How to Slim Down My Hourglass Body Shape

by Roswitha
(Netherlands)

I have an hourglass shaped body and I hate it. I need help on improving my style and appearance before I move to Japan. I love the bodies of Japanese women and also their sense of style.

I also love skinny pants but do I wear them with my hourglass body shape?

Also I am half Indonesian and half Dutch (Netherlands) with a skin color between Caucasian white and Southeast Asian wheatish tan.

Please help with dressing my body shape (it's been bugging me for years) and improving my appearance!


Hi Roswitha,

I'm pretty sure you're gorgeous! Golden skin tone and a womanly hourglass body shape are two beautiful traits that many women desire.

However I can understand your concerns with your body shape, as it can look too curvy for your taste. You say that you like Japanese women's bodies. I assume you want to slim down your overall shape? Here are some tips on how to do exactly that:

How to Slim Down Hourglass Body Shape

Straight, bootcut and flare leg pants
These jeans cut help balance out your body shape, making your hourglass shape less obvious. Skinnys will make you look curvier but I suggest you go for straight leg jeans which are almost like skinnys but slightly wider at the leg. Or you could also try black skinny jeans because the color slims down your body figure.

Wear dark colored bottoms
It minimize your hips. Have in mind that this can make your top look wider and fuller so I suggest you wear a dark top on top as well or wear a V-neck. This brings me to the next styling strategy...

Wear dark colors from top to toe
A monochromatic color scheme helps to visually make you look leaner and even taller. So add more dark colors such as black, dark grey, dark brown, dark navy blue and dark olive green. They look great with your skin tone too. Examples: Dark blue jeans, black top, and dark brown boots.

Wear heels
Shoes (dress shoes, boots, sandals, etc.) with a little bit of heel will make your legs look longer and leaner (See: Vertical body shape)

V-necklines slim down your chest
This type of neckline "opens" up your face, elongates your neck, making your bust and torso look slimmer and leaner.

Your best colors

As for your skin tone I would recommend looking into the Deep or Warm Autumn groups as many mixed Asian/Caucasian women belong to these groups. You could also be Warm Spring but I can't 110% be sure since you didn't provide me a detailed description of your personal colorings :)

Buy accessories such as necklaces, earrings, headbands and scarves in colors recommended for your seasonal color analysis group.

I lack knowledge in Japanese fashion but I found these 3 awesome shopping websites that I think will help you achieve a trendy-looking Japanese fashion style:

Fashion in Japan

Japanese Lifestyle

Asia Jam

Hope this helps!

PS: If you need more help, post your comment here (see link below my signature) and I'll get back to you.

Best regards,

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What Body Shape Do I Have: Hourglass or Inverted Triangle

My height is 5'8" and my measurements are 36-24-35.5. I have curves and a waist, but I am not sure if I am an hourglass or an inverted triangle.

It sounds like you're an hourglass body shape with your narrow waist despite that your hips are slightly narrower than your hips by just half an inch. This is also based on my measurement book.

If you feel bothered about your shoulders then I suggest you to follow some of the inverted triangle body shape tips.

Hope this helps!

Kind regards,

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Do I Have An Hourglass Figure?

by Anonymous

I have just been reading all your information on body shapes and I'm pretty sure I have a hourglass figure but not sure... if that makes sense!

The only thing that is holding me back is my shoulders, I think I have really wide shoulders but I'm not sure, here are my sizes.

Do you think I am hourglass or not?

Height ; 5"6"
Natural Waist ; 25"
Bust ; 34"
Shoulders Width ; 15.5"
Low Hip ; 34"

Thank you!


Hi, yes from looking at your body measurements it looks like you're an hourglass body shape because your bust is as wide as your hips, and you have a small waist.

If you lift weights or/and carry a bit weight around your arms you'll notice that your shoulders appear broader - atleast that's how my figure is built right now although I'm most definitely an hourglass (too lazy to tone up my arms) but they look slimmer when working out regularly.

If you're bothered by it you can always follow some of the guidelines for inverted triangle body shape as well as the styling tricks for hourglass shape.

Hope this helps!

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Am I An Hourglass Despite An Inch Difference Between Hip and Bust?

by Grace
(Glendale, California)

I've been trying to figure out my body shape. I'm 5'7 1/2" are 36C-24-35. If my hips are smaller than my bust by one inch, is that still considered an hourglass figure?


Grace, you've got a small waist there, and your bust sounds voluptuous. Yes I would still consider your figure an hourglass despite the one inch difference, but that's because there's a big difference between your waist and hips size, giving you the right hourglass proportions -- your waist being considerably narrower than your hips.

Take Giselle Bündchen as an example who's body measurements are 34C - 24 - 34. She has approximetaly the same proportions as you but only a size smaller.

However I suspect that your bust might look a bit fuller compared to your hips, so I would advise you to look into some of the styling tips provided on the inverted triangle body shape-section to balance it out.

Good luck!

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What Is My Body Shape?

by Victoria

My measurements are: bust-38, waist-28, hips-39.. I'm 5'6" tall. My shoulders are the same size as my hips. My legs are heavy, but my booty isn't that big. I tend to gain weight in my legs and hips. I tend to gain weight in my stomach, but I can reduce its size just in a week.

Please help me to discover my body shape. :)


Dear Victoria, to me it sounds like you have a perfectly proportional body shape, with an obviously narrower waist compared to your bust/shoulders and hips. Plus, your shoulders and hips are approximetaly the same width. However I suspect you do have some pear shape tendencies when you gain weight.

Focus on the tips and styling strategies for hourglass body shape and you should look fine :-) but if you've gained weight and appear bottom heavy, follow some of the tips for pear shape as well.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

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