Glossary

Body Shapes

A study of more than 6,000 women conducted at North Carolina State University in 2005 revealed that 46% of women were rectangle; just over 20% were triangle-shaped; just under 14% were oval-shaped, and only 8% were hourglass-shaped.

Diamond

The waist is larger than the bust and hips. Hips are narrow compared to the shoulders, and breasts are small to medium in size. Look for suits that de-emphasize tummy and hips.

Your body type is: Diamond

As a Diamond body type, it is indeed as rare as its name. Typical characteristics are:

Your hips are broader than you bust and shoulders
You have a tendency to gain weight in your stomach, back, hips and buttocks
Your waist is undefined and is the widest part of your frame
You carry some weight in your upper legs
Your lower legs are shapely and one of your most attractive features
You have proportionately slender, shapely arms

Hourglass

The bust and hips are basically the same size, and the waist is well defined. 8% population

Lucky you! You have the Hourglass body type that most women strive for. Typical characteristics of an Hourglass Body Shape are:

Your bust and hips are well balanced
you have a beautifully defined waist
You have gently rounded shoulders that align nicely with your hips
Your waist is obvious and gracefully curves out to your hips
You most likely have a rounded bottom and beautiful side as well as front profile
Your upper body is proportionate in length to your legs which are shapely
From top to bottom, you are a picture of harmony and balance

Celebrity hourglass shapes: Kim Kardashian, Dita Von Teese, Eva Longoria

How to tell if you're an hourglass: "Your shoulders and hips are around the same size, and our waistline is significantly smaller. The rule of thumb here is about 75 percent: Your shoulder and hip measurements are within five percent of each other. Your waist is at least 25 percent smaller than your shoulder, hip and bust measurements. Your waist is eight to 12 inches smaller than your hip or bust measurement."

Hourglass body shape traits:

Your hips and shoulders have about the same width. 
You have round and sloping shoulders. 
You have a well-defined waistline. 
Did we mention cleavage?
Your buttocks are rather round. 
Your lower hips are wider than your high hips. 
Your thighs are full but narrower than the lower hips. 
Hourglass body shapes gain weight through the hips and above the waist.

Inverted Triangle

Characteristics of an inverted triangle are the bust is large, hips are narrow and waist is not well defined. Larger upper body, broad shoulders, wide back.

You have an Inverted Triangle body shape (also known as an athletic body type).

Typical characteristics of an Inverted Triangle body shape are:

You have a proportionally larger upper body
You have broad shoulders, and ample bust and a wide back
Your hips are slim and your bottom may have a tendency towards the flat side
Your waist is subtle and you have a tendency to gain weight in your belly and upper body

Celebrities with inverted triangle body shapes: Naomi Campbell, Demi Moore, Renée Zellweger

How to tell if you're an inverted triangle: "Your shoulders are wider than your hips," Roché says. "They are the widest part of your body. Your shoulders are more than five percent bigger than your hip measurement."

Inverted body shape traits:

You have prominent and broad straight shoulders — wider than your waistline or hips.
You have an athletic build. 
You probably have rather flat buttocks. 
You might have a larger chest and fuller back than rectangles. 
When inverted triangles gain weight, they usually gain it through the torso and back area.

Oval

Waist is larger than the bust and hip. Hips are narrow compared to the shoulders, and breasts are ample in size. 14% population. Oval-shaped ladies have little difference between the measurements of their chest, waist and hips.. You as an apple-shaped girl have chest and waist measurements that are fairly close, but your hips are about six inches smaller than your chest."

The waist is larger than the bust and hips. The hips are narrow compared to the shoulders. Breasts are ample in size.

Your body type is: Oval

You have an Oval Body Shape (sometimes known as an apple body shape).

Typical Characteristics of an Oval body type are:

You have a large bust, narrow hips, and a full midsection
You have a tendency to gain weight in your stomach, back and upper body
Your waist is undefined and the widest part of your frame
You also have a full, shorter neck and full face
Your buttocks are somewhat flat and your legs are slender
Your shapely, graceful legs are your best asset

Celebrity oval shapes: Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tyra Banks

How to tell if you're an oval: "Your shoulders and hips are around the same size, Oval-shaped ladies have little difference between the measurements of their chest, waist and hips.. You as an oval-shaped girl have chest and waist measurements that are fairly close, but your hips are about six inches smaller than your chest."

Oval body shape traits:

Hips and shoulders have the same width; waistline has the same width or is wider. 
You gain weight mainly around the waist, at least in proportion to the other parts of your body. 
You probably have slender lower legs and arms. 
Your high hip is wider than your lower hip.
Your bust and/or midriff are larger than your hips.
You might be short-waisted. 
Your thighs or hips are probably the narrowest part of your body.

Rectangle

Bust and Hips are same size, Waist is slightly smaller. Swimwear that will add illusion of curves. This is the most common body shape with 46% women meeting this body type. This body shape describes a person who typically has waist measurements that are less than 9 inches smaller than the hip or bust measurements

Celebrity rectangles: Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifah, Cameron Diaz

How to tell if you're a rectangle: "Rectangles have a very athletic frame," Roché says. "That allows them to wear boyish clothes as well as a wide range of feminine ones. Your shoulders, waistline, bust and hips are around the same size. Your shoulder, bust and hip measurements are within five percent of each other. Your waist is less than 25 percent smaller than your shoulder or bust measurements. Waist measures from one to eight inches (2.5 cm – 20 cm) smaller than the bust."

Rectangle body shape traits:

Your hips, waistline and shoulders have about the same width.
Rectangles gain weight evenly, but may gain some more through the upper back or neck.
You have rather straight shoulders.
Your buttocks are flat.
You have an athletic build and a small bustline.

Spoon

Hips are larger than bust and hips have a shelf like an appearance. The waist is slightly smaller than bust.

The hips are larger than the bust and the hips have a”shelf” appearance. The waist is slightly smaller than the bust.

As a Spoon Body type (sometimes called figure 8) is quite common. Typical characteristics of a Spoon Body Shape are:

Your hips are larger than your bust
You have a defined waist
Your hips have a “shelf” appearance
You are prone to gaining weight in your tummy and have a tendency towards love-handles
While you may gain weight in your upper thighs and upper arms, your lower legs and arms are shapely and
Your hips are larger than your bust

Triangle

Hips are larger than bust, and waist gradually slopes out to the hips. Swimwear that minimizes lower half and tops that add volume to bust and elongate the shoulder line. 20% population.

You are a Triangle shaped body (sometimes called pear).

Typical characteristics of a triangle body shape are:

Your hips are larger than your bust
You have a nicely defined waist
You have an elegant neck and proportionately slim arms and shoulders
You first gain weight in your bottom and legs followed by your tummy and upper body
Your waist is your best asset so don’t be bashful and show it off.

Celebrity Triangle shapes: Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Kelly Clarkson

How to tell if you're a Triangle: "Your hips are wider than your shoulders," Roché says, "They are also wider than your bust, making them the widest area of your body. In numbers, your hip measurement is more than five percent bigger than your shoulder or bust measurements. With a Triangle figure, one of your best assets is your slim midriff, which many women envy you for. Make sure to show off your killer waist and balance your wider lower half. These basic items should be the foundation of a great wardrobe."

Triangle body shape traits:

Your hips are wider than your shoulders. 
You have round, sloping shoulders. 
You have a well-defined waistline (and might even have killer abs). 
Your buttocks and thighs are full and round. 
Triangle body shapes gain weight on their thighs.

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