HEALTH

Are you a pear? Or perhaps an apple? And no, I'm not asking which fruit best fits your personality.

The concept of body typing has existed for years, and it hasn't lost popularity, especially with the rise of TikTok. From fruits to inverted triangles to "dramatic classics," there are several popular labels used today—and with each one, a set of specific styling advice to fit your body shape. But it all begs the question: Is typing your body *actually* helpful?

What is body typing?

Generally, the five most well-known body shapes are rectangle, inverted triangle, hourglass, apple and pear. These types rely on your waist, hips and shoulder/bust measurements and how they all compare to each other. For example, people with hip measurements wider than their waist and shoulders are usually classified as pears. Another popular body typing system is the 13 Kibbe body types, which are more comprehensive and specific than the aforementioned labels.

The Kibbe body types in particular generally place more focus on emphasizing your "best" features, so there's a lot of advice out there on the internet about the different fashion, makeup and hair styles that best suit each of the 13 Kibbe types. If you choose to identify your body as one of these types, you could be able to understand your body better and possibly broaden your horizons with new styling ideas. This might be especially helpful if you're really struggling to find your own style and need to be guided with a starting point.

Should you listen to the advice?

...With a grain of salt. You can def use the advice as guidelines, but remember that there are no real rules in fashion! The concept of clothes being "flattering" or "unflattering" is truly just a societal beauty standard. For example, inverted triangle body types are often advised to balance out the bottom half of their body with flowy pants/skirts to create more of an hourglass shape. However, this type of advice relies on the assumption that the hourglass is the "ideal" body shape, when that's not the case at all! There *is* no ideal body shape. There are simply just bodies, and each person's individual preferences and styles. If you find yourself feeling more insecure or pressured by body shape advice, it may be more harmful than helpful.

The bottom line?

Ultimately, just wear what you feel a) comfortable, b) confident and c) happy in! There's no need to stress over clothing your body in a particular way to meet a certain standard. If you find labels helpful for you, that's cool. But if you don't, that's cool too. You aren't fruit, you're a person—a person that can wear whatever you want to!

Check out these posts for more:
🤍 Your guide to size-inclusive clothing brands
🤍 It's time to face your beauty fears
🤍 Everything you need to know about body neutrality

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We want to hear from you! Send us your weirdest body questions here (seriously, we'll answer anything!) and it just might get featured.

by Jinny Kim | 11/3/2022