What decade most flatters your figure?

[Sunny]

I am pear shaped also and find the 50's styles do not flatter me for the same reason. All that fabric around the hips just makes them look huge. Dresses with straight skirts look okay if I can find them in my size or make them. I would love to try a 1929 or 1930 look but don't think I can pull it off.

I love how you look in the things you've made - it sounds like we've both figured out what's best for us!

 

[Miss Sis]

Although I'm slim, I do infact have an hourglass figure 37-26 1/2-37, so those early 30s styles (and the 20s ones too) make me look like a brick! BAAAAAAAD look!

The mid 30s stuff just skims over everything and is fine. Also lots of the bodices have frills or detail which can help if you are small up top.

Just because it suits you best doesn't mean you have to like it!

 

[Trumpetina]

I am VERY pear shaped... 36-28-46 So, generally, I try and avoid full skirts and pencil skirts. A-line cuts look great on me. Additionally, I like items with sleeves, no halter dresses for me. High waisted pants, skirts, etc. are the most flattering as well. So, I tend to gravitate toward the 1940's.

 

[Black Dahlia]

50s styles flatter my figure best also (hourglass figure). I can't pull off many of the 40s shapes and previous eras, because they're often too narrow in the hips. Though, I do have some 40s dresses that work on me well. Just depends on the style/cut I guess! Plus, I just love the 50s look: tighter at bust area and waist, then away from the body at hips. ;0 Early sixties styles work for me also, pre mod.

And..boy would I EVER love to wear a pencil skit. Won't ever happen for me though...must move on over the realization. *lol* Also, I can't wear pants. No style, cut or size suit me. The last time I wore pants I was in high school...ah er, and I'm in my 30s now! It was a rarity even then, and documented on film. *lol* I'd love to be able to wear a great pair of sailor trousers. Boo!

X
BD

 

[deadpandiva]

50s styles flatter my figure best also (hourglass figure). I can't pull off many of the 40s shapes and previous eras, because they're often too narrow in the hips. Though, I do have some 40s dresses that work on me well. Just depends on the style/cut I guess! Plus, I just love the 50s look: tighter at bust area and waist, then away from the body at hips. ;0 Early sixties styles work for me also, pre mod.

And..boy would I EVER love to wear a pencil skit. Won't ever happen for me though...must move on over the realization. *lol* Also, I can't wear pants. No style, cut or size suit me. The last time I wore pants I was in high school...ah er, and I'm in my 30s now! It was a rarity even then, and documented on film. *lol* I'd love to be able to wear a great pair of sailor trousers. Boo!

X
BD

Stop Staring makes cute 50's style jeans that I think would look good on you. I love them but can't wear 'em.

 

[Black Dahlia]

Stop Staring makes cute 50's style jeans that I think would look good on you. I love them but can't wear 'em.

Oooo, thanks for the tip deadpandiva! I shall look into that. Pants just never fit because of my hips and weight I guess.

Going to have a looksee

X
BD

 

[fortworthgal]

I'm an hourglass shape with a large bust, and I'm definitely not thin. I'm also short. I love clothing of the 1940s and 1950s, but I find that 1950s styles seem to flatter me the most - in particular, the "new look" or shirtwaist style with a fitted waist & blouse, and a big full skirt. Anything severely fitted, extremely tailored, or pencil skirts - I look like a link sausage. lol

 

[SugarKitten]

Super interesting read. I love the 50s new look classic full skirt look, but somehow too much extra fabric always overwhelms me. I'm a mid-40s kind of girl. I've got an athletic build and an hourglass (36-27-37) but really wide shoulders, so the 40s tailoring (esp anything with a military look/tailoring) prevents me from looking like I'm in "girly drag" (I am a girl, but when I'm all frilled up I feel like I look like I'm trying to convince others!).

30s is pretty good on me, but if I'm not careful I get to looking quite drab in it. Darn looking so stern naturally!

 

[crwritt]

I don't really know, I'm just barely an hourglass,5' 6" 44 -34 -44, but not all that "smooth", kind of short waisted, with the bulk of my hip measurement at the high hip rather than in the gluteal area. I'm a 40 B bra size , so most of my bust measure is due to a large ribcage.
So far I've tried various styles, I'm all for experimentation, and I find that really
full skirts just don't flatter me, so I'm happier with an a line skirt than a full circle skirt.
V neck styles seem to be what I look best in. Fitted pants look the best, not wide legged pants.
I've tried low waisted 20's styles and they make me look extra heavy.
Maybe someone has a suggestion?

 

[Sunny]

I don't really know, I'm just barely an hourglass,5' 6" 44 -34 -44, but not all that "smooth", kind of short waisted, with the bulk of my hip measurement at the high hip rather than in the gluteal area. I'm a 40 B bra size , so most of my bust measure is due to a large ribcage.
So far I've tried various styles, I'm all for experimentation, and I find that really
full skirts just don't flatter me, so I'm happier with an a line skirt than a full circle skirt.
V neck styles seem to be what I look best in. Fitted pants look the best, not wide legged pants.
I've tried low waisted 20's styles and they make me look extra heavy.
Maybe someone has a suggestion?

I think you've actually got it down pretty well. I also have a 10" difference in hip and waist, also with a high hip, and a-line skirts look much better than full skirts (and 20s is usually bad news for any hourglass). If a-line skirts are best, then 1939-1949 is probably going to look the best on you. There's a definite progression to that period. Early 40s (WWII years) was characterized by skirt length at or right below the knee and a moderately defined shoulder line. Skirts were almost always gored smoothly into the waistband, or pleated with the pleats stitched down smoothly over the hips. Gathers, first just in the center front (and back) and then all around, started coming in by 1944. The overall impression was usually fairly tailored. By 1946, skirts were lengthening, the shoulder line was widening and getting more defined, and the overall impression was simple but drapey.

So I'd experiment first with skirt length, and then with other features. I'm 5'9", with all the extra height from the waist down; and for some reason, I look way better in the knee-length skirts than in longer calf-length skirts. I think the shorter length helps correct my proportions. So anyway, I'm drawn toward an early 1940s look. Also, the shoulder emphasis helps balance my hips, especially since I'm more of a pear/hourglass hybrid than a true hourglass like you are. Experimentation is the way for you, though; shoulder definition might not be the thing for you. But personally, I'd just experiment with skirt lengths to see what's best. There's a lot of variation in design, too - you're not condemned to one type of a-line skirt!

I'm trying to make authentic trousers to fit me (I'm a tricky fit), but I can tell they're not the most flattering style on me. That's okay - I still like the look. For you, though, while the full 50s skirts don't look so good, why don't you try 50s pants? They're a lot more fitted than 40s trousers, and could look really awesome.

 

[Mugwump]

Not sure what decade works best yet, as I'm still experimenting...I like the mid 1930s - mid 1940s, though...
Many apologies if this is fftopic: , but I'm not sure where else to post this article from sympatico.ca, but I found it interesting...very general, but interesting...

I'm so sorry if I've gone and posted it in the wrong thread...

 

[crwritt]

I think you've actually got it down pretty well. I also have a 10" difference in hip and waist, also with a high hip, and a-line skirts look much better than full skirts (and 20s is usually bad news for any hourglass). If a-line skirts are best, then 1939-1949 is probably going to look the best on you. There's a definite progression to that period. Early 40s (WWII years) was characterized by skirt length at or right below the knee and a moderately defined shoulder line. Skirts were almost always gored smoothly into the waistband, or pleated with the pleats stitched down smoothly over the hips. Gathers, first just in the center front (and back) and then all around, started coming in by 1944. The overall impression was usually fairly tailored. By 1946, skirts were lengthening, the shoulder line was widening and getting more defined, and the overall impression was simple but drapey.

So I'd experiment first with skirt length, and then with other features. I'm 5'9", with all the extra height from the waist down; and for some reason, I look way better in the knee-length skirts than in longer calf-length skirts. I think the shorter length helps correct my proportions. So anyway, I'm drawn toward an early 1940s look. Also, the shoulder emphasis helps balance my hips, especially since I'm more of a pear/hourglass hybrid than a true hourglass like you are. Experimentation is the way for you, though; shoulder definition might not be the thing for you. But personally, I'd just experiment with skirt lengths to see what's best. There's a lot of variation in design, too - you're not condemned to one type of a-line skirt!

I'm trying to make authentic trousers to fit me (I'm a tricky fit), but I can tell they're not the most flattering style on me. That's okay - I still like the look. For you, though, while the full 50s skirts don't look so good, why don't you try 50s pants? They're a lot more fitted than 40s trousers, and could look really awesome.

Thanks for your comments,Sunny. I do like slim fitted capris and pencil slacks, I'm wearing some now, with a tunic top. As far as shoulder emphasis goes, if I compare
measurements straight across my shoulder and hip areas, they are pretty much the same, so I don't really feel like I have to balance one or another,
any emphasis of either area looks exaggerated.
Knee length or slightly below seems to be a good skirt length for me.
This has given me a lot more to go on, I guess I haven't really delved too much into why certain styles suit me better than others. It also explains why
I've struggled so much trying to get that "easy" one hour 20's dress to look nice, or why I just couldn't stand how the walkaway dress looked on me.
So I'm just going focus on styles that are tailored and unexaggerated.

 

[Penny Dreadful]

Wow being new here I'm really flooding the forum! I hope I'm not annoying anyone...
Very 50s, a slim hourglass at 36-26-36, and feeling very lucky about it. Corsets and Pencil skirts are wonderful for bringing it out, if I say it looks like I have big hips I'm not putting myself down!

 

[rue]

^ You're certainly not annoying me

I feel the same way, as someone else mentioned, that when I wear a mid 50s look, it's kind of like I'm wearing a costume. I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me, but I love the late 30s and most of the 40s looks (except the big shoulders- I look like a linebacker when wearing them). I'm still losing weight, but as of now, I'm 42(38D bra)-35-41 at almost 5'5", so a defined waist and longer length skirts are best for me. I could never wear those 20s flapper looks even though I think they're darling, because they make me look like a large tube Oh and no ruffles and bows or I think I resemble Baby Jane lol

I just realized what my problem is... I have a lot of issues with my body type lol Ahhh..... if only I could go back to my 'body before kids' and still have them

Edited after measuring myself today. I went down an inch on the hips! One down, 3 more to go

 

[maristella]

I'm new to actually wearing rather than just admiring vintage clothes, so I'm not really sure yet! I certainly love the full dresses of the 50s, but I'm a pear-ish shape (37, 27, 40) so I'm not sure what would best suit me!

 

[LinaSofia]

I suit the New Look shape with nipped in waist and full skirts, as I'm a proper pear shape (42-34-48 - currently trying to lose weight!). I also wear 40s A-line skirts, but I really love pencil skirts and dresses and would love love love to wear them. I've never dared to, but recently I've been secretly wondering if with a girdle I may get away with it... even if I'll look super curvy? I am curvy on top as well so I balance out just a little (34E bra). hmm...what do you ladies think, are pencil shapes just a no-no for pear shapes?

 

[Hey_Laaaaaady!]

I'm a slight pear as well, and I find the New Look styles very flattering. (Plus I just love wearing full skirts!) Forties looks also work well, as the emphasis goes from the shoulders to the nipped waist and the paneled skirt smoothes things out. Plus, most forties dresses have a fuller blouse, rather than fitted, so that helps. But then again, thirties separates work good too, because the poofy sleeves and slight 'blouson' top even out the bottom. What can I say, I like wearing them all.

 

[Nine]

I'm pretty much a perfect hourglass. I've been wearing alot of 50's and early 60's styles recently, 40's is too boxy cut for my large hips,and linebacker shoulders unfortunately. To be honest though, anything with polka dots suits me!

 

[Geiamama]

I love the look from the late 20's all the way up to the early 60's, particularly the late 30's and early 40's, but I'm short and, since having the children, I carry alot of excess weight around my middle, so I struggle to find clothes that fit or flatter. I currently rotate a couple of gored skirts and a number of cotton princess-line housedresses but I'd love a more imaginative wardrobe. Any ideas?

 

[MsStabby]

I look best in New Look/mid-50's, particularly a great shirtdress. Also, much to my sartorial (but not my bank account's) delight I can rock a '70's Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress and shirt dress. I dislike most things '70's but her wrap dresses are a-may-zing!