What's Your Body Shape?

We're all different shapes and sizes so it's no surprise really that not all clothes look great on everyone.

The key to flattering you body and dressing for your shape is balancing out your proportions so, for example, if you're a pear shape don't wear white jean.. it just accentuates your "problem area"!

But I'll get in to that in another post, first thing's first... what shape are you?

A womans body typically will fall in to one of four category's, these are they...

Considered by some to be the most beautiful and womanly body shape is the hourglass.

Generally you will have a large bust and hips with a significantly smaller waist. Kim Kardashian and Kelly Brooke are perfect examples of this body shape. If you have it, flaunt it, if you don't.. learn to love what you do have! A lot of hourglass women struggle with their body image as they can have a hard time finding clothes until they know what suits their shape. Anything too baggy can leave an hourglass figure looking bigger than it actually is.

 A pear shape is as you would imagine.. bottom heavy. Typically a pear would be smaller in the bust and much larger in the hips/bum area. As with the hourglass it's easy to get it wrong with outfits that are just not made for your shape, here Beyonce has added volume at her bust and the fishtail silhouette which both help to balance out her figure. JLo is wearing a backless dress with statement neck to draw attention away from her lower half... though she's a big advocate of showing off her ample behind.

 Apple shapes are fuller around he waist and upper body including bust. If you're an apple you're likely to have fabulous legs so show them off.. They're you're best feature! Again it's all about balancing the proportions and accentuating the positives here. Darker colours on top will create the illusion of a slimmer torso. Flowing tops with Skinny jeans/leggings will help to hide your fuller mid-section. As you can see from Catherine Zeta Jones and Jennifer Hudson apple shapes can be all different sizes but the rules will remain the same for all.

Lastly there's the straight shape, also known as the column, banana and even "boyish" shape. If this is you you have more of an athletic body with few to no areas of fluctuating weight. Most girls envy those that are naturally slim but those with this shape can struggle with their less womanly physique and lack of curves. Cameron Diaz here shows you can "create" curves and Gwyneths dress shows enough flesh to be sexy and feminine without really showing anything at all. It's something that on other body shapes could look trashy but her lack of curves keeps it classy.

I know better than anyone that not everyone fits perfectly in to one of these shapes. I think I'm somewhere between the straight and apple shape. I have narrow hips, a small bust but a wobbly tummy (and I mean usually not just because I had a baby 3 weeks ago). The best way to find your shape is to consider where you gain weight first. If like me your problem area is your middle you're likely to be an apple shape. If it's your lower half.. you're a pear. if you gain very little weight or it's evenly distributed you're a straight shape and if you gain on your hips and bust then you're a classic hourglass. You may find you're a mixture and there  are many more body shapes out there that have been created to slot between these four but these are the basic shapes. If you're still confused about what you are I found this fab little gadget on the Channel 4 website that calculates it for you after a mini questionnaire. I'm not sure it's 100% accurate as some of it has to be seen to be decided upon but it may help you make your own mind up!

You can check that our here

I will be back with a style post on how to dress each body shape so if you have anything you'd like me to cover or any specific questions leave me a comment and I'll try and address them in that post.

Miss BB