Sarah - you have articulated one of my issues too! With being petite, our options are more limited. Sometimes availability affects our style.

Janet - and if I sucked in my stomach I would be more hourglass than apple - but eventually I'd have to breath - lol!

Thank you all SO MUCH for your thoughtful replies. There is a lot of great and interesting information shared here.

Such an interesting thread!

I kind of DO have a different body -- I lost a bunch of weight a few years ago and have changed from an apple to more of an inverted triangle. And my size is smaller so I can fit into way more styles than I could before.

Honestly, back in the day it was such a struggle to find clothes to fit that I never really paid much attention to style, so as long as I was decently covered and looked reasonably okay, that was about it for me. And believe it or not I had never even owned a pencil skirt in my life, whereas now pencil skirts are my number-one go-to item. So yeah -- my style has definitely changed as my body has changed. But... on the other hand I think the style I have now is the style I really had all along and I just had to find it. Does that make sense?

I haven't read the other responses but will later.

I can answer this from personal experience. I have been average weight/BMI for most of my life but for about 5 years in my late 20s and early 30s, I weighed about 15 lbs less than my normal low end and was VERY thin and in my recent peri-menopause years or two I have been about 15 lbs heavier than my normal high so I have ranged from a small size 4 to a curvier size 10. I found that I could wear looser drapier fits when I was very small and look good in them. When at my larger weight, I need to take more care in the shapes I choose to wear or I have a tendency to look bigger than I am. I also need to take much more care with surrendering the waist. I felt I had far more freedom to experiment with trends as I didn't need to worry as much about figure flattery when I was at the lower end of my range. I am not sure whether this was due to my personal insecurities or my body and comfort.

Very interesting question Shannon.

Back this morning from our adventure and had to chime in on this interesting thread.

If I was a smaller frame I feel I could wear some looks more easily (skinny jeans and a simple tee for example). As a short waisted person with a bust there are some looks that I like that do not love me back. But this is the case for most people so I try to mostly play to my strengths - I don't always achieve this of course.

There are some looks that tend to be easier to achieve with a certain body shape, ie the gamine Audrey Hepburn look. I love this simple way of dressing but need to adapt it to make it work for me....

Wow, an interesting question. I practically appeared at birth at 5'8" and my current weight (and you're not getting that number out of me). Really, I have been at this weight since my 20's (Nope. Not telling you how long ago that was, either!). And I have always had the belly. That incredibly stubborn, pouchy, laughs-in-my-face when I do Pilates, belly. I have always had to dress to minimize it. If I didn't have that belly, oh the fun dressing would be! I could actually wear something that clung without having to double up on the Spanx and give up breathing for a few hours! Oh well. I suppose I would still dress like I do - a little bit classic, a little bit trendy.

Got to run - I don't want to be late for that next Pilates class

This has been me! I lost a total of 175 lbs., 120 originally, then 55 which I regained and lost. But the bulk of it I've kept off and maintained for over 14 years.

Great thread! I've been pondering this on and off since you posed the question, Shannon. I wonder if I'd have a different style if I had a different body? My entire being seems to have morphed out of low self esteem as I grew up well behind the pack. I was an extremely late bloomer, and I believe I dressed to "hide" my non-growing, tiny, flat-chested body as an adolescent. Never sticking out, always just barely blending in. I always wore double-layer loose t-shirts. When I finally grew, I grew in height but not much anywhere else. So I continued to camoflauge my barely existent chest. I wore loose Levis and loose men's button-downs in the 90's (but hey lots of those were actually in style). I still have a hard time with anything clingy and always wore Vnecks thinking they were the best way to pretend I had something there (oh and padded bras - hah ). So my style has really grown as a byproduct of my self esteem. I still prefer fluid tops, and I think I always will. If I had a different body type, sure, I might have developed a different style. I probably would have been way more confident, which may have emboldened me to try brighter colours, flashier trends. Who knows. As it is, I'm still a "blend-in" type of a neutral gal. I wouldn't change anything in retrospect (ok, maybe one size up in the chest but what the heck). I've always admired the long drapey looks on others but for some reason can't get them to work on me. Maybe that's how my style would be different.

Super interesting question. I don't think I would have a different style overall, as I think that style is an expression of my personality (though I suppose my personality might be different in a different body type). But I would wear certain looks (within my style) that I don't. I've always wanted long, lean, stick legs (I have short legs; my thighs are muscular and my calves are skinny, and in the middle, I have big bony protruding knees). If I had them, I'd wear shorter hemlines and especially dressy shorts. I love the look of them (you know, in a suit, with tights and heels...)

This is a fascinating question! I am sure that if I weren't as tall as I am, that I'd wear higher heels--at least when I was younger.

In a way, I DO have a different body now than I did about eight years ago. I used to be effortlessly thin and now I have "womanly curves." My hair was dark brown; now it's greying. Even my complexion isn't the same. I'm having to recalibrate my best colors and styles; what worked well when I was younger doesn't necessarily flatter me now.

Such an interesting thread. I think over the years my style has adapted to my body but there are certainly things I'd wear differently if I looked different.
My small bust (high five Jackiec!) means a lot of styles are either baggy in the bust or don't drape well. My short legs and muscular thighs (lots of you with this build) mean I barely wear trousers.

Oh, yes--in fact, I unconsciously adjust my style choices if I lose or gain even 5 pounds! (When you're short it doesn't take much to change your look entirely.) But if I had a completely different body, if I were tall and lanky with broader shoulders, I would dress like Katherine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall in the forties, happily!

Oh, the heels I'd wear if I were shorter than my 5'10"! Which would probably change my style completely...also, it would be nice to be more "swan waisted" as someone put it, and I wouldn't say no to a butt of reasonable proportions. So I think my style would definitely be different!

Tulie, I totally get the difference just 5 lbs. can make on us short women! And on me, that extra weight goes mostly to my midsection.

On the plus side, by going back to the styles that worked for me years ago, I look like I have a different body. Illusion dressing is what it's called, and it works pretty well.

I am really tall, if different body then shorter and slightly bustier. Finding clothes when really tall I find can be quite difficult.

Interesting question. Aside from the middle issues, my style has maintained a certain consistency through the years. I do wonder though, if I had been a short hourglass instead of a tall beanpole, would I have adopted a much frillier or feminine style? I suspect so.

When I was younger and thinner with a small waist and much flatter stomach I liked to show off my waist. I nearly always tucked in tops and wore interesting belts. I would wear skirts gathered or pleated at the waist and not think anything about it. Of course, it was different in the Mod era in the early 60s--it was fun to wear shifts, chemises and trapeze dresses for a change. Now I only wear pencil or slightly flared skirts, never tuck tops in, and look for styles that don't make the mid-body an issue. I wouldn't wear a trapeze dress again, but I've learned to never say never.

Overall I think I have kept a fairly consistent style despite weight changes and different fashion eras. I'm going to ponder this question some more.