Body Shape Questions

[Deleted member 12480]

i love you gals.

xxxxxx

 

[Lady Day]

May I have a lemon square too please? I am OK with my proportions, but if there is home baking going, I want in!

I just made a batch yesterday, but they are all gone now
Ill get ya next time

LD

 

[Brooksie]

Nice to see another British Hannah! I lived in Sheffield for 4 years when I was at Art College in the early-to-mid 90's.

I was a really skinny teenager - at 15 my measurements were 30-21-31 - so growing a few curves as an adult has been a joyous experience for me! As a teenager I imagined I was the most hideous being on the planet and I am still a little body-dismorphic (what I see in the mirror doesn't bear much relation to how I actually look to others - this is both frustrating and liberating in equal measure!). I didn't really learn to love and appreciate my body until my late twenties. Now in my late 30's I'm going off it again and need to reappreciate my new, older, bodyshape! Any tips on how to accept a peri-menopausal ageing body appreciated!

I do not have any tips on how to accept a peri-menopausal ageing body but I just got done reading about the benefits of flax seed and they are recommending it for peri-menopausal women between the ages of 35 to 55. To help out with all of the related symptoms and staying in balance.

 

[deadpandiva]

I found this chart on one of my patterns and I find it an invaluable tool. I think we need to remember that standard was not an hourglass. Today I guess it is, but in the day pear shape ruled! I mean it is the most common female body shape.

I wish I were as lucky as you, Lolly. I cross three sizes, HA! lol

LD

I am a pair shape but I cross three sizes also. I have to say that making my own clothes has helped with having a more positive body image but I still struggle.

 

[Paisley]

i am making an effort to accept how i look and the ladies on FL have helped a lot but i really hate my silhouette.

I'm 34-27(to 9, depending)-37

its horrible.

You have the figure of a dancer or a gymnast. Here's one of my teachers, who is smaller than you but has about the same proportions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_NGcAYRxCE&feature=PlayList&p=788AFA642AE6CA04&playnext_from=PL&index=6

I've noticed that kind of figure--flat chest, round rear, slightly indented waist--is pretty common among great lindy hoppers. (It's typical of gymnasts, too.)

One of the upsides to having a streamlined figure is that nothing sags as you get older. I'm 41, and nothing's migrated yet. And you can jitterbug without bouncing out of control.

You and I have about the same measurements, but I don't know if we have exactly the same type of figure--I'm 5'-4", have long arms and legs, a short neck, and square shoulders. Here's what works for me.

A lightly padded underwire bra. It pushes your boobs up and in just enough to give you some shape, and lets you wear thin shirts without embarrassment. Lands' End sells some good ones, and sometimes they have sales.

A scoop or V neck. High necklines make my neck look short.

Fitted shirts, or knit shirts with a defined waist. Makes your bust look a little bigger.

Boot-cut pants. I like wide-legged pants, too.

In my younger days, I wore short skirts. Now I wear shorts--but not bermudas--that hit around mid-thigh.

Cap sleeves. Tank tops make me look like an East German shot putter, with my square shoulders.

I have the figure for flapper clothes, but they make me look like a stick. And most vintage just doesn't fit me--the clothes are too small in the waist and too big in the bust. It's vintage-inspired for me.

 

[Paisley]

Tell me with a straight face all these dancers have horrible figures:

Ginger Rogers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOBdQykKQY

Judy Garland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ59J7EDdxs

Ruby Keeler
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuqJJMSK15U&feature=related

A whole slew of Hollywood dancers. Not many busty, bombshell figures here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_0JukI-_wg

 

[Deleted member 12480]

i see what you mean about the busts but ginger rogers just looks a lot more in proportion than i do. it suits her cause she's not so broad..


xx

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I spent my entire teenage years and early twenties loathing my body due to its 34 AA, barely, 27, 39 shape. Crying during bra and bikini shopping, thinking about it every single day, refusing to even show myself in a bathing suit as a teen. I didn't just feel depressed about it, I felt incomplete - like women who lose a breast (or both) to cancer, I knew it was illogical but I did feel less womanly, and I felt cheated by nature. And in my mid-twenties I finally had the money and courage to change it, and I had surgery. It's not a secret, I've talked about it on here in depth before, but it changed my life. Best thing I ever did, hands down. I'm now 37 (38 in my 34D bra, I have never been quite able to part with push ups), 27, 39, and I have never spared my shape another thought since. Well except for the usual 'I could do with slimmer thighs but can't really be arsed to do anything about them...so clearly I'm not that bothered really' thoughts.

Whoooo, Fleur! Never thought of it from this perspective. My perspective is that I literally grew to a full D by the time I was 12. I got my period at 9 All this happened to me at such a young age I wasn't ready to be a woman yet!! I was literally ASHAMED of my large rack. I still carry some of that resentment today. Crazy, I know, but they kinda become a symbol in my life for a robbed childhood lol

I've always been big busted. Even when I was anorexic I still had C cups (the smallest they ever were since age 12). If I had known you wanted some I would have gladly donated some of mine lol

 

[Paisley]

i see what you mean about the busts but ginger rogers just looks a lot more in proportion than i do. it suits her cause she's not so broad..


xx

I saw a picture of you on your blog. I don't think you look out of proportion. [huh] My thought was that we look pretty much alike from the neck down. I've never worn a girdle, corset or falsies--never felt the need to.

If it's boys you're looking to impress, a lot of them don't like a big bust--seriously.

 

[Puzzicato]

If it's boys you're looking to impress, a lot of them don't like a big bust--seriously.

The boys I remember from my teenage years were all just so grateful to be getting near ACTUAL BREASTS on an ACTUAL GIRL that they didn't much care what size they were.

 

[DonnaL83]

I wish I had the issue of larger hips, I think its very attractive. My problem is that im short (5ft) so everything needs to be hemmed. Also im a 38dd and wear a size 7 so I cant pull off button ups without going a size or 2 up, If not I tend to look like a porn star.

 

[Paisley]

The boys I remember from my teenage years were all just so grateful to be getting near ACTUAL BREASTS on an ACTUAL GIRL that they didn't much care what size they were.

lol

One of my ex-boyfriends in particular (30 years old at the time) didn't care for big breasts AT ALL--he was a leg guy.

 

[kamikat]

Whoooo, Fleur! Never thought of it from this perspective. My perspective is that I literally grew to a full D by the time I was 12. I got my period at 9 All this happened to me at such a young age I wasn't ready to be a woman yet!! I was literally ASHAMED of my large rack. I still carry some of that resentment today. Crazy, I know, but they kinda become a symbol in my life for a robbed childhood lol

The same thing happened to me. All through junior high and high school, guys made cracks about my chest.

 

[SayCici]

Annie, ultimately comparing yourself to people will do no good. I see girls all the time wishing they had some "perfect body" in a magazine when THOSE people in the magazine don't even that body, because it's airbrushed.

Ultimately your body is the only one you have and you should take care of it. All of the ladies in here are a great example: they have either learned (or are learning) to love their bodies as they are, or they took it upon themselves to change what they weren't happy about, so they wouldn't waste time thinking negative thoughts. I definitely did not like my body in middle school throughout 9th grade, but personally, eating better and cooking my own meals helped a lot. I was happy about what was going in my body and that seeped outward. Also, there was a lot of "faking it til you make it".

Keep in mind as well that you're biased! Because you are in your body you will never, ever have the perspective that the ladies here or your own friends and family will have on it. If you are trying to be unhappy about your body or find things you don't like, you will. People are their own worst critic. If you are looking in the mirror and can't think of something nice to say about the way you look, don't say anything.

 

[Deleted member 12480]

don't worry, its not boys i'm trying to impress.

it sounds ridiculous, but i generally am alright with how i look. Its just that my silhouette, from sideways and front on, i look like a man in girls clothes.

i'm not particularly broad shouldered, but my chest is broad and doesn't equate to the size of my boobs.

i'm also not wishing i had DDs or anything. A simple B would be satisfactory.

i see myself as a 'sad excuse for a 34A' aka, most likely a AA but the changing room lady didn't have the heart to utterly crush me.

I'm sorry if i sound melancholic or something. I'm not, its just the way it is. I'm sorry i've dragged out my issue for so long. (like a page and a half or possibly more). feel free to talk about something a bit more interesting than my lamenting.


xxxxx

 

[kymeratale]

Just remember when you are doing the changing room despair dance - it's not that your body looks bad in those clothes, it's that those clothes look bad on your body. Small shift, but it makes a difference. Nothing wrong with the bod, just not the right window dressing for it.

I am quite happy with my shape 38(D)-31-42. I suppose that puts me into pear territory (I wear one size bigger on bottom than on top) with the hips bigger than the bust, but it comes off as entirely hourglass. I suppose it is the D cup that compensates for that. I think I am well proportioned and I have stopped trying to make my body fit into styles that it just isn't meant for. I think that has been the biggest thing in making me at home with my shape. I learned what works and what doesn't and don't beat myself up by trying to wear the stuff that doesn't. I can see something fabulous on someone else and think "gee, that looks great on her" without then thinking about how it would look like hell on me.

Going the vintage route has certainly helped with being happy with my body. Modern trends tend not to do me any favours, so now I just ignore them. I go for the eras that flatter me the most and that make me feel good in them.

There was a good book that came out a few years ago by the hosts from TLC's What Not To Wear called Dress Your Best - The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That's Right For Your Body. It was all different body types with photos and how to best dress for that type. I found it very helpful. If you have mix and match issues, you can combine the advice from different types.

 

[Helysoune]

The same thing happened to me. All through junior high and high school, guys made cracks about my chest.

Same here, ninth grade was the absolute worst. I got so upset about midway through the year that I bought overly large shirts, frumpy trousers and construction boots to try to get it to stop, and that actually worked. Of course, as you can well imagine, it wasn't the most flattering ensemble, but it did turn off most of the unwanted attention. Now after two children, though, the girls have actually shrunk while my middle expanded, which as you can imagine isn't the most flattering thing either. [huh] Oh well, maybe one of these days I'll start being able to carve some time out of the day to do something about the middle. And as the old adage goes, "What God has forgotten, we fill in with cotton!"

 

[Amy Jeanne]

...I bought overly large shirts, frumpy trousers and construction boots...

I took on an asexual/androgynous look to hide my womanhood, too. I bought men's clothing!!! Looking back, it was awful and I even have a nickname for this time in my life lol I started wishing I was a boy at age 11 and this lasted until I was 20. I never became super-feminine until last summer (age 33). LOL.

 

[crwritt]

I never even wore a bra through high school or college, sometimes a camisole.
I never heard any comments about it either. It was the 70's, I dressed as I pleased, in an eclectic manner. On the rare times I tried one on, I did not care for the fit, and, to be honest, most things looked better on me without a bra. I didn't like how they showed lumps and bumps through clothing. I didn't bother with it until I had my second child at 30.
There are still times, with certain dresses, when I don't bother with the bra.
I don't sag, the dresses fit well, and you really can't tell.
I have also added cups inside some of my evening dresses so as not to have to fuss with the bras.
I have a large ribcage, and most bras are not designed for my shape. I wear a 40B. The only company that I have found that makes nice bras in my size is Bali. Luckily they have a good selection.
So girls, if your assets don't pass the "pencil test", count yourself lucky. You aren't sagging and don't need a bra. Wear slips or camisoles and don't fuss about your cup size.

 

[FraeuleinBerlin]

I think we need to remember that standard was not an hourglass. Today I guess it is

Hourglass is definitely not standard today! Women have actually been getting gradually straighter since the fifties - no idea why, but it's true. A very straight figure (whether dead slim or not) is the most common now.

I'm 40-30-40 (36DD) and I wear an English size 14 (US10) BUT I've noticed that my size 14 clothes often say 36" bust... they fit me fine but I am definitely 40" round however I measure! I don't understand how that works, anyone here have an idea...? I love my figure anyway! All my friends are very skinny (I'm 19) and I used to be SO jealous. Of their straight hair as well! I'm not sure what changed really - I guess my attitude and the fact that I realised it's only teenage boys who won't consider anyone over a size 10!

Cherry
xxx