Which of the 5 Main Body Types Are You?

November 25, 2022

EVERY BODY IS BEAUTIFUL

🍎 🍐 ❤️ 📏 ⌛️

Before we get into the specifics of body types, I would like to highlight that I am aware that this is a sensitive topic and I am only giving guidelines on how to style your body type in a flattering way. However, we are all free to dress how we want and will always look the most beautiful when we are confident, love our bodies and adorn it with care and thought.

Also, you may not be confined to only one shape, at different times in your life you may change to another shape. For example, up until my late 20s I was a rectangular shape, now I am generally a pear shape as I have a small bust and large, wider hips. However, when I was pregnant I had an apple shape, then when breastfeeding, my breasts grew significantly and I become an hourglass shape. Our bodies change so much over over time and one shape is not better than the other they are all simply different and although we are generalizing here, no body is exactly the same shape or colour as another, we are all unique.

For any women's body we want to accentuate the feminine qualities, which are the chest, waist, and hips. The female body is very different from the male body in general but more prominently in these 3 areas, we do not usually highlight them all at once but highlighting one or two at a time, focusing on your strengths creates a great look for any body.

Below I will address which areas each body type should mainly focus on highlighting in their outfits. So let's dive in!

APPLE 🍎

Apple shaped bodies tend to have the following characteristics:

Broad back/shoulders
Minimal definition in the waist
Very difficult to uniformly loose weight and sustain it

BODY PARTS TO HIGHLIGHT

CHEST, collarbone, shoulders. Bringing attention to this area draws the eye away from the belly. This can be done by wearing an exposed shoulder tops and V-neck shirts, sweaters, or dresses. Also try pattern shirts with vertical lines or a cardigan over top of regular shirts to create long lines.
HIPS, butt, legs. Apple body shapes typically have beautifully defined legs, or have a lot of muscle in their butt and thighs, if you have both then you are truly blessed and should accentuate this part of your body. Skinny or straight jeans, leggings, skirts/dresses, and different colours and material such as leather or corduroy look fantastic. Try a corduroy fitted skirt or red leather leggings to really draw attention to your great lower body.

Here's a couple items that look great on apple shaped bodies:
(Click the image to be taken to the link)

Related Article:
Dressing an Apple Shaped Body

PEAR 🍐

Pear shaped bodies tend to have the following characteristics:

Upper body is more narrow then lower body
Moderate to high definition in the waist
Gaining weight is typically seen more in thighs/butt

BODY PARTS TO HIGHLIGHT

CHEST, collarbone, shoulders. Bringing attention to this area draws the eye away from the larger hip area to balance out the look. This can be done by wearing an exposed shoulder tops and V-neck shirts, sweaters, or dresses.
WAIST. Draw attention to your waist by using tie waist shirts, dresses or jackets. Tops that slightly pinch the smallest part of the waist also creates a very feminine look.

These are only guidelines to create a balanced look, if you want to accentuate your hips in your outfits then by all means do so. Not everyone is blessed with great hips and they are certainly a very attractive quality more so nowadays where more and more people are getting surgeries just to have them. So if you love your hips then celebrate them!

Here's a couple items that look great on pear shaped bodies:
(Click the image to be taken to the link)

Related Article:
Dressing a Pear Shaped Body

HEART ❤️

Heart shaped bodies tend to have the following characteristics:

Broad back/shoulders and/or large bust
Moderate to high definition in the waist
Narrow hips and lower body

BODY PARTS TO HIGHLIGHT

WAIST. Draw attention to your waist by using tie waist shirts, dresses or jackets. Tops that slightly pinch the smallest part of the waist or are fitted also creates a very feminine look.
HIPS, butt, legs. Heart body shapes typically have small butts and thinner legs that sometimes have some definition. However, wearing tight clothing on the lower body will often give an unbalanced appearance. Straight, flare, and mom jeans, along with maxi skirts/dresses, and A-line dresses all create some volume on the lower body. Embellishments and pockets also create a big some texture and interest. If you want to go with skinny jeans or leggings, I usually recommend a jacket or long cardigan that covers the booty.

Remember if you want to bring attention to your shoulders/chest feel free to do so! This looks great when the lower body is really volumized in a wide legged jumpsuit for example.

Here's a couple items that look great on heart shaped bodies:
(Click the image to be taken to the link)

Related Article:
Dressing a Heart Shaped Body

RECTANGLE 📏

Rectangle shaped bodies tend to have the following characteristics:

Narrow shoulders and hips at similar widths
Minimal definition in the waist
Body is fairly flat with minimal curves

BODY PARTS TO HIGHLIGHT

CHEST, collarbone, shoulders. Curves are a very feminine feature, shoulders and collarbones have curves that are often overlooked. Wearing tops with these areas exposed is a great way to show upper body curves without exposing too much cleavage.
HIPS, butt, legs. As with the inverted triangle, styles with volume in the lower body look great but tighter fitting clothing does too!
WAIST. Create the illusion of a defined waist by using tie waist shirts, dresses or jackets. Tops that slightly pinch the smallest part of the waist or are fitted also creates a very feminine look.

Usually we are looking to balance proportions in our outfits, whereas the rectangular body is fairly proportioned already. Therefore many styles look great on this body type, just avoid overly loose or a very straight styles which can create a shapeless look.

Here's a couple items that look great on rectangle shaped bodies:
(Click the image to be taken to the link)

Related Article:
Dressing a Rectangle Shaped Body

HOURGLASS ⌛️

Hourglass shaped bodies tend to have the following characteristics:

Wide shoulders/bust and hips at similar widths
Moderate to high definition in the waist
Body is very curvy, fat distributes to bust and hips

BODY PARTS TO HIGHLIGHT

CHEST, collarbone, shoulders. Most things look great, but be careful with ruffles, padded shoulders and anything too bulky unless it is balanced in the lower body.
HIPS, butt, legs. If volume is being added to the upper body, styles with volume in the lower body look great such as wide leg pants. High waisted pants and leggings look especially great on this body type.
WAIST. Draw attention to your waist by using tie waist shirts, dresses or jackets. Tops that slightly pinch the smallest part of the waist also creates a very feminine look. As your waist is already defined, most fitted tops also look great.

As the goal is usually to balance the top and bottom, the hourglass figure already achieves this and has a very feminine look. However, the balance here can be easily thrown off.

Here's a couple items that look great on hourglass shaped bodies:
(Click the image to be taken to the link)