The 5 Body Shapes
Your body shape is the outline your bust, waist and hips make together. Most style guides use five: apple, pear, inverted triangle, hourglass and rectangle. This body type calculator compares your three measurements as ratios, so inches and centimetres give the same answer, and names your shape on this page without sending anything anywhere.
Your middle is the fullest part, often with slimmer legs and arms.
Pear
Your hips are wider than your chest and shoulders, with a defined waist.
Inverted triangle
Your shoulders and chest are wider than your hips.
Hourglass
Your chest and hips are about equal, with a clearly narrower waist.
Rectangle
Your chest, waist and hips are about the same width.
How the calculator decides. It checks three things, in this order. If your waist is at least 95% of your widest measurement, or wider than your hips and at least 90% of your bust, your shape is apple. Otherwise, if your bust and hips are more than 5% apart, the wider one decides: hips make you a pear, bust an inverted triangle. If they are within 5%, a waist at most 75% of the smaller one makes you an hourglass; anything less defined is a rectangle.
The five questions work differently: each answer adds points to the shapes it suggests, and the shape with the most points wins. They are a good first guess, and the tape measure is the better answer.
How to Measure Yourself
You need a soft tape measure and two minutes. Measure over underwear or thin, close-fitting clothes, standing straight with your feet together. Keep the tape level all the way around and snug but not tight, and breathe out normally before you read it.
- Bust or chest: around the fullest part, with the tape under your arms and across your shoulder blades.
- Waist: around the narrowest part of your middle, usually a little above your belly button. Don’t pull it in.
- Hips: around the fullest part of your hips and bottom, which is often lower than people expect.
Write each number down straight away, in the same unit. If a number looks odd, measure it again: being a little off on the waist is the most common reason two tries give different shapes.
You don’t need perfect numbers. The calculator compares your measurements with each other, so half an inch or a centimetre either way rarely changes the shape. If a result surprises you, measure again on another day: a heavy meal, bloating or a different bra can move the bust and waist by an inch.
What Each Shape Means for Clothes
A shape is not a rule about what you may wear. It tells you which cuts follow your outline and which fight it, so shopping takes less trial and error. The idea for each shape, in one line:
| Shape | The idea | Usually works |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | Draw the eye up and down, and let fabric skim the middle. |
|
| Pear | Add interest on top and keep the lower half simple. |
|
| Inverted triangle | Balance the shoulders with a little more volume below the waist. |
|
| Hourglass | Follow your waist instead of hiding it. |
|
| Rectangle | Shape a waist, or lean into a clean straight line. |
|
Fit matters more than any rule: a well-cut piece in a fabric with some body flatters every shape. Shape is half of what suits you; color is the other half, and our free color analysis quiz finds the shades that suit your skin.
Body Type or Body Shape?
In everyday use they mean the same thing: the outline of your body, read from your bust, waist and hips. That is what this calculator measures, and why it answers both names.
Some systems use “body type” for something else. Somatotypes, such as ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph, describe build and how a body gains muscle and fat; they come from fitness, not clothes. Kibbe body types read bone structure and softness and group people into 13 types, a style system of its own. Neither maps one to one onto the five shapes, so a Kibbe type and a body shape can both be true of you.
Body Type Questions
How do I find my body shape?
Measure your bust, waist and hips with a soft tape, then enter the three numbers above. The calculator compares them and names one of five shapes: apple, pear, inverted triangle, hourglass or rectangle. No tape to hand? Choose “No tape? 5 questions” and answer those instead.
Should I use inches or centimetres?
Either, as long as all three numbers use the same one. The calculator compares your measurements with each other, so the unit makes no difference, and the boxes show which one it read. If one number looks like centimetres and the others like inches, it asks you to check before it answers.
Does the body type calculator work for men?
Yes. Enter your chest in the first box, and press Switch look to see every shape on a broader-shouldered form. The same five shapes describe any body. Guides for men sometimes use other names, such as trapezoid or oval, but the measurements and the advice on fit work the same way.
Can my body shape change?
Your measurements can change with weight, pregnancy, training and age, so your shape can too. Your frame, such as how wide your shoulders are, changes much less. If clothes start fitting differently, measure again: the same numbers always give the same shape.
What if I am between two shapes?
Many people are. Numbers near a border, such as hips just over 5% wider than the bust, can land on either side. Read both shapes and keep the advice that matches how clothes actually fit you; how a fitted dress fits is the best tiebreaker.
Is the body type calculator free?
Yes. It is free, with no signup and no photo. Your measurements are worked out on your own device and are never sent or saved.