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Pear shape body...

live vintageous

Familiar Face
Messages
58
Location
USA
Thank you for that reminder, Miss Hannah! I'm 25, have 42 to 45-inch hips (depending on my weight, which is a bit high currently) and I'm 5'11". I do feel huge compared to all of the tiny girls I attend classes with.

But style is the big key. I've seen some thin, lovely young women but they have no style or grace. Sometimes I wish young women were still taught how to sit/walk/stand elegantly -- "on how to be lovely." Such training seems to be neglected.
 

Medvssa

One of the Regulars
Messages
259
Location
Belgium
Paisley said:
If a woman doesn't want a pear shape, she can be lean and toned without starving herself or running herself ragged. I've said it before, but I really like Body for Life: you work out three hours a week and eat six small meals a day. I feel great on it. It also allows one free day a week where you eat anything you want. That's the day when I end up feeling stuffed and lethargic.

Well, I do disagree with this. There is not much you can do to your bone structure, and many are pear shaped and will stay pear shaped no matter how lean they become, if their pelvis bones is wider than their shoulders.

I agree with those that have said that a full skirt is sometimes not too flattering to pear shapes (I am between pear and hourglass myself, more towards pear at the moment due to superfluous fat), even though from the biased point of view of the wearer may seem so at first. I think this look is only balanced when the breast is also wide enough.
 

maybelaughter

Familiar Face
Messages
57
Location
missouri
MissHannah said:
I'm really horrified looking at some of the measurements mentioned here that people are considering as 'large' - 35 inch hips large?!!! Are you crazy?! I'm currently 34-25-37 and I still consider myself pretty skinny and get called skinny by other women all the time! But I am so happy to be this size - as a teenager I was 30-21-31 and I HATED my body so much I often couldn't leave the house. I know I won't be alone in having felt that way - regardless of the size.

I love the size I am now and I am SO grateful to feel contented with my size - it is the most liberating feeling. We all pick ourselves to pieces comparing ourselves to a level of perfection shown in magazines that is mostly achieved through Photoshop (I work in the industry so I know!). You all sound like you have fabulous figures judging by the numbers being thrown around here and I hope you can learn to accept and love yourselves exactly as you are - REAL HUMAN BEINGS! Whether you are skinny, pear-shaped, large, curvy, short, lanky or a combination of any of the above you deserve to have the chance to feel beautiful, regardless of cultural fads and fashions.

And never forget that you all have one fabulous thing in common - style :)

:eusa_clap

thank you Miss Hannah!



i'm a pear, and i love it.
34/28-9/40-1 (with 40ish inch hips, i'm still called 'tiny', so there to anyone smaller than that who thinks they're large)
5'4", no idea of my weight. somewhere above 120 and below 145...?
i'm a AA/NA cup, and wouldn't want to be any larger.
i'm actually pretty content with my body, until i do something silly like go shopping and expect to find things that fit (thank you large biceps/thighs, short upper torso and stickyout ribs!).
in the past six months or so i've started putting a bit more effort into the way i look. actually fixing my hair instead of just brushing it and heading out, nothing too elaborate, just a bit of caring. i've been dressing more vintage-collegiate-esque, and stopped wearing t-shirts, ever.
it's made a world of difference.
i've stopped shopping for the most part, at least in new places. (thank you lack of money for giving my a no reason to lower my self-image)

so, yes, i'm a pear. and although i get a bit bummed because nothing ever fits, my summer goals include sewing sewing and more sewing. when it fits me properly, i feel wonderful, even if i'm not going to the gym and watching a scale and all that other nonsense that my friends are so wrapped in. (i'm not saying that's bad - i walk/bike/eat right, but i'm only obsessive with the eating bit...)
and even though i sometimes get into the 'i'm a fatty' mindset, i know i'm not really - i just happen to have an abundance of ridiculously naturally thin girls for friends...


also, i'm kind of weird when it comes to dressing for proper proportions in that i just don't. i'm more drawn to slightly awkward things than picturesque perfection. pants that hit at a funny length, skirts that flare nearly straight out but from the thighs/mid-bum paired with a top that makes me look like i'm built like a 12 year old boy.


even though i love being a pear, i won't lie, most days i'd rather have a slim boyish figure, straight as a rail and gender neutral...but since that's completely impossible, i have to embrace what i do have, and i'm doing a much better job of that these days.
 

vampygirl13

One of the Regulars
Messages
113
Location
Pittsburgh
I'm a pear, but a bit smaller pear than I used to be.

I'm 34-24-35 now but I'm 5'3" so I've still got the pear thing going on. I think that's why I love the 40's and 50's clothing because of the emphasis on waist. I'm always cinching my dresses with belts--otherwise I look like a sack of potatoes as my grandmother used to say!

I try to always emphasize my waist and not on my legs since they are short and stumpy. Heels always---I NEVER do flats because I don't like them on me. Also jackets with nipped in waists.

I tend to wear darker jeans because I don't like the lighter ones on my thigh area. Although I did try on a pair of white jeans and they weren't too bad. Still didn't buy them though!
 

deadpandiva

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,174
Location
Minneapolis
Wow! It's great to see I am not alone in being pair shaped. I also think it's cool that people are posting their measurments as I was afraid to post mine. I didn't even want to give my measurments when I was having a dress custome made. I was afraid they were silently judging me.
 

JennyLou

Practically Family
Messages
689
Location
La Puente, Ca
Unfortunately, I'm an apple shape and I hate it. Anyone remember that scene in The Lady Eve when Henry Fonda's character is sitting down to dinner and the lady wrestler walks by him. I feel like everyone thinks I'm a lady wrestler. I also hat it because I always find cute shirts but the sleeves are always too small. I wonder if there are enough apple shaped ladies here to start our own apple shape thread.
 

Goldfish

A-List Customer
Messages
336
Location
EU
Two questions to all you true and not-so-true pears ;).

1. When wearing skirts with patterns, do you find that smaller or bigger patterns look good on you?

2. What shapewear works best for you? Underbust girldes, All in One girdles, waist cinchers...?
 

LadyL

New in Town
Messages
22
Location
Providence, RI
I am a definite pear - I always take pants a size or two bigger than tops. Currently my measurements are about 36/28/40. The tricky thing is that I am short waisted, and in addition to having a butt I also have a bit of a tummy pooch. This means that high waisted stuff requires some very serious shapewear for me to look flat in front and usually isn't worth the discomfort. I do much better in 50s styles that are meant to be worn with a waist cincher - very fitted on top then full on bottom - but I don't actually wear a cincher since my proportions are already exaggerated. Sadly anything cut for balanced proportions, like shift or wiggle dresses, mean sizing way up and then belting. I have a 60s wiggle dress in an *18* that has just the right amount of extra room on the bottom but is baggy on top. I pretty much never find a dress that fits snugly on top and bottom so I do a lot of separates or dresses with a full bottom.

The other problem is that the 50s styles that work well on me are often just a bit too small. I think that if my waist was 26" I would fit into so many more things. I'm working on getting it down to 27" so we'll see if that helps.
 

Jenniferose7

One of the Regulars
Messages
192
Location
Brooklyn, NY
<--------is a pear too! I swear I fel like I came off the assembly line with the halves of two different bodies. I'm at 34/28/40 give or take and I'm 5'4" which presents it's own problems.

I find that 50s style are best for me. Although the 40's aloha faux wrap dresses are flattering on me as well. Pretty much any style with a fitted from the top thru the waist and looser bottom works for me.

I have hangups about my figure though my boyfreind loves it. I just don't care for the comments that a curvy lower half illicit from certain types of men.
 

The Shirt

Practically Family
Messages
852
Location
Minneapolis
1. When wearing skirts with patterns, do you find that smaller or bigger patterns look good on you?

2. What shapewear works best for you? Underbust girldes, All in One girdles, waist cinchers...?

1. Never really thought about it. The majority though is a smaller print type on the more a-line/fitted bottoms. If it is a full skirt I don't have a problem with a larger print. I tend to wear things that focus on my top half or draw attention to my smaller waist. Details such as ruffles, necklaces etc.

2. I wear more pushup on top since my ratio is smaller. The all in one girdles, if I try to fit my bottom in, will never fit on top if they fit on the bottom. So I stick mainly with the waist cincher or the underbust type.

I never minded being a pear except when it comes to pants. It just plain stinks.
 

Miss_Becky

Familiar Face
Messages
86
Location
The Upper Midwest
34/25/38 (depending on the time of year lol)

I'm a pear too....it's frustrating sometimes, but I've learned to appreciate my body...what else can you do? I've realized that nothing is going to change it. I'm 5'2", I've been a size 0 and I've been a size 9...but the pear shape never changed, just got bigger or smaller.

I stay away from poofy skirts and wide leg pants. Even though I love them, they just make me look more squat and wide :( So I stick to slim fitting pants and skirt, no skirts below the knee.

Another good thing to invest in is padded bras, they will even out the shape a little and make more of an hour glass :eusa_clap
 

velvetongue

Familiar Face
Messages
50
Location
New York
You could choose to play up your lower half by wearing bright colours as skirts and wearing fitted pencil skirts. You could also emphasize your waist by wearing tailored jackets and tailored tops, and de-emphasize your waist by wearing darker colours as skirts.

No matter what you end up wearing, I think confidence is the most important thing when it comes to style. You should feel at ease in what you are wearing and when you feel confident, it will show. A lot of it is in how you act and how you carry yourself.

I happen to be an hourglass (35-27-35/C cup) and I find that I can't wear most modern fashion (jeans + t-shirts, tunic tops + leggings) without looking like a box. I wear a lot of pencil skirts, brightly-coloured tops, dark/neutral coloured stockings + skirts, and belts to cinch my waist. I also wear a lot of tailored jackets. I've also learned to accept my shape and embrace styles that flatter my figure.
 

Mrs Cleaver

One of the Regulars
Messages
161
Location
N.S.W Australia
Yay for pearslol .I try to accept my body the way it is(42,36,44) but some days when u look in the mirror it's really hard.Especially after bearing 4 children,but at least my big hips served me well in that departmentlol
I'm lucky that my hubby likes me the way i am,in fact he's always worrying that i will lose weight:eek: He actually likes it when i wear full skirts because it makes my bum look even bigger :eek: He's a strange manlol
 

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