Apple Body Shape: How to Dress It
An apple body shape carries its weight around the middle: the waist is about as wide as the bust and hips, or wider, while the legs and arms are often slimmer. Dressing it well comes down to drawing the eye up and down, and choosing fabrics that skim the middle instead of clinging to it.
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What Is an Apple Body Shape?
An apple shape, also called oval or round, is one of the five everyday body shapes. The middle is the fullest part of the body, so the waist shows little or no inward curve. Common traits:
- A waist about as wide as the bust and hips, or wider.
- A fuller stomach and back, often with a rounder upper body.
- Slimmer legs, hips and arms than the middle.
- Weight that goes to the stomach first.
It is a shape, not a size: apples come in every size, from petite to plus. A lot of people are apples, and it has real strengths to work with, most often good legs and a slim lower half.
Apples are common in men and women alike, and the shape often becomes clearer with age, when weight tends to settle around the middle. Waist size is also used as a health measure, but that is a separate question; this page is only about what to wear.
Are You an Apple? How to Check
Measure your bust, waist and hips. On our calculator, you are an apple when your waist is at least 95% of your widest measurement, or wider than your hips and at least 90% of your bust. For example, a bust of 40, waist of 39 and hips of 40 inches is an apple; so is 38, 41 and 39.
Without a tape measure, these are good signs:
- Fitted dresses feel tightest around the middle.
- Trousers fit your hips but gape or dig in at the waist.
- When you gain weight, it shows on your stomach first.
Apple or inverted triangle? If your bust or chest is clearly the widest part and your waist is much narrower, you are more likely an inverted triangle. An apple’s waist sits close to its widest measurement.
What to Wear
The idea is simple: lead the eye up to your face and down your legs, and let fabric fall past the middle instead of holding onto it.
Necklines
V-necks, scoop necks and open collars draw a vertical line and make the upper body look longer. A long pendant necklace does the same.
Tops
Tops that skim, not cling: soft but substantial fabrics, a hem that ends at the hip, and details at the neckline or shoulders. Tunics and tops with a little drape over the middle work well.
Dresses
Empire-waist dresses fall from just under the bust. A-line, shift and structured wrap dresses glide past the middle. Knee length shows off your legs.
Jackets and coats
Single-breasted jackets worn open, long cardigans and longline coats make one long vertical line down the body.
Trousers, jeans and skirts
Straight-leg and bootcut trousers in a mid rise with a flat front, and A-line or straight skirts. Your legs are often your slimmest part, so a shorter hem or a slim ankle is worth showing.
Fabrics
Choose fabrics with some weight and drape: matte jersey, crepe, ponte, soft wool and heavier cotton. They hold their shape and fall past the middle. Thin, shiny or very stretchy fabrics cling and show every line, and stiff ones stand away from the body and add bulk.
Outfit ideas
- Work: an open single-breasted blazer over a V-neck top, straight trousers and pointed flats or loafers.
- Weekend: a drapey tunic or longline tee, bootcut jeans and white trainers.
- Evening: a knee-length empire-waist or wrap dress, a long pendant and block heels.
- Cold weather: a longline coat worn open over a fine-knit V-neck and slim-leg trousers.
For men
Men with an apple, or oval, shape follow the same idea. Choose shirts and knits that fit at the shoulders and fall straight past the stomach, worn untucked when the hem is cut for it. A single-breasted jacket left open, a V-neck or open collar, flat-front trousers with a mid rise and a little room in the leg, and plain, darker colors through the middle all help. Skip tight polo shirts, wide stripes across the stomach and belts that sit under the belly.
What to Avoid
None of these are rules; they are the pieces that most often fight an apple outline.
- A belt at the natural waist. It marks the fullest part of your body with a line.
- Clingy jersey over the stomach. Thin, stretchy fabric shows every curve of the middle; a fabric with some weight skims it.
- Cropped, boxy tops. A hem that ends at the middle adds width exactly where you have the most.
- Double-breasted jackets buttoned up. Two rows of buttons add bulk across the front.
- Big details at the middle. Patch pockets, ruffles and wide waistbands at the stomach draw the eye there.
Cut is half of what suits you; color is the other half. The free color analysis quiz finds the shades that suit your skin.
Apple Body Shape Questions
Is apple the same as an oval or round body shape?
Mostly, yes. Some guides call the apple shape oval or round. All three describe a body whose middle is the fullest part, with a waist about as wide as the bust and hips, or wider.
What dresses suit an apple body shape?
Empire-waist, A-line, shift and wrap dresses in fabrics with some body. They fall from under the bust or skim past the middle instead of gripping it, and a V-neck and a knee-length hem keep the eye moving.
Should an apple shape wear high-waisted jeans?
Mid-rise is usually smoother and more comfortable, because a high rise can sit on the fullest part of the middle. Look for a flat front, a waistband that lies flat and a straight or bootcut leg, worn with a top that falls over the waistband.
Can an apple shape wear a belt?
Yes, just not at the natural waist, where it draws the eye to the middle. A thin belt just under the bust, or a long jacket or cardigan belted loosely, gives shape without cinching.