What tends to suit an hourglass shape

These are styling options, not rules, and none of them is required. The measurements say how three or four circumferences relate; they do not say what will look better, and this page does not claim that they do. It is organised by the effect you may want to try, or none.

The one fact the outfit is working with

Bust minus waist of 9 inches or more, or hips minus waist of 10 or more. That is the measured relationship. Garments that narrow at the waist follow it; garments with no shaping hang from the bust and hips and pass the waist without marking it. Neither is a fault; they are different silhouettes.

Following the waist

Wrap styles, belted coats, high-rise trousers with the top tucked, fitted knits, and dresses with a seam at the natural waist are the conventional choices, because each one narrows where the body does. The tape measure is a useful guide to where “natural waist” is: it is the narrowest circumference you measured, usually a little above the navel, not where trousers happen to sit.

Keeping the ends balanced

Bust and hips measure close in circumference (the rule allows the bust up to an inch over the hips and the hips less than 3.6 inches over the bust). If you want the two ends to read similarly, matching the visual weight above and below — a fitted top with straight or gently flared trousers, some shoulder structure with an A-line skirt — is the usual suggestion. It is an option, not something the measurements require.

If you would rather not emphasise it

Nothing about the shape requires a fitted waist. Column dresses, straight coats, drop-waist and shift styles all work; they simply hang from the shoulders or bust and let the waist sit inside. The result is a longer, calmer line. An unshaped garment passes the waist without marking it; fabrics with some drape and stiffer fabrics give different lines, and which you prefer is a preference.

Top and bottom hourglass

A top hourglass result has the bust more than 1 inch (and less than 10) over the hips; a bottom hourglass has the hips 3.6 to 10 inches over the bust. If you want the ends to read similarly, the inverted-triangle and pear outfit pages list options for adding visual weight at the smaller end. The waist condition is the same in all three, so the options above apply to all of them.

• Which of the three you are, in numbers: hourglass body shape
• If you sit on the pear boundary: hourglass vs pear
• Where the natural waist is: how to measure

References

The rules and figures on this page come from the sources below. Reference values are conventions from the literature, not targets.

1. Simmons, Istook & Devarajan (2004). Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT) for Apparel, Part I: Describing Female ShapesJournal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management 4(1):1–16 · JTATM 4(1)Defines the nine FFIT shapes (hourglass, top and bottom hourglass, spoon, triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle, diamond, oval) from bust, waist, high-hip and hip circumferences on 3D body scans of North American women. The rules on this site are this set, as later revised.
2. Sokolowski (2020). Modification of the Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT) Formulas to Include Plus Size Bodies3DBODY.TECH 2020 Conference Proceedings · proc.3dbody.tech/2020Shows the 2007 FFIT formulas assumed the waist is smaller than the bust and so failed on many larger bodies; adds the Diamond and Oval rules and a ≥ 0 lower bound to Triangle, Inverted Triangle and Rectangle. This site uses the revised formulas.