It is not uncommon for women to experience a shift in their body shape as they age, particularly during menopause. As women lose estrogen, they tend to gain weight in the upper body, resulting in less-defined waists. This can lead to a shift from an 8 shape to an H shape or even an O…
Jill Chivers of 16 Style Types and I were asked to discuss how your body shape may change over your lifetime. We’ve discussed in the past how your colouring may change here. Considering transitions such as pregnancy, menopause and even just weight gain and loss. Will you shape stay the same or change? Body…
How to figure out your body type if you have a significant difference from the usual features. For example, I have very, very broad shoulders, a slight waist, medium hips from the front and a protruding bottom. If I do a body calculator, I come out as a pear or a ruler. I am neither.…
Balance is the concept of visual equilibrium. When we talk about dressing for your body shape and body proportions, what we are trying to do create visual balance. There are 4 main principles of co-ordination that influences how you achieve balance with your outfits. These are: Levels of Refinement Principle of Volume Related Shapes Related Lines When…
So you’ve read the body shape guidelines and thought to yourself “but my body doesn’t really fit into just one shape … I’m more of a mix of a couple of shapes”. Fortunately, you are not unusual and you don’t have to worry that nothing works for you. All you have to do is understand…
Many of you have asked me to share with you some celebrities who have similar body shapes to yours (so you can get some style inspiration). Now in Hollywood ‘very thin’ is common due to the pressures put on celebrities so there is less variety in body shapes. But here are some celebrities who…
What is a Rounded Lateral Body Shape The rounded lateral body shape is one where when the body is viewed from the side in profile, the body is a similar in width as viewed from the front. It can come on any horizontal body shape (that’s what you regularly think about as a…
Defining the X (Hourglass) Shape The X shape body has shoulders and hips relatively the same size, and a defined waist. The widest part of the body is the thighs, not the bottom, when viewed from the front. This is a defining point in distinguishing between the two hourglass body shapes (8 and X) you can…
Given the number of people who contact me asking about identifying their body shape (if you’re not sure what body shape you have, do the Body Shape Quiz to find out!), it’s obviously something that is considered to be an important factor in the whole “finding flattering clothing” issue that many women face. I’m here…
People seem to be obsessed with understanding what their body shape is, they feel that if they just knew that then they’d know exactly how to dress, unfortunately, body shape is only 1 element of dressing your body, there are also other considerations, such as body proportions, body variations (ie. big bust, petite, luscious bottom…
How to identify your body shape? One of the questions I get asked the most is “what’s my body shape?” I get emails daily from people wanting to know their shape which is why I have developed my free Body Shape Calculator Quiz. It’s a simple test to help you discover which of the 7…
I was asked the other day by a reader where are the defining points to figure out body shape. How to Define Your Body Shape Is it bust, waist and hips, shoulders waist and hips and where are the hips defined from – the thigh or up on the buttock area? For me (and I’m sure there…
Which are the best shaped shorts for your body shape and proportions (cos they both matter)? Body shape gives you the best shape or silhouette. Body proportions tells you how long the shorts should be to flatter your gams. The guidelines for flattering shorts shapes is really the same as for flattering skirt shapes.…
What are the keys to creating flattering outfits for the A body shape? The A shape has narrower shoulders than hips with a defined waist and is often described as a pear shape body. If you want all the details grab your Body Shape Bible here. The widest part of the hip is at the…
One of the hot topics that came up in my 7 Steps to Style program members’ Zoom session this month was all about tucking tops. Why is it suddenly feeling like an issue? Well, it’s because styles of pants have changed which means that what may have worked before isn’t working as well now. As…
How should we handle conflict between personality/ career role and body shape recommendation? As my body is very curvy , the body shape recommendation is all kinds of feminine stuff: skirt over pants, and not just skirt , but A -line flared skirt over straight ones, wrap and fit and flare dresses , waist shaping,…
Have you got a high “shelf” like hip? I often think of this as the Barbie Doll body shape – it’s what I call the 8 shape and is one of the two hourglass shapes (the X shape is the other hourglass shape). What you notice with an 8 shape is that there is a…
As I discussed here when I explained how lines work, body shape tells us: Where to put the verticals Where to put the horizontals to balance, broaden or highlight Where to place detail Where to keep boring/dull/plain/no detail That’s it! So let’s look at the I Shape (it’s owners would describe their shape as “boyish”…
Dear Imogen, Thank you so much for creating Inside Out Style. Many of the style blogs I find are designed for models or teens, at least that’s how it seems to me. Most of your articles are for more mature women, with children. And you don’t pretend to have a perfect figure, you teach us…
As I discussed here when I explained how lines work, body shape tells us: Where to put the verticals Where to put the horizontals to balance, broaden or highlight Where to place detail Where to keep boring/dull/plain/no detail That’s it! So let’s look at the A Shape (commonly called the pear shape or triangle shape)…
As I discussed here when I explained how lines work, body shape tells us: Where to put the verticals Where to put the horizontals to balance, broaden or highlight Where to place detail Where to keep boring/dull/plain/no detail That’s it! So let’s look at the V Shape (commonly called the Inverted Triangle or Cone shape)…
