Dressing for your body shape is freedom. My sister and I have enjoyed this state of bliss in the last five years. We know from experience that wearing a piece of clothing that hugs and enhances your silhouette, whilst camouflaging your not-so-flattering assets, is happiness. You know you are wearing the right clothing when as soon as you put it on, it fits straight away without problems or constraints, and what you are left with is pure excitement. You have finally found the fashion clothing that fits every part of your body, clothes that represent you and your body image the best. By dressing for your body shape instead of just size, you have not only saved time but also a huge amount of personal effort.
I am Vanessa Durigon and together with my sister Annaoliva, I am trying to make dressing for your body shape a happy reality for more women. We both work in fashion in Ireland and Italy and are body shape experts. We have established that there are five different female body shapes. If you have a room full of women with different body shapes but the same dress size, we can statistically assure you that one piece of clothing of the same size will not fit all of them. In approximate percentages, 42 per cent of women are hourglass body shape - upper body and lower body are balanced with a narrow waistline; 26 per cent are apple body shape - no defined waistline which is wider than the upper and lower body; 18 per cent are pear body shape - the upper body is smaller than the lower body; 9 per cent are candle body shape - the body is equally proportioned with an almost straight waistline; 5 per cent of women are strawberry body shape - the upper body is wider than the lower body.
Let’s imagine a woman standing in a shop full of fashion and surrounded by clothing of her size, but so frustrated because nothing she tries on fits her properly. She tries on at least 10 to 15 different items of clothing in different styles, and maybe even in different sizes. If she is lucky, a couple pieces of clothing will really fit her. The remaining 13 are unsuitable and have dragged her self-image to the floor. She’s focused on a specific part of her body that she considers a flaw, being it tummy, legs, or hips.
The scene I have just described is a dreadful reality for a lot of women, and it’s more common than we would like it to be. This is all because women in general have not considered their body as a type of body shape, a body shape that is different from others.
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According to a recent study, many e-commerce sites have returns up to 50 per cent. The dominant reason is ‘unsuitable’, even if they have bought the correct size. The unsuitability is related to problems with the garment fit, and to the incongruent relationship between the garment and the female body shape. As a matter of fact, the garment may look nice on a certain body shape but not on all.
Annaoliva wants to clarify on the difference between body shape and size. “Body shape is the silhouette of the body after puberty, while size is the volume of the body.”
Body shape is something that does not change in one’s life; it generally only changes in pregnancy. In contrast, size can change multiple times. To sum it up in a short sentence I always say is: body shape is what you are, while body size is what you have.
After so many years of studying female body shapes and the fashion cuts that best enhance each of them, we have created a fast and reliable online test that will confirm which shape you are in less than 30 seconds. We also offer customers direct access to speak with us via video calls and face-to-face consultation. We believe so strongly in dressing for your body shape that we have created body shape mannequins to demonstrate and prove that knowing what you are, and dressing accordingly, will give you fashion freedom.
Now let’s look at the other completely different scenario; Annaoliva and I know about it because we have witnessed it many times. A woman, after completing the body shape test and discovering which body shape she is, surrounds herself by clothing that perfectly fits her body shape. We have witnessed the utter excitement of that discovery, the joy of her understanding that nothing is wrong with her and with her body, because she can now see that she finally fits in.
Complete the body shape test at www.shapemoda.com to discover which body shape you are and enjoy your fashion freedom.