Pages

How To Dress For Your Body Type: The Pear

So, I took Jenny’s challenge (see here) regarding posting about my body type.  Hopefully, this post will be helpful to other ladies that have difficultly finding the right clothes that fit your body type.

The “Pear” is one of the most common shapes among women and is characterized by being bottom-heavy, meaning the butt, thighs and hips are significantly larger than the bust. Other physical characteristics that are typical is that the waist is small as well as the bust and shoulders. 

To confirm that you have a pear shaped body, check out the list below: 
  • Pear shapes usually have a bottom heavy shape;
  • a thin and slender neck;
  • a narrow or sloping shoulders;
  • larger and more generous lower hips and thighs; and
  • I also found online that another way to figure out the body type is to measure the bust, hips, and waist. A pear body type has a hip/waist greater than 1.25 and a waist/bust ratio greater than .75.
When I was younger, I just played with my clothes to figure out what looked best on me.  As I got older and after some research, I learned that I was a pear shape.  At that time, I decided to embrace the opportunities to emphasize my neck, shapely shoulders, slim arms, and defined waist. One thing that I learned is that I had to work with my heavier bottom half to get an all-over balanced outfit.  You will often find me in strapless shirts or dresses, tank tops, dark-colored pants, and any dress or skirt with an A-line fit. 

Having a pear shaped body is not a bad thing. There are many celebrities that are pear shaped like Kristen Davis, Tyra Banks, Rihanna, Shakira, Beyonce, and more.  


The key is learning how to dress for your body type. What should pear-shaped women wear to look balanced? Here are some wardrobe tips that will be helpful for any pear shape:

Shirts:  Find shirts with the following elements:

  • Choose a shirt that will draw the eye to the shoulders: Wide necklines, such as boatneck, scoopneck and strapless styles, can widen the shoulders and balance your bottom half.   I also enjoy wearing tank tops with the right accessories, such as a scarf or chunky jewelry.
  • Look for waist-defining details in your tops, such as belted or cinched styles that show off your defined waist.
  • Any top that cinches at the high point of the waist, just under the chest—will bring all the best parts about your unique shape.
  • Shirts that draw attention to the face are welcome. Look for buttons or ties at the neck that will draw eyes upwards.
  • Plus-size women should stay away from baggy shirts. Don't hide your shape with loose tees!
  • If the stomach is flat, then a sexy, cropped top will also help the bottom half of the body look more balanced. Please only wear a cropped top if the stomach is flat and athletic looking.
Jackets and Blazers:

  • Try to find a jacket or blazer with puffed sleeves; it will help broaden the shoulders to bring balance to the bottom part of the body.
  • Avoid wearing jackets and blazer that hits the widest point of your hips or the end of your bum.  It will draw more attention to your lower half.   Try to find a jacket or blazer that hits your hipbones.
Dresses:

  • A useful tip on how to dress for a pear shaped body is defining the waist. It provides an hourglass shape for your body. Wear a waist-defining dress that merely skims your hips or balloons out from the waist to hide a heavy bottom…like wrap dresses or belted dresses.
  • Be careful wearing empire waist dresses.  An empire waist at knee-length is could be a good look for a cocktail party such as the classic black below.
  • No full and clingy dresses.
Sliming Bottoms:

  • Low-rise pants, boot-cut pants and jeans best compliment the proportion.
  • Flared pants that skim the fullest part of the body then flare out to the bottom hem. Dark colors will help slim.
  • No tapered trousers, the ideal pants for this body shape hit on the hips and are snug in the rear, but wide at the thigh and leg.
  • Look for pants with no pockets on the rear.
  • When choosing denim, consider the wash, jeans that are lighter in the middle of the thighs and darker on the outsides.
  • Look for a waistline on your skirt that hits slightly below the natural waistline. Without extra layers close to the smallest part of your waist, you can make it look smaller and your torso a little longer.
  • Get skirts with a slight A-line cut. They will skim over problem areas and smooth the hip and thigh.
Accessories:

  • The best way to bring attention away from the lower part of the body is to draw it up to the face. Wear bold, big accessories near the face, such as chunky necklaces, large earrings, and scarves.
  • Because the bust line is usually small, a push up bra is always a good option. Push up bras will give a good lift and add a little extra padding to the bust, helping to balance as well as draw attention
  • Lengthen and slim your legs with a pair of heeled shoes. Heavier style heels which are not stilettos will balance out your calves.
  • Avoid shoes with ankle straps or t-strap styles, which can make your legs look larger.
Clothes to Avoid:

  • A key thing to avoid is to never accessorize the fullest part of the body. Stay away from prints, especially large and/or bold bright prints. Prints and bright colors will draw attention to the bottom half of the body.
  • Skinny jeans are also a problem for bottom-heavy shapes. Again, it will accentuate the curve at the hips, thighs and butt. With the pants being tight at the feet it will make the body look like a big upside down triangle. As much as I love the look of skinny jeans, I have to be cautious when it comes to these jeans.  I found a pair that I think works, but I don't wear them often.
DISCLAIMER: This is just a general idea of the shape and specifically, my body type.

6 comments:

  1. LOVE that you posted on this :-) I think it's so important for women to feel good about themselves and play up their shape in the most flattering way! LOVE!!

    Speaking of Shakira- she is HOTNESS.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The pear shape is a sexy shape! Thanks for posting this. It's so important to embrace what we have!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you so much for this! This helped a lot. I am constantly fighting with myself in the mirror because I feel like my hips and thighs are too big, but this helped me get a better understanding. However I will not give up my skinny jeans. I get dark ones that look pretty good with my body and sexy with heels. It definately does make me think twice. Thanks again for posting this!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks you a lot, you changed my mind :) Now i started love my pear shape :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's amazing to have pear shaped bodyy ..

    ReplyDelete

Copyright @ MOODY GIRL IN STYLE. Blog Design by KotrynaBassDesign