Know Your Body Shape And How To Dress It

Many women are more than one body shape.

Much is made of dressing for your body shape, but in my experience as a London-based personal stylist, many women don’t actually know their shape, as it’s often a mix of two or more body types.

There are typically five main female body shapes. Some women fit neatly into one category, but many fall across two or three - especially if weight fluctuates. This is why generic style advice often misses the mark. Women are not clones; we are nuanced and individual.

How to Dress for Your Body Type - Women

Learning how to dress for your body type is the key to feeling confident and always stylish. It’s never about changing your body. It’s about owning it and making style work for you. When you understand your proportions and what really flatters them, getting dressed becomes easy and even enjoyable. You stop second-guessing every outfit and start feeling confident in what you wear.

Using myself as an example, I fall into the rectangle shape, but even then there are nuances. Generic advice says I should create a waist with a belt, but belts look odd on me. My shoulders line up with my waist and hips, yet they curve rather than forming right angles. I have shoulder envy! I borrow tips from the pear shape, where shoulders are narrower than hips, to build up my shoulder line. Although I’m a rectangle, I’m not angular, and most online advice is geared towards angular rectangles, which is why belts don’t work for me.

I can create a waist with clothing shapes or details, not belts, but I’m equally happy looking straight up and down. The key is personalised style advice that shows you how to look your very best.

Keep scrolling for some styling tips to try.

Inverted Triangle Body Shape

Characterised by broad shoulders and bust, not necessarily large, with narrower hips.

Rectangle Body Shape

Characterised by the shoulders, waist and bust all aligning, typically with a small bust and little or no waist definition.

Finding dresses for the rectangle body type can sometimes be challenging. A top tip to make dresses even more flattering for this body type is to accessorise with a belt or to invest in a knot waist shirt dress, helping to break up your silhouette.

Hourglass Body Shape

Characterised by shoulders and hips in line, with a waist that tapers in and is well defined.

Oval Body Shape

haracterised by a large bust, narrow hips and a full midsection, often with slender legs.

Pear/Triangle Body Shape

Characterised by larger hips that are wider than the shoulders and bust.

These are body shape guidelines and not rules set in stone and you can of course wear whatever you want. The key is personalised style information that gives you options.

Feel confident in every season with my style tips to finding the best swimwear for different body shapes

How Personal Styling Can Support You

If you would to discover what really works for you, or learn more about my personal styling services such as the wardrobe edit or personal shopping. Please get in touch via the button below to schedule a complimentary virtual call.

Thank you for reading!

Lisa O’Shaughnessy

Email Lisa