[ETA photos] Can pear shapes have broad shoulders? - YouLookFab Forum

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Body Type

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[ETA photos] Can pear shapes have broad shoulders?

N

Hi, i'm really struggling to pin point my body type and I never know how to dress to flatter my shape. I'm tall 5'10", mostly slim, but I do gain weight in my thighs and bottom. Well it's the only place I have any weight at all really, the rest is all pretty skinny. If it was just my bone structure I would say I'm an inverted triangle as the shoulder line is much wider than the hip line you see from looking at my figure straight on (the front). If I'm taking measurements, the circumference, the hip and shoulders are similar but thats only because I have a round bum at the back. I have next to no bust and my waist circumference is much smaller than hip and shoulders BUT front on doesn't look that defined at all. Anyway I definitely need to draw attention away from my shoulders but wearing stuff like peplums does not work for me at all as I have a long torso and my bottom is already round enough and more attention doesn't need to be added there...

Another point is I really like the way boat necks and off the shoulder tops look on me, for some reason they seem more slimming on the shoulders and I'm not sure why because they shouldn't...please help!

My measurements are:

Shoulder 102cm/40"
Bust 84cm/ 33"
Waist 74cm/29"
Hip 99cm/39"

But I'm a little over my personal ideal weight at the moment, though still in the perfectly healthy bmi range and will probably get and inch or two off my hips after I've lost a few KGs.

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Body Type

42 replies

Latest reply was from Jenni NZ

Bijou

Veteran

Absolutely! You should have a read of Angie's post here as it sounds as though you are a combination of a pear and IT - most people have a secondary body type just as you have explained:

Identifying Your Body Type - YLF (youlookfab.com)

How to find these older posts is to go into the Blog Archive - there is a wealth of information to help you with working out what works best for your body type. Often you instinctively KNOW what works best, but it is nice to have it clearly and logically explained too.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Just a gentle reminder that those categories are there to serve us, not the other way around. It can be easy to spend lots of energy trying to figure out the perfect descriptor, but they are designed to be simplifications of human body types, with all our diversity. If some of the broad shoulders ideas and some of the pear ideas work for you, that’s all you need
If you’re new, you’ll be able to post pix in a couple days. That would help if you want people to comment on classifications or just make suggestions.

N

Thank you! my friend says my hips don't look big at all front on so i'd say probably my main type is IT and then I when I gain weight, I get a bigger bum and thighs which is why it can be a little pear like.

The only thing for IT is most descriptions seem to imply a bigger bust which I don't have I just have very broad shoulders.

Anyway I'll try have a look through the blog archives to see if anything makes it clearer.

Also yes i'm new. I'm in the process of building my wardrobe up now that I've had two children and there are out of the baby stage (3 and 5). Want some nice classical, probably French Chic style that are flattering to my body type. But its hard to know what my body type is. I'll post photos in a few days for some help I think. Thank you.

cat2

Veteran

I am generally pear shaped but have broad shoulders; I share your affinity for boatnecks!

Tanya

Veteran

Based on your description and measurements , I would say that you are actually some subtype of an hourglass - balanced shoulders and hips, defined waist. Once you can post photos, it would be helpful if you posted one of yourself wearing simple formfitting clothes, arms down. You can always cover/crop your face if you don't like to show it.

nuancedream

Veteran

Absolutely! I am a combination of an hourglass and pear with a defined waist as well as hips in line with broader/straight shoulders. I'm 5'8 in height. I have a muscular lower body, i.e. thighs and butt, that can give me some pear tendencies. That's OK because I need a strong lower body for cycling and hiking. Also, I have learned over the years to choose clothing items like wider leg pants that make me feel comfortable with my body regardless of my weight

April

Veteran

Agreeing with Tanya and ND.

rachylou

Veteran

Hello! I think shape is a visual thing - a front view, side-to-side measurements — not circumference measurements. So I’m thinking you’re probably on the money with IT. My other thought is Linda Evans from the 80s Dynasty show: instead of trying to appear more hourglass, you could always run with the shoulders look!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Hello, N, and welcome.

You cannot be both a Pear and an Inverted Triangle

What Tanya said. It sounds like you are a curvy hourglass with a square shoulder line.

LaPed

Veteran

I'm a similar shape although shorter, with shoulders broader than my bust or hips, plus a small waist relative to my hips. The term "athletic hourglass" has been helpful to me; broad shoulders and muscular legs is quite a different set of modifiers than the generous bust and hips of a traditional hourglass.

N

Yes visually I don't appear curvy at all, more straight looking i'd say, especially from the front. I just have a bum and thighs my tallness stretches everything out so although my measurements would suggest curves on a shorter women, I don't look curvy at all. I think the thing you'd notice about me first would be my wide shoulders. Anyway, yes i'll definitely post some photos here when I am able to.

Gigi

Veteran

Agree with Angie that you can't be both an IT and a pear, because they are opposites (IT has the width at the shoulders; pear has the width in the hips and thighs). It sounds to me like you are a combination of IT and hourglass.

I have the same issue with the 3-D situation. From the front, my waist isn't all that small, but I have a big bum, which is visible from the side.

Sal

Veteran

Welcome to the forum! I know what it is like to struggle to identify your body type - I have thought I was all of them at one stage or another but have settled on hourglass as being the closest..... I use some of the strategies from IT and pear though too. There are so many variables aren't there and for me sometimes I think my main dressing parameter is around my short waist.

I think boat necks look wonderful on a broad shoulder - I love them on me and am always looking for them.

N

Thank you for all the wonderful and insightful replies! I don't have the privilege to post photos yet but I have managed to change my profile picture, perhaps that's some help.

Tanya

Veteran

Hmm, the photo is really small and I am not sure if your top is formfitting around the waist or a bit loose? Based on it, I would say either a straighter hourglass or maybe a rectangle. Definitely not a pear.

N

Yes its hard to see. It might be better to wait until I can post proper photos. It is form fitting. I think maybe the dark colour is slimming on my bottom half as it does make my bottom half look smaller. Most of the curves are round the back where you can't see (my bottom is big). My waist isn't defined much I feel but because I'm tall it slopes gradually so there is a big difference overall in my measurements but looking at it from the front you can't tell as much as my hip measurement gains a lot from the back rather than the sides. There isnt much difference between waist and under bust at all, and my breasts only add about 4 inches. My thighs and bum though are much much curvier than the rest of me. I feel certain parts of me match all the body types . shoulders of an IT, bust and waist of a rectangle and bottom of a pear...

Maybe that somehow makes me some kind of athletic or slim hourglass i'm not sure...

Tanya

Veteran

I will certainly comment again once new photos are added. Regardless. you are certainly not a pear as to be a pear, your hips need to be wider then your shoulders, and this is certainly not the case based on the photo.

N

Thank you and yes I know I can't be a true pear because my shoulders are probably what strikes people the most. I thought I could be an IT but then my bottom half is too curvy for that (at least from the back and sides) if I diet I probably would be an IT but I want to be at peace with my true self not something I have to work hard to maintain. I do gain weight on the bottom half. I guess i got preoccupied with the gaining weight on the hips and thighs part which is more pear-like. I discounted hourglass altogether because I have no bust. I suspect I'm probably some kind of weird franken shape

I do know that I don't need to elongate my line (already tall), or make my shoulders or hips seem bigger (already big), I'd be better minimising both...maybe take the minimising aspects from the pear or hourglass for the bottom half and the softening aspects from the IT for my top half.

Tanya

Veteran

Your shape is perfectly, normal, it is the body shape classifications/ system that are imperfect.

One can still be an IT/have IT tendencies even if your bottom is curvy, the main characteristic of it is that the shoulders are wider then hips, not the the bottom is not curvy.

I am guessing that the final type would be either a rectangle or a slim hourglass, with IT as a secondary.

rachylou

Veteran

Angie is right! From the profile pic I see slim hourglass, square shoulder line (not sloping). The difference between hip and shoulder is too slight for me to say IT.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Hi and welcome! Great advice upthread. I am not a body shape wiz but definitely not pear. I would say rectangle with strong shoulder line from your profile pic.

N

Thank you everyone! I think i've been almost every shape in this thread except apple which I can definitely say i'm not! I suppose if I ever gain in my waist i'd become a rectangle for sure.

I think rachylou might be right. I'm just not the conventional hourglass in that the curves are not so pronounced as there is a large distance between shoulders and waist and waist and hips. Plus I don't have a bust. I think I can learn bits and pieces things from other shapes too. The best dress I ever had was a bodycon dress. Its long gone now but it was a very similar shape to the roland mouret galaxy dress, except it had stretch. At that point in my life my tummy was absolutely flat so looked amazing, but after 2 kids my bodycon days are probably long gone

I want to dress more classically elegant now if possible so need to really understand my own body, what fits and what looks good. I do like boat necks and Bardot tops and pencil skirts on myself even though they probably highlight the wrong parts. Cowl necks look great on me. Probably the best but they aren't very stylish at the moment which us a shame. I dislike crew necks and anything frilly. Buttoned up collars don't look good either. I like elbow length sleeves.

April

Veteran

Rachy said it - you want the visual side-to-side comparison of shoulders vs. waist vs. hips, not circumference. Body shape is about relative proportions, not size.

You can also figure it out by where you tend to gain weight, if you've had that experience. For example, I'm an IT. Even when I was nine months pregnant, my hips stayed pretty narrow.

These things also shift with the hormonal changes of aging. As estrogen levels go down, your body tries to stabilize them by laying down a bit more fat. (As I said to the doctor who explained this to me, "Well, that's all well and good but I haven't gained weight and my clothes don't fit.")

anne

Veteran

Hi and welcome, just wanted to say that I empathise, in that I've literally also wondered if I'm a pear with broad shoulders! I've settled on athletic hourglass as a description and pear/rectangle in terms of looking at Angie's body type advice and which bits I follow (basically I followed her tips for bottom half from pear, top half from rectangle)

I'm also quite small busted with a round bottom and thighs. Our measurements are a bit similar but you are much taller and I think that makes you more rectangular - your body and legs are more stretched out.

I also like fitted dresses - this is my current favourite and boat necks!

Look forward to seeing your pictures when you are able to post.

anne

Veteran

Forgot to add pics to last post. Here they are.

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Anonymous

No you don't look like a pear, from front view, but do see IT. I have broader shoulders but also a bum too- you can tell from side view more, though I'm a bit curvy from front. Sleeveless tops are my friend, short sleeves no- they just emphasize the wide shoulders.

N

So finally here are the photos! I'm able to post them now. The first one is a bit dark so its hard to see, so I took a few more in a lighter coloured top. I have a weird shaped ribcage so you can see a big bulge on one side that seems almost as prominent as my boobs (which are mostly non existent). I took one from the side just to show you I'm not lying about my bum. Also I'm probably about 5-7lb over my regular weight (went a little crazy at Christmas and only just worked up the willpower to do something about it, most will come off bum and thighs but I do have a little bit on my tummy which should flatten a little more).

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Star

Veteran

I think you are probably a very slightly Inverted Triangle. On the whole your shape looks balanced. Perhaps edit in a note in the heading of your post as an 'ETA - updated with photos' so that others know to come back to the thread.

avicennia

Veteran

I’m curious as to what others say. I don’t see pear shape at all. But body shape is not my forte.

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