How To Dress a Pear Shape Body Type

Ever sat and really tried to figure out what body type you are? I have. Let me tell you, I’m still not sure about it. To be honest, I’ve never put a ton of thought into it, until recently when I started to get so fed up with shopping for pants and thinking I found a pair I really liked, and then took this picture and well…

..thought to myself, you should probably just go ahead and burn those pants. Now I will say, to be fair – these pants look so much better when worn this way:

Which takes me to the point of finding out your body type and dressing for it!

Dressing A Pear Shaped Body

So I took to the expert, Google, which brought me to this calculator. I quickly put in my measurements and was informed that I am in fact pear shaped. Apparently, that’s because my bottom half is larger than my bust. To be honest, I was a little bit surprised by this. Celebrities said to have a pear shaped frame are curvaceous beauties like Kim Kardashian West, Jennifer Lopez and Eva Longoria. I’ve never considered myself to be in that league, and my curves are not that dramatic, but apparently my ratios say so.

So, pear shaped it is, what does that mean for me? Well, I took a moment to really look back at some of the outfits I’ve posted, looked on Google, and then found some inspiration from pear shaped celebrities and bloggers – to come up with the good and bad on a pear shaped frame. I also tried to tailor this list to my style, and my height.

Let’s just get it out of the way and talk about what to avoid.

Avoid: Shoes that cut off at the ankle

Let’s go back to the first picture, and talk about why it’s not that great.

The pants alone are not terrible, the shoes alone are not terrible, and the top alone is not terrible – it is the combination. I love the wedges, but worn with the pants, they just chop off my ankles, make my legs look totally stubby and highlight my hips. Combined with the loose peplum that doesn’t define my waist, I look a good 20 lbs heavier than I am. I feel like I should start singing some Shakira, these hips don’t lie. Just to show you this top is cute worn a different way, here’s photographic evidence.

Shoes that cut off at the ankle like booties, and thick ankle straps only shorten my legs and highlight my hips. So for me, they are a no. I’ll admit I tried on countless pairs of booties before I just accepted this fact. Is this a rule for pear shapes in general? Not necessarily, but it is if you’re short like me.

Avoid: Patterned Pants

You won’t find any photos of me in patterned pants, because I’ve known this is bad from the get go. Patterns not only draw attention to the area, they also add weight. I want to wear the camo pants that are so popular right now, but I also don’t want to look heavier than I am, so it’s a no.

Avoid: Shift Dresses

Every shift dress I’ve ever tried on sticks to my hips. I look like a snowman in them. This is more or less to make you feel better if you feel that way about them too, if they hug your curves just fine – go for it!

Up For Discussion: Light Pants

Light pants typically don’t do anything to conceal, and sometimes make you appear a little bit larger. So, for someone trying to balance a larger bottom half, light pants may not be the best choice. Darker pants always look better on me. However, I put this as up for discussion, because no, I don’t like light denim washes on myself, but I will put on a pair of white denim, and I also own a few lighter pink pants. To balance out the look, I style them with something that helps draw the attention away from my bottom half, for example, a top that highlights my waist, or maybe a cardigan that hits at just the right place. This sweater blazer from J.Crew falls at just the right place on me.

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Avoid: Super Loose Tops & Super Skinny Jeans

This one is tough for me. Being on the small size, nearly everything is oversized on me. Plus, I love long tunic style tops, loose flowing tops, and of course, my beloved peplum. However, they are not always the best choice for my frame. I find that if I’m going to wear something oversized, it has to either fall right at the hip or above the hip, or it has to be tucked into the waist to give me some shape. Otherwise, it will hide the smaller part of me and it’s not a good look.

Super skinny jeans also don’t look very good on me. The jeans need to have a little give at the bottom to help balance out the line from my hips to my ankles. The white pair I’m wearing above has a very subtle flare at the bottom, which helps give a little balance.

Enough of the bad, what looks good on a pear shaped frame?

GOOD: Waist Defining Tops

I always look better in a top that highlights my smaller, top half. That doesn’t mean it needs to be tight or have any actual definition at the waist, but a great fit and a little tuck go a long way. Prints are also said to be good for a pear shaped frame because the print will draw the eye up, instead of down.

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I’m sharing these two together to show how much heavier I look in this looser peplum. I do love that outfit, and that top, but it’s not the most figure flattering. Now, sometimes it’s all about styling, this loose peplum looks a lot better with a pair of shorts.

GOOD:  Straight, Bootcut, Boyfriend, Trouser, and Flare Pants

Any style of denim with a little give at the bottom is best for a pear shape. My personal favorites are ankle length skinny jeans (with a little room at the bottom), or straight jeans. A lot of the advice given for a pear shaped frame is to wear high-rise denim, but personally I prefer mid-rise denim. I once talked about how much I loved high-rise pants until I came to terms with the fact that the pocket placement made my butt look wider and longer. My personal favorite for denim is LOFT curvy fit, but I’m honestly always on the hunt for a great fitting pair.

GOOD: Leg Elongating Shoes

Anything that can make these nubby legs look longer is a good thing. Even if you’re not short, but still pear shaped, a longer leg line will help take away the focus from your hips. To me that means any shoe that shows a little foot. I personally love a good pair of flats, and if I’m feeling like I won’t be doing a lot of walking, pumps. Styles I avoid are; mules that come up too high on the foot, shoes that cut at the ankle, and heavy or bulky shoes.

GOOD: A-Line Dresses & Skirts

Hands down, the most flattering thing on my frame is a pretty little a-line dress or skirt. I love a good pencil skirt, but I often have the same fit issues with those (tight in the hips, loose in the waist).

GOOD: Structured Jackets and Cardigans

A jacket or cardigan that hits just right can give the perfect amount of structure and balance the hips. However, tread lightly, too long and it will make your bottom look heavier, too short and it will also just highlight those hips. To me, the best ones hit mid-hip, or right at the top of hips.

At the end of the day, just find what works for you. I think there is a lot of power in figuring out your body type and owning it. Not just from a style perspective, but once I realized that my bottom half would always be larger, no matter how much I worked out, I became ok with it. I gain fat there, and I also gain muscle there. It is what it is, just love yourself! I also think there is a lot of power in photographing yourself, even just a quick mirror selfie. Something about a photo says a lot more than just standing in the mirror. Lastly, instead of wishing so badly you looked like another girl in some trend, find style inspiration from someone shaped like you! Maybe that’s a blogger, or some celebrity Google says is shaped like you, you’ll be surprised what you might find!

Do you know your body type?

-Brooke

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