Pear shape body...

[MaryDeluxe]

I'm an hourglass shape so I can sympathies with all you wonderful pears. I love being curvy and having the ability to fill out a pencil skirt the way it was meant to be filled out!

As for men, well don't worry about the ones who don't like a gal with curves...concentrate on the guys who do!!!

The important thing is to love yourself no matter what size or shape you are!

 

[zaika]

i say...love your body and try clothes that flatter what you DO like. and it's all about how you carry yourself, too.
i would say that my body type is mushy peach. round and sort of saggy. lol but i try to wear clothes that flatter the smallest part of my waist and/or play up my chestral area a little. and i also carry myself as if i don't give a hoot what people think of me. it doesn't get me any attention from the men, but i'm not ridiculed anymore either.
you can do it!! have fun and play around with clothes...see what makes you look your best. we all have parts of our bodies we could do without...as evidenced by all these repsonses...but it doesn't have to be a curse.

 

[Lola Valentine]

The important thing is to love yourself no matter what size or shape you are!

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[sweetfrancaise]

Pear here too! It's a family trait, along with large peasant feet. lol . For pants, I prefer ones that hit me on the hip rathr than my natural waist--the fit makes me look less dumpy. I also wear flared or wide-leg pants, no skinny jeans for me! Evil, evil, evil.

And I love the way skirts look on me in particular, that new bit of sway and flirt. I could be happier with my size, but I try to emphasize what looks good!

 

[ShortClara]

Is hourglass a pear? Hmm... what do you say wide hips? Uh, huh... yes, we hate pants... yes our bones are just wide that way... yes we'll be happy when you want to pass a baby...

Yes, apparently so! lol

I have very short legs and wide hips. That's why I wear skirts and dresses 90% of the time. But you know what? I wouldn't be a stick girl for all the tea in China. My man likes my wide Southern region and small waist! And so do I

It's all a matter of dressing it well, that's all.

 

[MaryDeluxe]

Some interesting info from A Dress A Day!

http://www.dressaday.com/2006/11/are-you-ruler-or-apple.html

 

[Laura Chase]

Some interesting info from A Dress A Day!

http://www.dressaday.com/2006/11/are-you-ruler-or-apple.html

Thanks Mary, that was a very good and helpful article!

I was wondering, have any of you other ladies who have a true hourglass shape experienced that there is a very fine balance when it comes to picking clothes... Some clothes really make you look like an "upside down triangle"-shape, as described in the article, or in other words, some clothes make you a bit look top heavy rather than balanced and proportioned.

It is quite incredible that my bust and hip measurements always are the exact same, regardless of weight gain or weight loss. Ideally, I would like that my bust was a slight bit smaller than my hips, just a couple of inches, this way I actually think I would look more hourglass, and avoid looking like an upside down triangle. But it is fun to experiment and see which clothes flatter the most.

 

[KittyT]

I was wondering, have any of you other ladies who have a true hourglass shape experienced that there is a very fine balance when it comes to picking clothes... Some clothes really make you look like an "upside down triangle"-shape, as described in the article, or in other words, some clothes make you a bit look top heavy rather than balanced and proportioned.

Well I'm not sure if I'd say I have a true hourglass shape (36-28-39), but regardless, my hips are my widest measurement and still, I've always found that many 40s dresses give me that upside down triangle shape. Those darned shoulder pads are the one thing I really dislike about a lot of 40s clothing!

 

[pennycarrol]

Ladies you rock!!!! Thank you for your posts!! I'd like to be confident, and completely errase this complex (my pear shape lol)!! I have to work on it!! I know that it's not a very important problem, when some people suffer from cancer... But low self esteem can put you in a very bad mood!!

 

[deadpandiva]

Posture helps too. I always hold my head up and stand and walk straight and with confidence. I try to have pose always. I used to look like a human question mark.

 

[pennycarrol]

Deadpandiva, you're so right!! The posture is very important!! I'm also a human question mark!!lol

 

[gluegungeisha]

Two of my best friends both have pear figures, and they get showered with compliments all the time. They're both pretty self-concious about it, but I secretly envy them.

 

[Hillocks]

Well girls I'm here to cheer you up. Because I have the idea that I'm a banana (35-28,5-37,5) and I would love to get a more femine look! (first time I heard about apple, hour-glass shaped bodies)
Especially at the waist. And well if it was possible I would give each of you that want's a bigger butt a part of mine! Since my upper body is kinda small only 35" it looks even bigger
So be happy with your figure! It looks femine and forget all the models who have the figure of a pencil instead of filling a pencilskirt so that it looks great!

(p.s. sorry for the Bad English)

 

[Miss Brill]

Dressing an hourglass body is no easier. I am equal in the bust & hips, and 10"-11" smaller in the waist, and if I accentuate my waist, my hips look huge. This is why I like low-rise jeans, if you are hippy it just looks better accentuating hips rather than the waist.

 

[Miss Brill]

(p.s. sorry for the Bad English)

Don't worry about it, your English is great.

 

[Miss 1929]

Pears are delicious!

And really, if you are built that way, what can you do but enjoy it?

And if you like your body, then the menfolks will too, it is also a question of your carriage...

No matter how tiny I am , I am always bigger on the bottom by 2-4 dress sizes. I find the 30s to be flattering - ribs and waists snug, collars and shoulders wide, and skirts clingy and flowing to give a long line.

But the sad part about being built that way is NEVER being able to find a suit that fits, and I adore suits. I will have to make one to get the fit right and more importantly, proportions that help and not hinder.

 

[Miss 1929]

Beautifully expressed!

So be happy with your figure! It looks femine and forget all the models who have the figure of a pencil instead of filling a pencilskirt so that it looks great!

(p.s. sorry for the Bad English)

Definitely good English! And good sentiment.

 

[Helen Troy]

Ladies you rock!!!! Thank you for your posts!! I'd like to be confident, and completely errase this complex (my pear shape lol)!! I have to work on it!! I know that it's not a very important problem, when some people suffer from cancer... But low self esteem can put you in a very bad mood!!

I have found that my vintage/history interest is really helpfull when i train myself to accept my body. It helps to know that the beauty ideal of our times is only one amongst millions of others in the history of men. and, interestingly enough, very few of these ideals seems to have been anything like today's stick-thin idea of beauty.

Here are som examples:

Venus from Willendorf, from the older stone age. Once, the apple-shaped body must have been higly in fashion!

Rubens "Three graces" from 1639. "Beauty" and "chubby" were not contradictional words back then!

This paintings by the famous Ingres,(mid-19th century), shows us how much the pear shape was in vouge back then.

My personal favourite self-esteem booster Marilyn Monroe happily demonstrates a natural tummy. Knowing that her cute, round tummy was considered part of her charm, (her costumes was often made to emphasize it!) helps me accept mine. Now i call it "Monroe-esque" instead of fat!

The point of this history lesson is to show that the beauty ideal we meet today is not nature or God-given, it is just invented. The fact that mankinds ideas of beauty alters so much over the years just demonstrates thate beauty can be many things, a beautyful body can have many shapes.

It's also interesting that the unnaturally* skinny ideal is a new invention, dating back only to the 20s, when a little flesh on the bones has been fashionable for thousands of years. So I like to think of myself as a lady with classical style, and I am not going to throw myself at a merely 80-year old trend!

*Disclaimer: When I refer to skinny figures in a negative way, I only mean the unnatural, starved, unhealthy image of our times. Some people are naturally skinny, that is a totally different thing and a very special beauty indeed.

 

[Havana]

A typical runway model of today would have been considered sickly in the Victoria Era and almost any other historical era. As far as I know thin became vogue for the first time during the 1920's flapper era. That seemed to be part of the anti-feminine style of the flappers. The flappers rebelled against traditional female styles by having short hair and sack dresses that hid their natural body shapes. I think the "thin is in" ideal of that era was just an extention of that ideal. It didn't last, of course. Shapely pin ups were all the rage from the 30's through the 60's. I can't understand the obsessively thin ideal of today. It sets up young girls with an impossible and dangerous ideal and destroys the self image of grown women. As a male observer of this phenomenon, one the most frustrating parts of this whole thing is that every guy I know finds stick figure models revolting and even asexual. Too skinny, boney, and fragile are all comments that I've heard when I've asked other guys for their opinions of the model types. I have yet to hear a single guy say he is attracted to these unnaturally thin model types. I can't buy the idea that this is a male driven fantasy. Then, why is the ideal everywhere? I believe the fashion and entertainment industries are the parties really responsible for shoving the super thin ideal down our throats. It's not healthy from a physical or mental health point of view. Everyone should speak up and vocally reject this false ideal. Don't buy the magazines. Don't buy the products that endorse this false ideal. When you're confronted with those images, let everyone around know that you think it's crap.

 

[dhermann1]

Another male opinion

I think it's just a damned shame how women are made to feel bad about their bodies in this society. I don't really think it comes from the men, tho! As Havana mentioned, men LIKE women who look like women! My rule of thumb is that I think a woman looks best about 15 pounds heavier than what that woman would consider her ideal weight.
There was a song by a goofy fok rock group called The Holy Modal Rounders many years ago called "Your Nice Round Belly". That says it all.
Stand up straight and be proud of what God gave you. You'll be gorgeous.