Body shape
Inverted triangle or pear?
This is your palette
They are mirror images. In an inverted triangle the shoulder reads wider than the hip; in a pear the hip reads wider than the shoulder – so what works for one is the opposite of what works for the other.
How to tell them apart
- Stand at a mirror in fitted clothes and find the widest point of your outline: across the shoulders, across the hips, or the same at both.
- Hold a book upright against the outside of one shoulder. If your hip stays inside its edge, your shoulders lead; if the hip pushes past it, your hips do; if it brushes both, they are even.
- Think of how clothes fit. Tops tight across the back while trousers fit point to the shoulders; trousers tight at the hip while tops fit point to the hips.
Side by side
Inverted triangle
The rule
Volume below the waist, simplicity above it.
What to skip
Shoulder pads, boat necks, puff sleeves and heavy epaulettes – anything that adds where there is already width.
Pear
The rule
Detail, structure and colour above the waist. Keep the lower half quiet, so the eye finishes at the top.
What to skip
Hip-level detail – patch pockets, wide belts worn low, tapered trousers that narrow at the ankle.
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.