Body shape
Hourglass or rectangle?
This is your palette
In both, shoulder and hip sit close in width. The difference is the waist: an hourglass comes in clearly between them, a rectangle runs almost straight from shoulder to hip.
How to tell them apart
- Look at your outline from the front: does it come in clearly at the waist, or run almost straight from ribs to hip?
- Put a belt on over a fitted top. If it settles into a curve at your natural waist, the waist is marked; if it stays wherever you put it, the line is straight.
- Think of fitted dresses: one that needs taking in at the waist says hourglass, one that fits straight through says rectangle.
Side by side
Hourglass
The rule
Keep the waist visible and let everything else follow the line of the body without gripping it.
What to skip
Boxy, unshaped outerwear and drop-waist cuts, which move the line down from where it naturally sits.
Rectangle
The rule
Add a single horizontal or a single curve. Two competing ones read as fuss.
What to skip
Boxy cuts top to bottom, stiff synthetics that hold their own shape, and hems landing at the widest part of the calf.
How to find your body shape
Stand in front of a mirror and compare three widths: shoulders, waist and hips. The quiz shows four outlines and asks which is closest to yours, then your height and size, so the advice fits your build as well as your line.