Apple, pear, hourglass — can we skip all the fruit & cut to the chase about body types? (2024)

If, like us, you grew up reading all the fashion advice in Cosmo about what kind of bathing suits to wear to flatter your body, you know the struggle to actually figure out which prescribed body shape category you fall into is real. Am I an apple or a pear? An hourglass or an inverted triangle? It all kinda sounds like a load of BS, but in reality, there are advantages to knowing what body shape you should dress for.

Celebrity stylist Corey Roché offers the simplest explanations for each woman’s body type so you can finally figure out what all of this means — as well as 10 wardrobe essentials for each shape.

More:How to Shop for Petite Clothes: Expert Tips That Work

Apple shape

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

How to tell if you’re an apple: “Your shoulders and hips are around the same size,” Roché says. “Apple-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.”

Apple 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.?

Pear shape

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

How to tell if you’re a pear: “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 pear figure, one of your best assets is you 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.”

Pear 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.?
• Pear body shapes gain weight on their thighs.?

Hourglass shape

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,” Roché says. “Your 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?
• You 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.?

Next: Rectangle and inverted triangle body shapes

Originally posted Feruary 2016. Updated October 2017.

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