Measurements[edit]
In the Water by Eugene de Blaas, 1914
The circumferences of bust, waist, and hips, and the ratios between them, was a
widespread method for defining women's body shape in Western cultures for
several decades after World War II, and are still used in some North American
subcultures for this purpose.[citation needed] These include terms like
"rectangular", "spoon", "inverted triangle", or "hourglass".[17] The
measurements are generally described using three numbers to describe the
bodily dimensions, or "BWH".
The band measurement is usually measured around the women's torso,
immediately below her breasts at the inframammary fold, parallel to the floor.
[18][19] The cup size is determined by measuring across the crest of
the breast and calculating the difference between that measurement and the
band measurement.[18][20] The waist is measured at the midpoint between the
lower margin of the last palpable rib and the top of the iliac crest. The hips are
measured at the largest circumference of the hips and buttocks.[21]
The waist is typically smaller than the bust and hips, unless there is a high
proportion of body fat distributed around it. How much the bust or hips inflect
inward, towards the waist, determines a woman's structural shape. The
hourglass shape is present in only about 8% of women.
Female shapes[edit]
Independent of fat percentage, weight or width, female body shapes are
categorised in some Western cultures into one of four elementary geometric
shapes,[17] though there are very wide ranges of actual sizes within each shape:
Rectangular: The waist measurement is less than 9 inches smaller than the hips
and bust measurement.[17] Body fat is distributed predominantly in the
abdomen, buttocks, chest, and face. This overall fat distribution creates the
typical ruler (straight) shape.
Inverted triangle: Apple shaped women have broad(er) shoulders compared with
their (narrower) hips.[17] Apple shaped women tend to have slim legs/thighs,
while the abdomen and chest look larger compared with the rest of the body. Fat
is mainly distributed in the abdomen, chest and face.
Spoon: The hip measurement is greater than the bust measurement.[17] The
distribution of fat varies, with fat tending to deposit first in the buttocks, hips,
and thighs. As body fat percentage increases, an increasing proportion of body
fat is distributed around the waist and upper abdomen. The women of this body
type tend to have a relatively larger rear, thicker thighs, and a small(er) bosom.
Hourglass or X shape (triangles opposing, facing in): The hips and bust are
almost of equal size with a narrow waist.[17] Body fat distribution tends to be
around both the upper body and lower body. This body type enlarges the arms,
chest, hips, and rear before other parts, such as the waist and upper abdomen.
A study of the shapes of over 6,000 women, carried out by researchers at
the North Carolina State University circa 2005,[22] found that 46% were
rectangular, just over 20% spoon, just under 14% inverted triangle, and 8%
hourglass.[17] Another study has found "that the average woman's waistline had
expanded by six inches since the 1950s" and that women in 2004 were taller and
had bigger busts and hips than those of the 1950s.[17]
Several variants of the above coding systems exist:[23]
Sheldon: "Somatotype: {Plumper: Endomorph, Muscular: Mesomorph, Slender:
Ectomorph}", 1940's
Doutys "Body Build Scale: {1,2,3,4,5}", 1968
Bonnie Augusts "Body I.D. Scale: {A,X,H,V,W,Y,T,O,b,d,i,r}", 1981
Simmons, Istook, & Devarajan "Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT):
{Hourglass, Bottom Hourglass, Top Hourglass, Spoon, Rectangle, Diamond, Oval,
Triangle, Inverted Triangle}", 2002
Connell's "Body Shape Assessment Scale: {Hourglass, Pear, Rectangle, Inverted
Triangle}", 2006
Rasband: {Ideal, Triangular, Inverted Triangular, Rectangular, Hourglass,
Diamond, Tubular, Rounded}, 2006
Lee JY, Istook CL, Nam YJ, "Comparison of body shape between USA and Korean
women: {Hourglass, Bottom Hourglass, Top Hourglass, Spoon, Triangle, Inverted
Triangle, Rectangle}", 2007.
Lee's 2007 paper proposes the following formula be used to identify an
individual's body type:
Hourglass If (bust hips) 1" AND (hips bust) < 3.6" AND (bust waist)
9" OR (hips waist) 10"
Bottom hourglass If (hips bust) 3.6" AND (hips bust) < 10" AND (hips
waist) 9" AND (high hip/waist) < 1.193
Top hourglass If (bust hips) > 1" AND (bust hips) < 10" AND (bust waist)
9"
Spoon If (hips bust) > 2" AND (hips waist) 7" AND (high hip/waist)
1.193
Triangle If (hips bust) 3.6" AND (hips waist) < 9"
Inverted triangle If (bust hips) 3.6" AND (bust waist) < 9"
Rectangle If (hips bust) < 3.6" AND (bust hips) < 3.6" AND (bust waist)
< 9" AND (hips waist) < 10"
In addition a number of national and international clothes sizing standards define
body shape coding systems that categorise an individual by the chest to waist
and / or hip circumference drop values e.g.
Chinese [GB/T1335.11997] Body Shape Classifications by: Chest - Waist
circumferences
Shape Code Male Female
Y 1722 cm 1924 cm
A 1216 cm 1418 cm
B 711 cm 913 cm
C 26 cm 48 cm
Japanese [JIS L 4005 - 2001] Body Shape Classifications by: Hip - Chest
circumferences
Shape Code Female
Y 0 cm
A 4 cm
AB 8 cm
B 12 cm
South Korean [KS K 0051:2004] Body Shape Classifications by: Hip - Chest
circumferences
Shape Code Female
H 03 cm
N 39 cm
A 912 cm
Dimensions[edit]
A woman's dimensions are often expressed by the circumference around the
three inflection points. For example, "36-29-38" in imperial units would mean a
36 bust, 29 waist and 38 hips.
A woman's bust measure is a combination of her rib cage and breast size. For
convenience, a woman's bra measurements are used. For example, though the
measurements are not consistently applied, a woman with a bra size of 36B has
a rib cage of 32 inches in circumference and a bust measure of 38 inches; a
woman with a bra size 34C has a rib cage of 30 inches around, but a smaller bust
measure of 37 inches[citation needed]. However, the woman with a 34C breast
size will appear "bustier" because of the apparent difference in bust to ribcage
ratio.
Height will also affect the appearance of the figure. A woman who is 36-24-36 at
5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) height will look different from a woman who is 36-24-36 at 5 ft
8 in (1.73 m) height. Since the taller woman's figure has greater distance
between measuring points, she will likely appear thinner or less curvaceous than
her shorter counterpart, again, even though they both have the same BWH ratio.
This is because the taller woman is actually thinner as expressed by her lower
BMI, or body mass index, used to measure body weight in relation to height.
The use of BWH measurements for anything other than garment fitting is thus
misleading. BWH is an indicator of fat distribution, not fat percentage.
The British Association of Model Agents (AMA) says that female models should be
around 34-24-34 (86-61-86 cm) and at least 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall.[24]
