“Banana” shaped women (also know as “Rectangle” shaped women) are generally lean with bust, waist and hip measurements that are very similar. You also tend to have gorgeous gams, you lucky things, you!
The most common complaint I hear from straight shaped women is that feel that they look a bit boyish. Consider looking for garments that will increase the appearance of your hips and bust and are form fitting around your waist.
“Bananas” look stunning in structured blazers and jackets that have a defined shoulder and cinched waist. Since jackets and blazers tend to be cut in a somewhat masculine way, look for pieces with princess seams (long rounded seams sewn into women’s blouses or shirts to add shaping or a tailored fit to closely follow a woman’s shape) or darts. This will give the appearance of a more curvaceous figure.
Yay! I love these suggestions… wish I had read this earlier as through much trial and error I had to figure some of this stuff out. :) Love the gently flared jeans (so many try to convince me I should wear skinny jeans because I am skinny, but I've resisted as I think it will just make me look awkwardly stick straight). Also, so true on needing the softer princess seams on more structured pieces. I also love "peasant girl" tops that look flowy and feminine… anything to look as womanly as possible. :)
Hallie, you have such a gift for making each body shape seem lovely and beautiful. Now if I could only figure out which one I am…
Thank you, sweet Sarah!
Just emailed you, Cari! I have a theory! :)
Finally! My body shape! I think I'm a banana, although my last baby does have me looking slightly more pear these days. (Ok, I have to ask, or I'll keep wondering…what's a "gam"?)
Still waiting for the assigned fruit for Very Short People.
Actually, BB, I was thinking that you should solicit reader photos so that you can show ordinary people how to diagnose shapefruit. Most of the magazine-type "what body shape are you" quizzes use beautiful celebrities as their examples, and frankly, considering the amount of effort and cash that goes into the celebrity-shape-shifting industry, not to mention the selective nature of photos that are published, I don't think celebrities are the right raw material to practice on. Just for one example, I went googling around and discovered the same celebrity being assigned several different fruit, sometimes on the same page. Not very scientific.
Great ideas! How I wish I was a banana! :)
Of all the fruits, I can assure you that I am NOT a banana as my gams are stumpy and shapeless. !nkles as wide as knees anyone????
I love the idea of readers submitting photos for analysis and/or before and after shots. They do that in Lucky magazine, except with clothes that no 30 year old mother of 4 would wear :) I would happily put on something extremely unflattering so you could share it with the interwebz. Ain't got no pride up in HERE!
Love the sandals and that turquoise blouse is so darling!
You've got such a fun blog, I truly enjoy visiting :) I used to work for a fashion consultant and it was great going on shopping trips with her to choose things for clients, so glad to see someone with such impeccable taste doing this too. Many blessings,
Meredith
All of those clothes are so cute!
I can't decide which fruit I am. Every new post has me convinced I'm the featured fruit (except the hourglass…definitely not that one)!
Thanks, Betty! Those Danskos are so cute! I'd have to reeeaaaally love them at that price, though!
So, I think I'm a banana, but I also could be an apple. My dimensions are 36, 32, 36. Small chest (A), narrow hips, thin arms/legs, broad shoulders… I don't have a defined waist at all, I'm more straight, but then with the small 'up top' feature, I also think I must be an apple due to proportions. Any thoughts?
Why do we all have such a time figuring out our alias fruits?? :)
Bearing – I had to chuckle at your assessment of magazines… yes, they can be horrid guides, can't they? I first noticed this with wedding magazines… so often they tell Banana's to stay away from princess gowns and to wear straight sheaths. Um, I tried and tried to make that theory work, and at least for me, it was the exact opposite effect they claimed it would have lol.
Hehe I've never heard of my shape defined as 'banana' before. I actually JUST wrote about my frustrations with my body type on my blog here: http://mother-merry.blogspot.com/2011/07/tale-of-two-bettys.html
I should have told you before, but you feature as one of my two "Bettys" in the post. So, thank you!
Okay, I'm baffled as to what sort of shape I could be. I'm not curvy, not thin, but not overweight either, I'm just sort of in this no-woman's-land of body shapes, lol! None of the fruit seem to fit me. Oh, and my bust size changes depending on how many hours it's been since my baby boy ate, lol! I'm a 37/34.5/38 and 5'8" 145 lbs, what would that be called?
That sounds like me, too, Amanda.
With the similar bust/hip dimensions, but no really tiny defined waist, we're certainly no hourglasses, or pears for that matter. Maybe if you're bustier/ bigger rib cage you'd be an apple? But then, you could be a banana. I just don't know!
In any case, I like Betty's advice here for bananas to accentuate the waist, and try to really form one where there isn't a huge difference. I'm going with banana. I think it would make for a prettier silhouette. After all, we're not huge and round in the middle (not trying to hide it like an apple), but just make it look more defined.
And you could always stick a Rago Waist Nipper under there- have you ladies tried these things? They are instantly hourglass forming! Uncomfortable, but worth it for special occasions.
Hmmmmm. I thought I was a banana, but your suggestions make being a banana sound so awesome that now I'm doubting. Heading over to check out your other tutorials immediately to re-evaluate!
(found this series through bearing's blog, apologies for the late comments!)
I'm a short, chubby banana. I think. I'm really only chubby by my own fault… years of bad eating habits, well and those 4 kids in 5 years might have had something to do with it too. When I'm not chubby, I have a "boyish" figure. Count me in as one who can't wait to see suggestions for short bananas…. cause yeah, pleated skirts and waist-cinching belts (what waist? that inch and a half between ribcage and pelvic bone? doesn't count…) really just make my baby-belly look fatter and my torso look even more out-of-proportion with my longer legs.
Oh… also, any suggestions for those of us who carry most of the unsightly extra poundage in a belly pooch that, especially when smoothed over by shaping garments, makes us look about 5 months pregnant all the time? *sigh*
Btw, my word ident is "hypol"… sounds like a caffeine pill masquerading as a pharmaceutical wonder-drug sold in the creepy section of Rite-Aid. In other words, the tempting stuff that I know isn't "the answer" to the above-mentioned belly pooch, but really the only thing keeping me from trying it is the $5-per-pill price tag. ;-)
Yay! I have ALWAYS loved flared pants. The more flared, the better. I *knew* it was the right fit for me.
Also… LOVE the tank and jeans. Tanks are my second skin (living in the south) and I always feel like I need to justify why I wear them. I wear them because they look good on me. Period.
:)