“How the Heck Do I Determine my Body Shape!”

The Simple Way to Determine Your Body Shape

Understanding your body shape is a key step in building a wardrobe that balances and enhances your unique physique. This week, let's talk about the different body shapes and how to determine yours. Here's a quick guide to help you figure it out!

How to Determine Your Shape:

When determining your shape, it is helpful to start with your measurements. There are four key areas to measure to figure out your body shape.

WARNING: These are just numbers! They do not determine your worth or if your body shape is “bad” or “good.” They are just a tool to help you enhance your style and provide more ease in shopping for your wardrobe. Body measurements especially come in handy when determining what sizes to order when shopping online.

Now, grab a flexible tape measure and let's get started!

1. Bust:

Measure around the fullest part of your chest. The tape should be taut but not squeezing you. If you're wearing a bra, make sure it’s not padded.

2. Waist

Measure around the smallest part of your waist. Don’t suck in! Take a deep breath and breathe out to get a relaxed, realistic measurement.

3. Hips

Measure around the fullest part of your hips, including the fullest part of your bum.

4. Shoulders

Wrap the tape around your shoulders like a shawl or lasso. This measurement is taken higher up to avoid including your bust.

PRO TIP: Wear close-fitting clothing like leggings and a tank top to avoid adding bulk, which can alter your measurements. Did you know measuring your hips while wearing jeans can add over an inch to your physical measurements?!

Now, let's take those measurements and compare them to the most commonly mentioned body shapes.

Commonly Defined Body Shapes:

1. Hourglass: Waist is significantly smaller (around 10”) than the bust and hips.

2. Triangle: Lower half measures bigger at the hips with narrow shoulders and small bust.

3. Oval: Waist measures fuller (about 2” or more) than the bust and hips. Shoulders and hips are proportional.

4. Rectangle: There’s little difference between the measurements of the bust, waist, and hips.

5. Inverted Triangle: Shoulders will measure broader and the hips will be more narrow.

6. Spoon: Similar to Triangle but the lower half starts curving out at the waistline .

7. Diamond: Fuller midsection with narrower shoulders and hips compared to the Oval/Circle.

Remember, our bodies are all unique, and you may find you fall between one shape and another—and that's okay! This understanding helps to give you a starting line for navigating which cuts, styles, and silhouettes might work best for you.

Stay tuned for the next few weeks of posts, where I'll be breaking down the best styles for each body shape. Armed with this information, you'll be ready to shop confidently and find pieces that enhance your style.

P.S. These are just suggestions and don’t mean you have to change your style. If you like the styles you wear, that’s all that matters.

Happy Styling

KLV Styling - Wardrobe Stylist