Inverted triangle body shape

What the rule says

Bust minus hips is 3.6 inches (9.1 cm) or more. Bust minus waist is under 9 inches, so the waist is not defined enough to make it a top hourglass. And hips minus waist is zero or more — the waist is not larger than the hips — which was added in 2020; without it, a body with a large bust and a waist wider than the hips would have been called inverted triangle when Oval describes it better.

Inverted triangle and its neighbours

The neighbours

Top hourglass is the same bust-leading body with a defined waist: once bust minus waist reaches 9 inches, the label changes. Rectangle begins when bust minus hips falls under 3.6. Oval begins when the waist overtakes the hips. Which of these is nearest for your numbers is what the stability note reports, and it names the measurement to re-check.

The apple problem

“Apple” is used differently across styling guides and calculators. This site uses it as a common-name grouping for Oval and Diamond; some other calculators use it for Inverted Triangle. Oval requires waist circumference to exceed hip circumference while remaining no larger than the bust; Diamond requires the waist to exceed both. Calculator results always use the FFIT category names. The advice written for the two differs — one concerns a bust that measures larger than the hips, the other a waist that measures larger than the hips. If a guide tells you what suits an apple, check which one it means before applying it, because the advice for a broad upper body and the advice for a wide midsection point in different directions. This site reports the FFIT name and notes the common names it maps to, so the ambiguity is visible rather than hidden.

What the label does not mean

It describes the bust measuring wider than the hips by a stated margin. It does not measure shoulder width, though broad shoulders are often what people mean when they describe this shape; a wide back with a modest bust can measure rectangle. It carries no ranking and no health meaning.

• Styling direction: inverted triangle outfits
• The other “apple”: apple (oval and diamond)
• The full rule set: methodology

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.