The body shape bible
December 12th, 2007Trinny and Susannah of the original British reality TV show “What Not to Wear”, recently launched their latest book: The Body Shape Bible
Dressing for your body type is also a strong theme on youlookfab.com and I use five body types as a frame of reference (the pear, apple, rectangle, hourglass and inverted triangle). Trinny and Susannah have identified twelve definitive women’s body shapes in their new book which I found very interesting. In each case, it’s the proportion and not the size that matters. So whether you are a slim, average or larger version of a body type, the same dressing principles will apply.
The twelve body shapes are really a more detailed breakdown of the five that I use. There are three pears,
- The Skittle – average size bust, slim waist, okay tummy with big thighs and chunky calves (e.g. Halle Berry)
- The Bell – small shoulders, bust and waist, short waist with big thighs and bottom (e.g. Hillary Clinton)
- The Pear – small bust, long waist, flat tummy, saddle bags and heavy legs (e.g. Sandra Bullock)
…two apples,
- The Apple – average bust, tummy larger than bust with flat bottom and okay legs (e.g. Kathy Bates)
- The Vase – large bust, gently curving long waist, hips same width as bust with slim thighs and legs (e.g. Kate Winslet)
…two rectangles,
- The Column – shoulder width same as hip width with a slight waist and long legs (e.g. Nicole Kidman)
- The Brick – broad shoulders, no waist, average tummy, flat bottom with chunky thighs and calves (e.g. Kim Cattrell)
…two hourglasses,
- The Cello – large bust, hips, bottom and thighs with slim lower legs (e.g. Oprah Winfrey)
- The Hourglass – large bust, small and short waist, large hips and full thighs (e.g. Salma Hayek)
…and three inverted triangles,
- The Goblet – broad shoulders, large bust, no waist with narrow hips and long legs (e.g. Catherine Zeta Jones)
- The Cornet – broad shoulders, small bust, no waist with slim hips and slim long legs (e.g. Cameron Diaz)
- The Lollipop – large bust with slight waist, slim hips and long legs (e.g. Angelina Jolie)
I like their comprehensive body type descriptions and hope that this information helps you to identify your body type more accurately. Do you feel that the extra details make the descriptions easier to use? Can you identify your body type?
December 12th, 2007 at 9:29 am
I LOVE Trinny and Susannah. I have every one of their books and look forward to checking out this new one! Their books are great reference books that I use over and over!
December 12th, 2007 at 9:44 am
I feel like I’m more of a circle.. Like, a combination of an apple, a pear and a rectangle…
December 12th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Yes! That makes it so much easier. I would be a short Brick, but with a perky bum. Hahahaha…. doesn’t do much for the self-esteem, though, does it?
December 12th, 2007 at 10:09 am
I have a bit of a hard time identifying my “new” body type since menopause. Also - one thing they don’t cover is broad shoulders but still bigger on the bottom than on the top. So - am I a rectangle because my shoulder bone width and hip width are both wide, or a pear because my hip measurement is larger than my bust measurement? And as for “slim waist” - that is no longer ture - but I do still have a waist indentation which some 55+ women do not. Oh, and did I mention I am short-waisted rather than long, and all of my 5′ 8″ is in my legs? Hahaha - I am definitely a bit of an oddity as far as classification goes.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:10 am
I still can’t figure out my body type. I don’t know if I’m more hourglass or pear. Or, jeez, even rectangle or inverted triangle.
I probably dress all wrong because I don’t actually follow any of the tips for dressing for one’s body type.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:59 am
I find it somewhat humorous that all the inverted triangle shapes have long legs!
Despite being 5′0″, I am clearly an inverted triangle (I have a classic swimmer’s physique), with a substantial bust, defined waist, slimmish hips and short legs. So really, Trinny & Susannah’s sub-categories don’t help me out at all!
December 12th, 2007 at 11:21 am
I also don’t seem to fit the molds, lol. I am 5′4″ with aligned shoulders/hips, a defined waist, curvy legs/butt, long legs…but flat boobs (AA). Bummer. Sometimes I’d die for underwire support!
December 12th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
These categories do help me — I always read these body type descriptions in various places and come away thinking I’m *almost* a pear (my daughters tell me I have a JLo bum), but I’m not quite a textbook pear. I’m shortwaisted; maybe that’s it.
So, okay now, I am definitely a BELL. Now I know.
But if it’s all the same to you, I will politely decline any suggestion of Hillary as my style guide. ::shudders::
So (pouts, stamps her Born-booted foot) why do the other gals get glam protogypes like Halle, Angelina, Nicole, Salma, Kate and Sandra… and we Bell gals get Hillary? Harumph. Like workin’ the big bootay and the thunder thighs wasn’t enough already.
(Note: All Meant In Good Humor. This Is Not A Political Comment. Your Mileage May Vary. Etc.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
This is the 1st of heard of these “style guides”. I don’t have a pre-existing affinity as a result of seeing their show or reading their books. But…could the names of the categories be less flattering? Sheesh. I don’t think this does anything to promote loving our body types. Skittle, column, brick??? Come on! Can’t we think of anything more beautiful to describe the human body? Irritated.
December 12th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
I’ve seen this before, and I really don’t know what i am. I guess having an accurate perception of my body would be helpful, wouldn’t it?
December 12th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I fear this could send women reeling with more negative body image issues. I understand that knowing what looks good on your body type will help you feel better about the way you look. But I think trying to figure out your body type is more difficult to do than figuring out what looks good on your body.
Why do we try to fit into a mold or category? When you feel good in an outfit, pay attention to how it’s cut. Where does it sit on your waist? Are there darts in a certain area? Do the sleeves fall at a certain point, or fall a certain way. Is the shoulder fitted, dropped or raglan? Is the neck V, crew, deep U, squared? Once you know what looks good on you, it doesn’t matter what your body shape is.
December 12th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
I’m not sure more better here. Hurray for Angie and her 5 body types.
December 12th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
I think I’m a brick, oh well.
December 12th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
[…] I use a variation on the six silhouettes found in The Triumph of Individual Style. However, now Angie has put together an explanation even I can understand, based on the new book, The Body Shape Bible, by Trinny and Susannah, and […]
December 12th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Every time one of these guides mentions a “small/large bust” I don’t really know what to think. My band size is only 32 and about 4 inches smaller than my hips, and I have very narrow shoulders and a small ribcage. The girls themselves aren’t small though. So where do I fit in? Truthfully, I don’t think I fit into any of these categories. I’ve given up on the whole body type thing. I’m with Nicole…just try stuff on and take note of details that work for you.
December 12th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Um, I just read a magazine with a pic of Halle Berry and if she has heavy legs and calves…that example is insane. Halle Berry has a perfect hourglass. So much for those shapes!
December 13th, 2007 at 5:20 am
This is a wonderful post. Now I know I am a true Apple..
December 13th, 2007 at 10:16 am
It sounds like you are apple shaped if you describe your body shape “circular” Jorunn. Contrary to Trinny & Susannah, I feel that your bust does not need to be smaller than your tummy to be apple shaped. And Maris and Lisa, you seem to be hourglasses with either an average or small sized bust. However, if you feel that you are a little curvier at the bottom, you’ll probably want to follow a few of the guidelines for the pear shape because you can tend towards a pear and an hourglass.
But you can’t be an inverted triangle and a pear. The same way you can’t be a rectangle and an apple. These body types are opposite. But you can be hourglassy with a little extra around the middle, or an inverted triangle with a little extra around the middle. In this case you’ll follow a few of the apple shape guidelines as well as your first body type.
I’d have used Beyonce as a celebrity example for “a Bell” instead of Hillary Clinton Lynn. Halle Berry would be the perfect example of someone who is very hourglassy, but because she is fuller at the bottom than she is on top, she also tends towards a pear. She does not have large calves and therefore Trinny & Susannah’s example of her in this light is a little inaccurate.
It’s hard to classify our body types accurately especially when the perceptions of ourselves are not what others see. It’s also a little tricky to boil down what’s best for your body type to “what I feel good in”. I know plenty of people who feel great in clothing that is clearly unflattering to their body type. There is no getting away from the fact that one needs to continually experiment with new looks in order to establish what looks good and what doesn’t. Experimentation is time consuming and what the body type rules do is help to narrow down the choices in our search.
December 13th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Oh no, now I am more confused than ever. I didn’t even know you can’t be both an apple and a rectangle, since I always thought I was either a slimmer apple or a heavier rectangle. I still consider myself well-dressed despite my body shape ignorance though, ha ha.
December 13th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
You can absolutely be well dressed if you are “body shape ignorant”. When this happens, you’ve managed to follow body type clothing guidelines instinctively without ever seeing it on paper.
December 15th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Can’t tell which hourglass I am for the life of me. So, not too helpful.
It doesn’t matter, of course, except as a sort of quiz game, because I know what looks good on me generally speaking (and I can generally make a good decision on when to break a rule).
December 16th, 2007 at 2:26 am
I’m an hourglass, but in the book it tells me to “watch Charlotte Church’s style choices.” Ummm…maybe I’ll just stick with sexy Salma and Nigella, thanks!
December 17th, 2007 at 8:36 am
[…] you for last week’s informative comments on Trinny & Susannah’s twelve body shape definitions. Overall, I’m left with the impression that people find them a little confusing. Perhaps the […]
December 17th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
I can’t… it’s so hard to look at myself objectively. Are my thighs heavy or not ? And my calves ? Is my bottom half jeavier than the top half ? Are my shoulders wide or narrow ? How can I tell ? Could you explain this with the help of some measurements ?
For example I found that I am short legged and long waisted by these directions
“Gauge the distance from your neck to your waist and from waist to crotch.
If the upper half is longer, you’re long-waisted, and vice-versa.
Determine the length of your neck and legs (they play an important part in overall proportion) with these easy steps:
*If you can easily touch your chin to your chest, your neck is short; if you have to strain, it’s long.
*If the distance from your shoulders to your crotch is longer than from your crotch to ankles, you’re short-legged.”
January 4th, 2008 at 8:33 am
I love this guide. I think some folks are interpreting the picutres much too literally. The authors are not implying that you have to be IDENTICAL to the examples, just use them as a guide. I am very much a slim cornet and I liked their examples. So many of the mags tell me that as a skinny person I should wear lots of dresses that are snug right under the bust (yeah right….that’s the widest part of my body) or tops that are strapless or spagetti strapped (because who wouldn’t want to look like a linebacker :)?). Nice to know that someone believes that my body type exists…even if clothing manufacturers do not.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:38 am
I guess I’m a lollipop
March 14th, 2008 at 3:01 am
what are you if you are small with measurements of 37, 30, 40 and a high waist? I have always thougth myself a pear, my friend says hourglass and my sister thinks bel…my shoulders are the same as my hips and I have chunky legs.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:07 pm
This is a great list, but the thing is… it doesn’t give enough options for women with small busts. I for one don’t match a single one of the options (there are two here for the small-busted, both of which require extremes in the case of legs- either big and bulky or slim and lean).
April 4th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Thanks for the list! I’ve always found it difficult to fit myself into traditional classifications. I’m definitely a Cello.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I think it’s a pity that your body type descriptions leave out women with larger, rounded bottoms. How do you dress an african bottom?
April 9th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Haha this doesn’t help me at all! Apparently my body shape is just off-the-charts weird. I know I am some sort of inverted triangle cause my shoulders are huge (36″ around, my hips are only 34″), but I have a tiny chest, tiny waist, short torso, narrow but curved hips and a round curvy butt, and super-skinny thighs. I love my body but it is hard to dress.. what fits my shoulders and ass is baggy everywhere else.
I see runway models with my body type, but no celebrities, and no one in real life!
I think there are infinate variations in body shape and these twelve types aren’t much more helpful in narrowing tham down than the basic ‘apple, pear, hourglass, top-heavy’ catagories. I agree that it’s best to learn what looks good on you (which sometimes takes a lot of thought and staring in the mirror!), what you want to emphazise/hide, and how to do it.
May 31st, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Morgan you’re not an hourglass. An hourglass has some bust as hip measurement and a waist 10cms smaller than the hip/bust measurement.
your measurements are very similar to mine and i classify myself as skittle/pear. I don’t have huge thighs or saddlebags but carry all my weight around the stomach/bum/ top of thigh area. I have straight calves and ankles. I’m tall and not really overweight (170cm and 69kg).
I have found it hard trying to figure out what I am and like T&S say, you can be a mix.
June 1st, 2008 at 4:45 am
although i dont agree with putting a label on body shapes or comparing body shapes to items like ‘bricks’ (ESPECIALLY bricks!) as it can be very offensive, i find trinny and susannah a joy to watch, they are funny and not too harsh about everything. i watch thier tv show and my family loves it. we even decided to draw what we thought our body shapes where with surprising outcomes.
i may only be a kid still (im 16) but i find it kind of wierd seeing people say wow im an hourglass or a pear, i mean why are they even looking at this, coz to be honest i rekon everyone should shut up and be happy with what they look like.
im a column/cornet lol
susannah your a legend. and trinny…well your trinny.
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I still don’t know what my shape is well…
My hips are-37″
Waist” 30
Shoulders=38.5″
Thighs= 21″
Bust=38″
By but is an ok size
And im 5′8.1/2″
July 8th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
What ARE saddlebags? Googling provides a long list of A) horsey people who want to sell them and B) people who want to tell me how to get rid of mine. The general implication seems to be extra weight at the hips or thighs, but that’s not a very precise description and I’d like to gain a clearer understanding of the word.