressing choices.
From my measurements it seems I must be an hourglass or even a pear - and yes my waist is rather defined from the back yet I always have a belly, even at my thinnest. The classic pears & hourglasses I've seen seem to have narrow waist followed by rather narrow & flat lower stomach which then widens dramatically into wide hips and sturdy legs.
Me, on the other hand - my thighs aren't extremely thin, but they are slender, especially in proportion to the rest of my body. And my calves are what they call dainty - actually, my legs are my best feature, even when I gained 25 pounds due to some medicine, short empire waist dresses with attention grabbing heels were my best choice.
I also look good in shift dresses if they are made of soft fabric. Anything that doesn't accentuate the lower stomach\upper hip area and ends above knee. Even a boyfriend's shirt
Cargo pants made of fine fabric with low-to-mid rise & a slightly longish black tee that covers up the lower stomach area also look good - despite thigh pockets and such.

Actually, save for aforementioned cargo pants and skinnies worn with longish tops, I have a difficult relationship with pants - I always look thinner in a short dress, even a skirt. Wide legged jeans or pants made of thick fabrics are totally the worst, because leg shape is hidden completely.

Those are hourglass or pear problems, right?

But when I try to wear hourglass clothes, I end up looking... kinda hourglassy but also kinda bulkier all over. My waist sort of gets lost in my high hips. You can see it when I try on a belt - instead of a long slide from narrow to wide, it's narrow - and then suddenly wide. Proportionally not too wide - but this wideness is situated where other women (even those much curvier than me) have narrower bodies, for them wideness starts lower. So if you can't see my limbs, you'll think me bigger than I am. Add the fullness of skirt & the shoulder\top detailing = a relative hourglass but a padded one.

A-line silhouette looks better, but I don't feel like it really flatters me. Unless it's soft, short and skims that much talked about area.

So, that's me. Most flattering outfit: short sleeved maternity dress with a mini skirt LOL
Least flattering outfit: wide leg low rise jeans, a belt with a big shiny buckle and a cropped tee

What am I? Help!

17 years ago

Tanya

Veteran

Dear Seashell, thank you for posting all of this info, but it would be still the best to post a photo. Doesn't have to be anything revealing, just a simple fitted outfit.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Thanks seashell and Tanya has you on the right track. A picture in a form fitting outfit will really help.

seashell

Member

Here, I managed to take a picture in the middle of moving, so ignore the mess please The dress doesn't fit quite right across the shoulders but it's the tightest one I had at hand.

http://i92.photobucket.com/alb.....h832/1.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/alb.....32/2-2.jpg

Maya

I'm not the expert but you look more like a rectangle to me. Definitely not an apple. Angie would probably know better.

Antje

Definitely not an apple. It seems like there is a defined waist there, though your dress is hiding it quite a bit, and you do have nice strong shoulders. My bet is on the hourglass!

Oh, and maybe an hourglass with a short torso/long legs. So you might want to look at some of the tips for shorter torsos.

I beleive you're hourglass as well.. I think a photo in a tight tee&jeans would help to narrow it down.

Hm, maybe it is the dress. Actually, now that I look over your measurements again, you probably are an hourglass. Your shoulder, waist, and hip measurements are identical to mine, and your bust is larger and more balanced with your hips...so you're actually probably more of an hourglass than I am. It seems like you're just short-waisted.

Actually if you were my height I think we'd be body doubles. Your legs look very long compared to your torso. What inseam do you usually wear in jeans/pants?

Thanks seashell. The ladies are spot on. You’re definitely not an apple. You're an hourglass that tends towards an inverted triangle. You have a very strong shoulder line and your height is in your legs. Jeans and a fitted T allows a more accurate assessment, but for now I’ll stay with this.

Thank you so much

I told Mum about this, and she said when I was a teen, I always looked like an inverted triangle to her. I had a smaller bust and narrower hips then, too, so even though I can still wear my old clothes, the tight ones got a little too tight.

Maya,
I can't say for sure about the inseam, because I hemmed my current jeans (both pairs))). Their labels both say 34, that was too long. From what I can remember, the fitting inseam is about 30.
I often have to buy longer pants and hem them because pants with shorter inseam look more low-rise on me than they are supposed to.

And buying a pant suit is plain impossible, because either the pants are too short or the sleeves are too long.

Anonymous

You certainly have an adorable figure. The picture you painted with your description was not so adorable so I was pleasantly surprised how cute you are.
Your description was way to hard on yourself.

I don't think suits ever fit right off the rack. Men always get their suits tailored, even though they're comparably easy to fit. Most men I know go into the whole process already knowing that they'll need alterations. I don't understand why women make a big deal out of it. Women are harder to fit because they're curvy, which to me means that they are far more in need of alterations than men yet for some reason men are the ones who seem to utilize tailors the most. If you're going to make an investment like that, the least you can do for yourself is make sure it fits perfectly.

Thank you, san

Maya, I think it's because a lot of women don't look at suits the same way. Most men I know have just a few suits. Each one is an investment, so it's fine to put time and effort into it. And most women have a lot of clothes, for them a single piece of clothing isn't worth as much time & effort.
Me, I'm just lazy. I used to be a total tomboy, cargo pants and t-shirts, until working for a huge company forced me into getting formal clothes.

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