✦ Body Type Styling Guide
Dress your body type
with confidence
Body type styling isn't about hiding — it's about understanding your body shape and choosing clothes that work with your proportions, not against them. Combine your body type with your colour season for a complete personal style guide.
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Hourglass Body Type
Balanced bust & hips, defined waist
The hourglass body type has naturally balanced proportions with a clearly defined waist. Most silhouettes work well — the key is choosing clothes that acknowledge and celebrate your waist definition.
What Works for Hourglass
- Wrap dresses and wrap tops that tie at the waist
- Fitted jeans with tucked-in blouses
- Belted coats and blazers to define your waist
- Bodycon midi dresses in your colour season shades
- High-waisted bottoms of any style
Hourglass: Styles to Avoid
Boxy oversized
Shapeless shifts
Very baggy trousers
🍐
Pear Body Type
Hips wider than shoulders
The pear body type has hips and thighs as the widest point. The best pear body type outfits balance your silhouette by drawing attention upward — using detail, colour, and structure on your top half.
What Works for Pear
- Off-shoulder and boat-neck tops to add width up top
- A-line skirts that skim gracefully over hips
- Bold statement necklaces and earrings
- Dark bottoms in your deep colour season shades
- Structured jackets to add shoulder width
Pear: Styles to Avoid
Tapered trousers
Clingy skirts
Hip pockets
🍎
Apple Body Type
Fuller midsection, slim legs
The apple body type has similar shoulder and hip width with a fuller midsection. The best apple body shape clothing creates vertical lines and draws attention to your legs and décolletage.
What Works for Apple
- Empire-waist dresses that skim the middle
- V-necklines to elongate the upper body
- Flowy tops in your colour season's lighter shades
- Straight-leg and wide-leg trousers
- Longline cardigans and open-front jackets
Apple: Styles to Avoid
Tight waistbands
Belted at waist
Crop tops
▭
Rectangle Body Type
Similar shoulder, waist & hip width
The rectangle body type is straight up and down with little waist definition. Rectangle body type fashion uses strategic layering, texture, and colour blocking to create the illusion of curves.
What Works for Rectangle
- Peplum tops and ruffled blouses to add volume
- Belted outfits to create waist definition
- Wrap dresses to suggest an hourglass silhouette
- Cropped jackets with full skirts
- Two-tone outfits using your colour season palette
Rectangle: Styles to Avoid
Shapeless shifts
Straight cuts
Boxy blazers
▽
Inverted Triangle Body Type
Broad shoulders, narrower hips
The inverted triangle body type has shoulders as the widest point. The best inverted triangle body type style creates balance by adding visual volume below the waist and softening the shoulder line.
What Works for Inverted Triangle
- Wide-leg trousers and full skirts to balance shoulders
- A-line and fit-and-flare dresses
- Bold patterns and colour on the lower half
- V-necks to soften and elongate the shoulder line
- High-waisted styles to draw the eye to the waist
Inverted Triangle: Styles to Avoid
Padded shoulders
Boat necks
Skinny jeans
✦ The GlowMatch Difference
Your body type + your colour season
— together
Most body type guides stop at shape. GlowMatch is the only free tool that combines your body type styling with your personal colour season — so you know not just what silhouettes to wear, but which colours to wear them in. It's the complete answer to "what should I wear?"
✦ Interactive Body Type Styling Guide
Choose your body shape
Select your body type below to see personalised styling tips for your shape.
⧖
Hourglass
Balanced & defined waist
🍐
Pear
Hips wider than shoulders
🍎
Apple
Fuller midsection, slim legs
▭
Rectangle
Straight, little waist definition
▽
Inverted Triangle
Broad shoulders, narrow hips
⧖
Hourglass Body Type Tips
✦Wrap dresses are your perfect match — they define your waist naturally
✦Fitted blazers cinched at the waist look incredible on you
✦High-waisted bottoms of any style work beautifully
✦Avoid boxy styles that hide your natural shape
✦ Common Questions
Body type styling — FAQ
How do I know my body type?
Compare your shoulder width to your hip width, then look at your waist definition. If shoulders and hips are equal with a defined waist, you're an hourglass. Hips wider than shoulders is a pear. Shoulders wider than hips is an inverted triangle. Little waist definition with similar measurements throughout is a rectangle. Fuller midsection with slimmer legs is typically apple.
Can I combine body type styling with my colour season?
Yes — and this is exactly what GlowMatch does. Knowing your colour season tells you which colours to wear, while your body type tells you what silhouettes to choose. Together, they give you a complete personal style guide that makes every shopping decision easier.
Does body type styling work for all sizes?
Absolutely. Body type styling is about proportions and silhouette, not size. The same principles apply whether you're a size 8 or a size 22 — it's about understanding your shape and choosing cuts that flatter your natural proportions.