Dressing Your Hourglass Figure

As promised, here is the first tutorial of my series about dressing your shape. I did mention the 4 most important shapes last week but there is one I ignored accidentally - the inverted triangle. I will talk about that one later but today is all about the hourglass.

The hourglass shape is often considered the ideal shape for a woman but I find that a stupid statement. Stupid. A shape is a shape is a shape. Lets embrace our shapes and do our best to dress them. And without further delay, let's talk about the hourglass.

The best way to tell your shape is to grab a tape measure, a pencil and a piece of paper and get nekkid. Measure around your ta tas, your waist and your hips. If you are an hourglass shape, your ta tas and waist should be very similar in circumference and your waist should be much much smaller. For example (in cm): ta tas: 100, waist: 75, hips: 100. If you aren't sure if you have a much smaller waist, draw the following using your measurements on a smaller scale (use 10 cm for 100 cm and 7.5 cm for 75 cm):

ta tas:     _______________________________


waist:                  __________________


hips:       ______________________________

Then connect the three lines vertically. If your shape looks like this

Then you are an hourglass! Or on a soap opera.

Hourglass shapes are often coveted but not always the easiest to dress surprisingly.
Celebrities with an hourglass figure: Kim Kardashian, Scarlett Johannson, Salma Hayek and Sophia Loren

What you should wear as an hourglass shape:
It's all about balance and highlighting the waist. Solids are your friends. Tailored clothing, too. Belts are your pals. Prints and ruffles and capri pants are not. You want to elongate the legs so aim for slightly flared pants with a slightly higher waist. Go for V-necks and avoid boat necks to elongate your upper half. Avoid flowy undefined seperates; they will make you look top or bottom heavy. Remember; tailored, simple, fitted, DEFINE THAT WAIST! 

Here are some examples of great outfits for hourglass shapes.

Your absolute must haves as an hourglass figure:
Flared jeans/pants
Solid separates
Tailored and fitted dresses and blazers
A-line skirts
Fitted shirts (should come just at your hips or slightly above, same with blazers)
Belts
Wrap dresses (I say this for every shape)

And just say no to:
Cropped jeans/pants
Tunics and leggings
Too many conflicting prints
Ruffles

I hope this post has been helpful. Stay tuned for the next shape: Pear!

And now I have to kill whoever switched my coffee with decaf.