Do you know your body shape? Take the quiz and find out!

Do you know your body shape? Take the quiz and find out !

Hi everyone and Welcome to the Style Section of The Code of Style Magazine.

I’m Julia Rees and I’m a French-based Style Coach and the founder and owner of JuliaReesCoachin g, and I also provide style tips and travel inspiration on my blog ‘The Velvet Runway’

I coach fabulous women, just like you, by helping them understand the clothes, styles, colours and accessories that will enhance their body shape, flatter their colouring and suit their personality and lifestyle.

French women are renowned for their sense of style and they always look chic AND slim, because they don’t let the size and/or the shape of their body interfere with their style. The golden rule that all self-respecting French women adhere to is to dress for their body shape. They know what their shape is, they know what suits them and they know where to find it.

But do you know if you’re an hourglass, an apple, a pear, a rectangle or an inverted triangle (or some other fruit or geometric shape?)

Many of you have told me that you find it difficult to work out what your body shape is, so I have devised this quick quiz to help you determine what body shape describes you best.

I will be sharing my tips with you in the French Style Column, and so If you don’t know your body shape, take the quiz now, so you will always be able to follow all the tips I give in the future.

You don’t need to weigh yourself or take your measurements for this quiz. All you need to do is look in the mirror and answer the questions as honestly and accurately as possible.

So, let’s get started. Put on a swimsuit or some figure hugging clothes and have a look at your body shape in a mirror, and let’s go with the first question!

Question One

When you look in the mirror, how would you describe your body?

🌍 You have a slim upper body and you tend to carry your weight on your hips and/ or buttocks

🌈 Your body is well proportioned, but not very curvy. Your figure is typically ‘boyish’ and is ‘straight up, straight down’

★ Your body is well proportioned and you have a curvy silhouette. Your figure is balanced and harmonious and you have a slim waist

⛄You are full figured with a generous bust and a rounded tummy

🌋 You have square shoulders and the top of your body is wider than the bottom.

Question Two

Now, have a look at the alignment of your hips and shoulders and choose which of the following fits you best:

🌈 Your hips and your shoulders are perfectly aligned but your waist is not very well defined

🌋 Your shoulders are wider than your hips

★ Your hips and your shoulders are perfectly aligned and you have a slim, well defined waist

⛄ Your waist is non existent and you have a fuller upper body.

🌍 Your hips are wider than your shoulders

Question Three

Which of the following describes you best?

★ The sizes of your jackets and pants/ trousers are the same and belted garments suit you very well

⛄ The size of your jackets and pants/ trousers are the same but you have trouble closing your jackets. Moreover, you have a bit of extra weight on the stomach area

🌈 The sizes of your jackets and pants/ trousers are the same but belted clothes are not flattering for you

🌎 the size of your jackets is smaller than that of your pants/ trousers .

🌋 the size of your jackets is larger than that of your pants/ trousers.

Question Four

When you put on weight it’s

★ Generally evenly distributed throughout your body

⛄ Especially around your abdomen. The weight gain tends to go directly to your stomach and gives you a rounded profile.

🌈 You do not tend to gain weight easily but when you do, it is most often just above or around your waist.

🌍 You tend to gain weight in the buttocks, hips and thighs.

🌋 You do not gain weight easily compared to others, but when you do, it is mainly distributed across the upper body, the arms, the back and a little on the stomach

Question Five

Which of the following Celebrities looks the most like you (body shape / not clothes size)

🌋 Angelina Jolie and Demi Moore

🌍 Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez

🌈 Kate Moss and Natalie Portman

⛄ Rebel Wilson and Oprah Winfrey

★ Dita Von Teese and Salma Hayek

And now for the answers*

If you have the most

★ You are the hourglass body shape.

Well defined (narrow) waist
Hips and bust tend to be almost the same
As a rule of thumb, your waistline should be about 75% of your bust and hip measurement and your bust and hip measurements should be within 5% of each other.
Hourglass body shapes typically have a well defined cleavage
When you gain weight,it tends to be distributed evenly throughout the body

The aim with the hourglass figure is to accentuate your feminine curves so fitted clothes are always a good idea and you should steer clear of boxy cuts and baggy clothing.

🌈 You are the rectangle body shape

As the name suggests, the rectangle has no defined waist
The figure is typically ‘boyish’ and is ‘straight up, straight down’, ie. you don’t have a lot of curves
Bust is small or average
The hips tend to be a similar width as the waist and the bust
Typically, your shoulder, bust and hip measurements are within 5% of each other.
There are two versions of this figure, one being lean and straight and the other being fuller but nonetheless straight!

This body shape doesn’t have a lot of curves, and so the aim in dressing this shape is to create the illusion of curves, by defining the waist and creating curves on the bottom or top.

This body type will look amazing in body-con mini skirts, which will emphasise any curves you do have, and show off your flat stomach and slim legs. .

🌍 You are the pear body shape

This is the most common female body type
Typically the lower body is fuller and more curvy than the upper body, which can be quite angular
The hips are wider than the shoulders (typically your hips are more than 5% bigger than your bust)
Fat tends to accumulate on the hips and buttocks

To camouflage a larger bottom half (if you wish to!), choose bottoms in a darker colour than your top and wear clothes that highlight the smallest part of your waist and then gently flare out over your hips, minimising the width of your bottom half.

Keep bright colours, horizontal stripes and patterns for the top half.

🌋 You are the Inverted Triangle Body shape

A typical inverted triangle will have broad shoulders, a small waist, narrow hips and slender legs
The bust is proportionally large
Shoulders are wider than the hips
As a rule of thumb, shoulders are more than 5% bigger than your hip measurement

The aim to styling an inverted triangle is to accentuate your lower body, so it’s a great idea to wear a brightly coloured, printed or horizontally striped skirt or trousers (keeping the darker colors for the top!).

⛄ You are the Apple Body Shape

Fuller upper body
No defined waist
Weight tends to form on the stomach

The best asset of the apple shape is their lovely slim legs!

Don’t be tempted to try to cover your stomach area with baggy, loose-fitting clothes but instead choose clothes that create the illusion of a waist and accentuate your assets (i.e. those amazing legs!).

* Remember that this quiz is not personalized and is just a guide to your shape and most of us combine elements of more than one form.

I hope you enjoyed the body shape quiz and please follow along with all my tips in the Style Column. You can also find me on Instagram (@thevelvetrunwa y _) , and you can follow all The Code of Style‘s posts on Instagram too!