Hello, Ladies!

I have been a bit of a lurker for the past year, but desperation has dragged me out into the forum.

I am having a bit of an issue identifying my body type, and the clothes that would look good on me, and my poor husband is suffering the consequences of multiple wardrobe meltdowns. I just can never find something that looks good on me, that I feel comfortable in and that fits my budget! (I guess that's another issue altogether, though...) So, here are the stats and maybe you fabulous ladies can help me figure myself out.

I am 5' 3.5" tall, with a very short waist (15.5" back length) and always thought of myself as rectangular, until my bust started growing (I'm 27, and remained about the same size from 18-22 or so). I am now a 36DD (gack!), but I have a (somewhat) smaller waist, and my hips are slightly larger than my waist. So, inverted triangle, perhaps? I have a bit of a tummy, too, so maybe I'm just deceiving myself and I'm actually an apple.

Here's my problem: I can NEVER find shirts (or dresses, for that matter) that fit me in the bust AND the waist area. I thought that the empire-waisted "babydoll" type shirts would do the trick, but they hide my waist, making me look even bigger in the bust, and they never come down long enough to go completely under the bust. Fitted shirts are the same--to make them fit in the bust, they are huge around the waist. I like the popular voluminous looks, but my husband says that they don't do my figure justice by hiding the smallest part of me--my waist.

So, I would think a belt would be good, right? Wrong. My waist isn't *that* small. I just end up looking dumpy. I opt for longer-length shirts because they are more slimming, but my husband says that I just look shorter when I wear the long shirts. I tend to agree with him, but I can never find something that fits so I settle for feeling fat and busty and never really pretty in my clothes.

My husband really is awesome about trying to help me--he is always there for me when I have a terrible wardrobe malfunction. But I am tired of the crises that arise whenever I have to go to a function. I would rather have, as Angie says, some "flop-proof" outfits that work for my larger bust and shorter body. Any ideas???

Thanks!
Rachel