THE BODY SHAPE
INFOGRAPHIC
Your Personal Stylist
Over the last 8 months leading personal website JOY OF CLOTHES www.joyofclothes.com surveyed over 18000 women visitors about their
body shape and style preferences. www.joyofclothes.com/style-quiz/
FULL HOURGLASS IS THE MORE COMMON BODY SHAPE
More women have identified themselves as a full hourglass body shape than any other shape
Full Hourglass
20.5%
Neat Hourglass
19.3%
Apple
16.7%
Pear
16.6%
Rectangle
10.0%
Lean Column
8.9%
Inverted Triangle
8.0%
Your build is
characterised by:
Bigger thighs
A defined waist
A rounded bottom
and hips
Rounder shoulder
line and flattish
bottom
A small waist
Average to big bust
Neat hips
A full bust
Your build is
characterised by:
Fullness around the
middle
Your build is
characterised by:
Full hips or thighs,
maybe saddle bags
Your bottom half is
smaller than your top
A defined waist
Little definition
between waist and
hips
Shoulders that are
narrower than your
hips
Your build is
characterised by:
Narrow shoulders
Straight shoulder line
and ribcage
Flat chest or small bust
Straight hips and
bottom
Small and non-defined
waist
Very little waist
definition
Narrow hips and flat
bottom
Flat hips and bottoms
A small top half as
well as small bust
RECTANGLE
Your build is
characterised by:
LEAN COLUMN
Your build is
characterised by:
A defined bust
A neat bottom
INVERTED TRIANGLE
PEAR
Your build is
characterised by:
APPLE
FULL HOURGLASS
NEAT HOURGLASS
WHAT IS YOUR BODY SHAPE?
Straight and squared
shoulder line
Average tummy
Good legs
Read more about the seven body shapes at www.joyofclothes.com/style-advice/
BODY SHAPE CHANGES WITH AGE
MOST LIKELY SHAPE
50
45
Teens - 20s
Neat Hourglass
30s - 40s
Full Hourglass
50s - 60s
Apple
40
35
30
“Your body shape changes
as you age, partly as women
put on weight in different
places. Styles which
flattered in your 20's may
not work in your 40's and
what works in your 40's may
not work in your 60's”
25
20
15
10
5
Michaela Jedinak, Personal Stylist
0
Teens
20s
Neat Hourglass
30s
Full Hourglass
Pear
40s
50s
Apple
Lean Column
60s
70s
Inverted Triangle
Rectangle
BODY SHAPE AND SIZE
Inverted Triangle
Lean Column
Rectangle
Pear
Neat Hourglass
8.4
10.4
13.3
Full Hourglass
NOTE: The sample size for this data is from
2,700 people
UK Size 12
UK Size 10
UK Size 8
UK Size 6
6.8
Apple
9.3
14.0
10.6
10.2
12.0
26.7
29.2
7.8
19.9
20.8
UK Size 14
8.0
10.9
32.6
24.3
21.9
UK Size 16
1.4
8.2
16.1
5.4
2.9
3.2
2.4
7.0
4.9
16.5
26.0
32.4
12.4
23.9
UK Size 18
UK Size 20
5.0 2.0
1.1
10.9
29.9
30.2
5.2 0.8
20.2
9.0
6.3
2.0
19.1
4.9
14.0
27.6
35.2
51.2
16.1
17.5
15.0
14.3
2.5
Body size is not the
same as body shape!
Although some sizes are more likely to
be certain shapes, it is myth that size and
shape are the same thing.
As you can see in the piecharts above
most shapes were represented in size 6
to 20.
Similarly the women illustrated to the
right are all size 12 but have different
body shapes.
5 ft 2 in
DRESS SIZE
12
5 ft 4 in
DRESS SIZE
12
5 ft 8in
DRESS SIZE
12
5 ft 11 in
DRESS SIZE
12
6 ft 1 in
DRESS SIZE
12
BODY SHAPE AND WHAT TO WEAR
Wearing the clothes that flatter your body shape will help you look and feel your best everyday. That's the Joy of Clothes.
NEAT HOURGLASS
FULL HOURGLASS
APPLE
PEAR
INVERTED TRIANGLE
LEAN COLUMN
RECTANGLE
You need to wear
shaped and fitted lines
in order to follow your
body lines
You need to wear shaped
and fitted lines in order to
follow your body line, but
avoid bulk and volume
around your feminine
curves
Follow your bodyline avoid details around
bust, tummy and hips.
Keep detail in top and
lower thirds.
You need to balance
your top half with your
lower half by wearing
clothes that make your
shoulders look broader.
On your bottom half you
need to wear clothes
that make your hips look
broader.
You need to create the
illusion of curves around
hips and bust and of a
waist
You need to create the
illusion of a waist
Follow your body
line - that defines
your waist,
enhances your
bust and highlights
your hips and
bottom
Keep the clothing
line straight to
slightly fitted, but
fabric soft so you
avoid unnecessary
bulk around the
bosom, waist and
tummy
Wear a good
supporting bra that
will lift our bust and
give you a more
defined waist
Bring attention to
your shoulder and
neckline, wear
designs that bring
the eye to the centre
by wearing wider
and lower necklines
This is the classic
feminine shape
and is most
flexible when it
comes to wearing
different styles and
shapes in clothing
Balance the top
with your fuller
bottom half.
Layering on your
top half creates
visual interest and
draws the eye
upwards. Wear
volume, clutter,
pattern, colour on
your top half, so
hips and thighs will
seem narrower
Keep details above
the bust line and
below the hip line for everything in
between keep it
plain and simple
Extend the shoulder
past the thickest part
of the arms
Keep details, fuss,
anything that creates
volume to your lower
half and keep your
top half clean and
uncluttered
Straight clothing
lines are a natural
extension to your
body line
Create the illusion of
a waist with waist
details such as a
wider belt
Wear fitted styles
around your waist
and always
accentuate your
waistline e.g.
empire line, wraps,
fitted lines
The shoulders
need attention so
you should
balance them from
the front and side
views
Keep your silhouette
uncluttered
Use layering to
shorten your long top
half
Unstructured jackets
that gently shape
the waist
Create roundness
around your
extremities e.g.
sleeve, leg line,
neckline
Hip and bottom
details are good - as
long they create
gentle curves
Wear high or low
waisted styles broad shoulders;
unfitted jackets,
which slope to the
waist; highlight your
hips and bottom
using pockets and
pleats
Make your
shoulders look
broader with e.g.
shoulder pads,
puffed sleeves, cap
sleeve t-shirts,
boleros
Michaela recognises that everyone is different and designs dresses to flatter the seven most common body shapes. While many designers
create dresses for one idealised body shape, she appreciates the diversity in body shapes and designs dresses with you and your body
shape in mind. See her dress collections at www.michaelajedinak.com
CELEBRITY FOLLOWERS BY BODY SHAPE
Women follow celebrities they admire or aspire to and do not seem to be influenced by body shape.
Inverted Triangle
Lean Column
Victoria Beckham
Rectangle
9.6%
11.7%
Pear
Kate Middleton
8.5%
25.8%
Apple
Neat Hourglass
Full Hourglass
Beyonce
7.9%
20.3%
10.5%
19.6%
6.8%
9.4%
Michelle Obama
13.5%
4.7%
7.6%
8.7%
7.9%
8.9%
23.6%
19.6%
17.0%
16.8%
17.1%
25.1%
11.3%
Alexa Chung
Gwyneth Paltrow
Jennifer Aniston
10.2%
10.8%
11.6%
23.0%
14.8%
15.3%
23.7%
17.0%
18.0%
14.0%
18.2%
Miranda Kerr
9.3%
20.5%
8.6%
25.3%
13.4%
9.2%
8.1%
8.1%
19.3%
8.4%
16.3%
9.9%
17.7%
15.5%
17.7%
17.3%
Dita Von Teese
5.5%
6.0%
15.4%
17.3%
11.4%
Anne Hathaway
Taylor Swift
7.1%
10.4%
11.0%
20.7%
24.1%
17.5%
16.3%
20.5%
8.9%
12.9%
9.1%
Kate Winslet
9.4%
4.8%
17.2%
7.1%
8.3%
13.2%
9.4%
14.2%
29.9%
17.7%
20.1%
15.0%
27.1%
17.5%
17.8%
11.0%
13.8%
19.4%
THE BODY SHAPE
Your Personal Stylist
INFOGRAPHIC
© Joy of Clothes 2013