The best dress for your shape, one shape at a time

A dress is “best” for you when two things are true. It fits every area, bust, waist, hips, shoulders and length, without pulling or swimming. And its lines do what you want: show your waist, balance your shoulders and hips, or simply feel easy. This post takes the five shapes from part 1 one at a time.

A word on evidence. Most dress-for-your-shape advice rests on two ideas, balancing the top and bottom halves and showing the waist. Stylists agree on both, and one body-scan study supports them for rectangles and spoons.¹ The rest is convention, and we label it as such.

The silhouettes, in one picture each

SheathFitted from bust to hem, usually ending near the knee.
WrapCrosses over at the front and ties at the waist, so the bust can be adjusted.
A-lineFitted at the bust and waist, then widens gently like a letter A.
Fit-and-flareFitted to the waist, then a fuller skirt that flares out.
EmpireA seam just under the bust; the skirt falls from there.
ShiftStraight from the shoulders to the hem, with no waist.
PeplumA short flared frill at the waist over a slim skirt.
TrapezeNarrow at the shoulders and wider all the way down to the hem.

Shape by shape

Hourglass

Bust and hips about equal, waist clearly smaller.

Try: Wrap dresses; sheaths and shirt dresses with a waist seam or a belt; fit-and-flare.
Go easy on: Boxy shifts and drop waists, which skip over the waist. Stylist convention
Size by: Bust and hips. Much of ready-to-wear sizing was built around this shape, so off-the-rack often fits.² If the waist gapes, it is the easiest place to take in.

In the illusion-dress study, hourglass women were the least swayed by waist-shaping prints: they already have the waist those prints imitate.¹

Spoon and triangle

Hips wider than the bust.

Try: A-line and fit-and-flare skirts that flare from the waist; empire waists; boat, square or off-shoulder necklines and sleeve details that widen the top half.
Go easy on: Tight pencil skirts, if the hips are where you run out of room. That is a fit problem, not a rule.
Size by: Bust and waist when the skirt flares, since a flared skirt has room at the hips. For a sheath or pencil skirt, size by the hips and take in the waist.

Spoon-shaped women in the scan study preferred designs that drew the eye up to the bust and shoulders.¹ Tested Extension guides suggest horizontal lines at the shoulders, such as boat necks and yokes, to widen narrow shoulders.³ Stylist convention

Rectangle

Bust, waist and hips close to each other.

Try: Belts, wrap dresses, peplums, and dresses with seams or side panels that curve in at the waist. Or lean into the line with a shift, a slip dress or a column.
Go easy on: Nothing in particular. Clingy, waistless jersey shows the straight line most, if you would rather not.
Size by: The bust, or whichever of bust and hips is bigger. Straight shapes rarely need a different size on top and bottom.

Rectangles were the most receptive to the waist-shaping illusion dresses, like the one on the left with dark side panels.¹ Tested

Inverted triangle

Bust and shoulders wider than the hips.

Try: V-necks, scoop necks and halters, which open up the shoulder line; A-line, full or flared skirts that add volume below; plain or raglan sleeves.
Go easy on: Puffed sleeves, shoulder ruffles, epaulettes and wide boat necks, which add width at the top.³ Stylist convention
Size by: Shoulders and bust. A flared skirt will have room at the hips, and that is the point.

Round

The middle is the widest part.

Try: Empire waists that sit under the bust; A-line and trapeze shapes that skim the middle; V-necks; wrap dresses in fabric with some weight; long vertical seams.
Go easy on: Clingy jersey across the middle and tight belts at the natural waist, but also tents. Too much room reads as larger too.⁴
Size by: The widest measurement, usually the waist or tummy. Then check that the shoulders and bust are not swimming. A little stretch helps.

Relaxed clothes led people to underestimate the size of larger bodies⁵, while both too tight and too loose made them look bigger.⁴ Tested

Length, height and hems

Stylists put a hem at a narrow point of the leg: just above the knee, just below it, or at mid-calf. Petite women are often told to keep hems a little shorter, prints smaller and details near the face; tall women can carry longer hems and bolder prints.³ Stylist convention

The one tested idea underneath is leg length. Across 27 countries, people preferred bodies with legs slightly longer than average.⁸ A higher waistline, such as an empire seam, makes the legs read longer, which is why it is so often recommended.

Prints and colour

From part 2: horizontal stripes did not widen bodies on average⁶, and darker colours slim a little.⁷ Match the print to your frame: smaller prints on a small frame, larger prints on a larger one.³ Stylist convention

What wearers told researchers

The women in the illusion-dress study, seeing avatars made from their own body scans, said the right lines made them feel better about their shape, not just look different.¹ In an Australian survey of 162 women, those less happy with their bodies used clothes more to hide, and enjoyed shopping less.⁹

So pick dresses that you enjoy wearing, not ones chosen to hide something. And treat your shape as a starting point. Labels move when the tape moves¹⁰, so try the silhouette, look in the mirror and trust the fit.

Next: menswear for each men’s shape.