Not everyone with a D+ bust has an hourglass shape. That’s actually why I call this blog “HourglassY“.  If you have a big bust, you have an hourglassy feature, whether or not you have an hourglass shape.

At last night’s Style Files for the Full Bust workshop, Silfath Pinto reviewed all five body types:

  1. hourglass
  2. pear (or triangle)
  3. inverted triangle
  4. rectangle (or athletic)
  5. apple

Then she had us go around the room and say what we thought we were.  Some of us were wrong.  See her quick body shape test after the jump, plus interesting commentary about what some of us were wearing.

Here’s the test:  have a friend hold a long string of pearls from your shoulder bone to your hip.  If it falls in a straight line with a space at the waist, you’re an hourglass, like Rose below (not her real name).  Before this test, Rose thought she was an apple!  Silfath pointed out that if she were an apple, her waist would have extended outside the line of pearls.

Silfath gave Rose high marks for her V-neck and fitted top, and she
liked the way the sleeves drew attention away from the bust.  Instead
of the light taupe tights that Rose wore (I’ve cropped them out),
Silfath suggested a darker bottom to make her look longer and taller.
Rose is a professional bra fitter, which is why her 34G breasts look so
amazing. 

After last night, my friend Shelly (you met her at her bra fitting last August) will no longer insist that she’s a pear shape.  The pearl test proved I’m right:  she’s an hourglass. 

Silfath complimented the way Shelly accented her monochromatic look with a bold,
colorful necklace and an emerald scarf that isn’t in this photo.  If she could change
one thing about the outfit, it would be to get rid of the pleats in the skirt.  If I could
change one thing about Shelly’s outfit, it would be to put her in the 34E bra that Iris
fit her in last year.

Marketa was spot on with her own body shape diagnosis:  she’s an inverted triangle!  See how her hips are narrower than her shoulders?  According to Silfath, it’s common for inverted triangles to have large breasts, but Marketa’s amazingly defined waist is less common.

Of course the great belt got a big thumbs up from
Silfath, who said that Marketa’s V-neck was the reason
she could get away with the turtleneck.  She also
suggested a much shorter dress and over-the-knee
boots to give her more leg line.  She also noticed
that Marketa’s leg line got lost with the long skirt
and so many details on the leg. She suggested a tunic
and over-the-knee boots to showcase her long legs.
If she wanted to accomplish more leg line without
changing the length of her dress, she could wear
simple pumps.  Marketa found this dress at Uniqlo,
by the way–for $29.99.

Finally, you met Giselle last month when I featured her amazing closet.  Here she’s wearing her newest addition, a peasant blouse from Bloomingdale’s.  You don’t see it in this picture, but we had to pull the voluminous fabric in at the waist to show that she’s an hourglass and not an apple.

A few weeks ago, Corporette featured a similar Bohemian style blouse, and I agreed with commenter #32 who said that “Any woman above a B cup should be very wary of this style. Looks great on a model but makes me look huge.”  Scroll further down to see why this blouse is not necessarily off limits to us.

Silfath loved the dramatic sleeves for drawing attention away
from the bust.  I’m going to remember this trick.

She added a dramatic necklace.
Finally, a belt.  (I would add the right-fitting bra as well.)

We learned a ton more last night that I’m looking forward to sharing with you in future posts–and future workshops!