Outfit options for a pear shape

These are styling options, not rules, and none of them is required. The measurements tell you 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 intention so you can pick the effect you want, or none.

Drawing attention upward

Wide or boat necklines, a little structure at the shoulder, a cropped jacket that ends at the waist, colour or pattern on top with plain colour below: each puts the visual focus above the waist. Whether that reads as “balance” is a matter of preference; the rules do not measure shoulders or front-view width, so this is an option to try, not a correction the numbers call for.

Room through the hips

Cuts that widen from the waist — A-line and flared skirts, wide-leg or straight trousers with room at the hip — give ease at the largest circumference. Whether a given pair fits well depends on rise, waistband shape, ease and fabric as much as on the cut name, so the practical test is to sit and move in them and check the waistband and hip room. If you prefer a pencil skirt or a straight dress, they are equally valid; if the waist is loose when the hip fits, alterations are sometimes possible and sometimes not, depending on the garment.

Emphasising the waist-to-hip contrast

Spoon requires the waist to be at least 7 inches under the hips and Bottom hourglass at least 9, so results in those two categories have a measured waist drop. If you want to make the waistband a visual focal point, fitted or tucked tops and a defined waistband do that. If you do not, nothing about the result asks you to.

If you prefer room just below the waistband

A Spoon result means high hip ÷ waist is 1.193 or more: the circumference a few inches below the waist is notably larger than the waist. If that is where you want ease, styles that widen just below the waistband can be worth trying. The ratio describes two circumferences; it does not by itself describe a front-view outline.

Keeping the proportion as it is

Tops of any length, pencil skirts, straight dresses and monochrome are all complete options. You can compare different top lengths and hem positions and choose the proportion you like; there is no length a pear result is required to avoid.

• Which result you have, in numbers: pear body shape
• Comparing pear and rectangle results: pear vs rectangle
• Where the hip is measured: 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.