So IS an hourglass an IT and a pear?

MsLuna

I guess there are different kinds of hourglasses and IT's? Just how I'm a rectangle yet pants-wise, I don't seem to fit a lot of rectangly-stuff (more apple)...

12 years ago

Deborah

Veteran

Interesting question... you have a lot of them

I guess can have hourglasses with pear or IT tendencies? Depening on which secondary body type is most dominant. In my case I think I am an hourglass with a pear tendency that is either emphasised or not by clothes I choose. I prefer to minimise my hips. But if you saw me in a photo in say fitted yoga gear that's what I think you would see.

12 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

As an hourglass with pear tendencies, I kinda get this. I relate to what Deborah said. I think I have just enough width in the shoulder and definitely enough in the bust to prevent me from being a definitive pear, but I usually dress to deemphasize the pear just because I've always been self-conscious about my lower half. All the same, I am aware that a lot of styles aren't terribly friendly to a largish chest either, so I pay attention to some IT rules as well.

I believe that all the body type qualifiers are guidelines at best rather than rules, because I think relatively few people are so easily defined. For one thing, we're 3-dimensional, and the usual body type descriptors don't seem to account much for how we look from the side, and that can make a huge difference!

12 years ago

Gaylene

Veteran

I've always thought that the defining feature of an hourglass was a distinct waist. It makes sense, though, that someone with a distinct waist could could also have a broad shoulders and/or a full bust, making some of the IT guidelines useful. The same goes for the lower half; a woman with a bootylicious bottom might want to follow some of the pear guidelines to de-emphasize her lower half.

I suspect that much depends on how a woman feels about her body. As an IT, I actually like my strong shoulders and slim hips, so I often dress to emphasize my IT shape. I imagine an hourglassy woman who did not want to emphasize those bombshell curves might also want to ignore some of the guidelines for the hourglass shape. Depending on which part of her body she feels like de-emphasizing, I can see how some of the tips for an IT or pear might come in handy.

12 years ago

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I think the main difference is a balance. Hourglass is a balanced body type while pear and IT have to add balance to their bodies. This is how it is for me anyway - not about de-emphasizing but balancing out. It sounds much more positive, don't you think?

12 years ago

Scarlet

Veteran

You know, I have thought this before mainly because I tend to focus on my wide-set hips and generous booty, so I feel pear-like, but the fact is I am average to large busted with wide-set shoulders, so I really think I am an hourglass. At the end of the day though I don't care really. I think when we focus on "the rules" too much then we are analyzing in the abstract rather than just using our own eyes to see what works. I can see though how for someone who doesn't know where to start on a rack of clothes that the rules could help to start the filtering process.

12 years ago

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

OTOH, you MAY be over analyzing this...

12 years ago

cciele

Veteran

I've always thought the defining characteristic of an IT was the broad shoulders, which hourglasses don't necessarily have.

12 years ago

fashionista

Veteran

I have slender figure, with broad shoulders and tyres around the waist area. What am I?

12 years ago

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I have IT & apple tendencies & most books say I shouldn't wear skinny pants. BUT if you saw me in the often recommended wider leg or boot cuts I would look way bigger than I do in straight or slim fitting pants - like I little fridge in fact. I have seen/read so much body shape advice over the years ( a bit of a hobby) but I am still very sceptical. There is no substitute for trying on the clothes.

12 years ago

Lyn D.

Veteran

Clothing sizes would suggest that I am more H.G. than Pear, but measurements reveal that my hips are larger than my bust. Go figure!

12 years ago

Kat

Veteran

I think the key to the guidelines is that they give you a direction for "why" something is working or isn't working... Instead of trying things on and just feeling lousy because you "look awful", the guidelines allow you to objectively analyze (Hmm, this proportion is emphasizing my shoulders/hips, etc). In a way, I think that is their greatest use, allowing us to separate the emotion of the fit/appearance from our self and then move forward logically. I know in the past, I could be frustrated by how I looked in an item (and blame it on the body first) and having some knowledge has allowed my internal voice to do a more scientific breakdown of what is visually happening and WHY. The different body types just allow me to organize the rules into groups that make sense.

Or something like that

12 years ago

Anonymous

I've always thought of body type in the same way as Swevta. It's all about where on your body, if anywhere, you need to create balance. One of my DDs, for example, is most definitely a pear. She wears a smaller size on top than on bottom, her bust and shoulders are small, her waist is small, and her hips are big. It's a very visible shape, and it truly does influence what silouettes look best on her. My other 3 DDs and I all wear the same size top and bottom and have a much easier time finding clothes that fit. We're more proportional to begin with, so our clothing doesn't have to work to create that much-needed balance. I hope this makes sense!

12 years ago

April

Veteran

It's all about the waist definition.

ITs, apples, and rectangles don't have much, hourglasses do, and pears may or may not.

I'm not talking about circumference measurements but straight-across-the-front measurements.

12 years ago

Anonymous

My pear DD can define her waist but still look out of balance if she doesn't wear something up top that broadens her shoulders to put them in balance with her hips.

I'm an hourglass. From the front, my waist is visibly narrower than my shoulders and hips. All I have to do is belt my waist to look balanced. My shoulders are already in line with my hips.

12 years ago

cinnamon fern

Veteran

Most stuff I've looked at describes the IT shape as broad shoulders/big bust, not much of a waist, slender hips and legs.

Angie's description is a bit different - she says you're an IT if your shoulders are broader than your hips, regardless of the waist (ie you can be an IT with or without a defined waist). THis is helpful, because otherwise, where do you fit if your shoulders are big relative to your hips and your waist is small?

So I guess an IT with a defined waist could think of herself as part hourglass, part pear. But I've never seen you in anything with a lot of waist definition, AG, for whatever reason ...

12 years ago

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I'm an hourglass with no IT tendencies. My shoulders slope, so much though that I went through a phase of only wearing racerback bras so the straps would stay on.

12 years ago

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I don't think it's quite as simple as IT + pear = hourglass, much to Anna's point about her shoulders. I think perhaps very exaggerated hourglass figures, like the cartoon Jessica Rabbit can be seen as IT + pear, but the average hourglass, not so much

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12 years ago

KikiG

Veteran

I don't know. I stay confused about myself. I thought I was an IT, then my eyes were finally opened to the concept of high hip/low hip. I have low hips, a strong shoulder line, not a lot of waist, but waist definition, and rather more bust than I would prefer to have on a short frame. What I though was making me an IT was a misunderstanding of where my hips actually are. But depending on the garment, a lot of the IT guidelines totally make sense for my body.

12 years ago

Anonymous

Interesting about this IT and hourglass mix. My shoulders are straight, not sloped; but I don't have an athletic build. I've read that hourglasses can have either straight or sloped shoulders, so I guess I don't get where the "IT tendencies" thing comes into play. ??? Also, my chest measurement is the same as my hip measurement, but I've also read that an hourglass can be small-chested. It's what you look like when viewed from the front that counts. In my case, when my body is viewed from the front, you see shoulders in line with hips and a visibly narrower waist. That is what an hourglass is. Some hourglasses are curvier than others, though. My figure is more what you might describe as a neat hourglass. I'm not a full, super curvy hourglass.

12 years ago

Aida

Veteran

If we go off pure measurements I'm an IT but I have a very well defined waist and proportionally have quite a lot of hip/booty (8-10" waist-hip difference depending on weight fluctuation). I also gain weight on my hips and thighs like most pears would, so when I weigh more I balance out more like an hourglass and when I weigh less the IT becomes more exaggerated.

From the OC meetup I observed that Una, who is most certainly IT, has the same size shoulders as me but I'm waaaay curvier on the bottom half. Whereas Rae, who is most certainly an hourglass, has clearly smaller shoulders than me, a similar waist, but slimmer hips/legs than me. But I think the answer to this question is heavily influenced by your dressing challenge preferences. I'd suspect that most people would peg me as a strong shouldered hourglass, but I list myself as IT/hourglass here on YLF specifically because I don't really find that the hourglass part of me is a source of dressing stress whereas the IT part of me sometimes is.

12 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

All great observations!

Agree measurements are important because if I had a big booty (or any booty at all, which I don't) but narrow hips from the front, I would look IT from the front but have the fit issues of a pear as well.

The other big factor for me as an IT was seeing the difference between my wide and straight shoulders vs. others with sloping shoulders, either wide or not. I didn't realize how much of a difference that can make. I'm actually feeling more kindly toward my shoulders now realizing that they do help me with some fit issues, even if they hinder me in others.

12 years ago

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I also find dimensionality very interesting regarding body shape. My shoulders look relatively normal from the front, but viewed from behind they are very sloped. Not sure if that's due to my thick trapezius or what but it's a shock for me to see a pic from behind with my hair up.

12 years ago

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

Based on this discussion I'd say the shape modeling is overly-simplistic. I think it's helpful for generating a few tips if they resonate with me and my body, but in general it's hard to come up with simplistic shape models that actually reflect the reality of the diversity of variables involved.

12 years ago

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