How to Dress If You Are an Hourglass Body Shape

Emma Does Fashion
by Emma Does Fashion

Here are a few tips that may help you to feel more confident in your clothes if you have the classic Marilyn Monroe figure - itty bitty waist, a large bust and wide hips/bum.

Trinny Woodall and Gok Wan are still well-known faces in the UK but I wonder how many of you used to watch their shows? I absolutely loved these shows with titles like 'What Not to Wear' and 'Gok's Fashion Fix' and drank in every tidbit of information about how to flatter an hourglass figure.


These days, such advice is somewhat outdated but I think it's important to be aware of the rules for dressing for your body shape that these fashion gurus taught us. Firstly, because they are a good starting point to work from, and secondly because you need to know the rules in order to be able to break them!

An hourglass figure is one that is desirable until you have one, and then it can be difficult to find clothes to suit you! Everything is too small on the bust and hips but too big on the waist. Don't even get me started on buying jeans.


The first tip, and one that all those fashion gurus would agree with, is to always cinch in your waist. Belts and fit and flare styles are excellent for this. I absolutely love elasticated waists as well because not only will they achieve this cinched-in look, but they will also fit really well everywhere that they're supposed to.

Culottes are great for hourglass figures because they usually have that elasticated waist but they also have wide legs which skim over larger thighs and look more flattering.


Corseting is a big trend at the moment and, let's face it, is the perfect trend for the hourglass. There are sexier options but there are also the Bridgerton-inspired corset pieces on the high street that are much more wearable for every day. I love this rust-orange dress from Oh Polly as it has that flattering corset top and also has a ruched detail on the bottom that embraces rather than hides my larger bum.

I hope you found these tips useful!

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