Hourglass
An hourglass body shape has bust and hips in balance with a waist at least 25% smaller than both.
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Body Shape
Calculator
Four measurements are enough. Your proportions are compared as ratios, and the answer comes with the numbers behind it — one of six shapes, no guessing.
Calculated in your browser — nothing is uploaded or stored.
No tape to hand? This body type quiz gets you to the same six shapes in two or three questions. Stand in front of a mirror, or take one straight-on photo of yourself — the photo stays on your phone, it is never uploaded.
Question 1
Looking straight on, which part of your outline reads widest?
A straight-on photo is easier to read than a mirror — most people judge their own hips wider than they are.
The short answer
What is my body type?
Your body shape is set by the ratios between your bust, waist and hips — the comparison any body shape calculator or body type calculator makes. Most women fall into one of six shapes: hourglass, pear, spoon, rectangle, inverted triangle and apple. What separates them is which section leads the outline and how far the waist comes in.
Two comparisons carry most of the answer. The first is your hips against your bust — every published threshold in this family of shapes was set on that pair, so that is the pair the calculator compares. The second is how far your waist comes in from both. Once those are pinned down, the decisions that depend on them — necklines, waistlines, the cut of a dress or a pair of trousers — stop being guesswork. And if your numbers land near a boundary, you are a blend of two shapes, which is just as common and just as workable. Every one of those thresholds was set on women's measurements, which is what makes this a female body shape calculator rather than a unisex one.
30-second guide
How to measure your body shape
A soft tape and two minutes. Keep the tape snug but not pressed in, level with the floor all the way round, and note each number before moving on.
- 01Shoulders — around the widest part
All the way around, over the shoulder bones, with your arms relaxed and the tape level with the floor. This one rounds out the picture of your proportions; the shape itself is decided by the three below. Can't see the number at the back? Ask someone to read it for you, or stand with your back to a mirror and read it there.
- 02Bust — the fullest part
Non-padded bra, tape straight across the back. Breathe out normally before you read the number.
- 03Waist — the narrowest point
Usually just above the navel. Relaxed — no pulling in, no shapewear. This number does the most work in the result.
- 04Hips — the very widest part
Around hips and seat at the fullest point, often lower than you would think. Measuring too high is the most common cause of a result that does not match.
There is a fifth, optional measurement: the high hip, taken all the way around about 7 in / 18 cm below the waist, over the hip bones. It is the one number that tells Spoon from Pear, and leaving it out still gives you a full result.
| Shape | Bust vs hips | Waist | What leads the line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourglass | Within 8% of each other | 25% or more smaller than both | Neither — the waist does |
| Pear | Hips more than 8% wider | Clearly defined | Hips and seat |
| Spoon | Hips more than 8% wider | Clearly defined, with a shelf below | High hip, then hips |
| Rectangle | Within 8% of each other | Less than 25% smaller | No single section |
| Inverted triangle | Bust more than 8% wider | Varies | The bust and upper body |
| Apple | Close on both sides | Near bust and hips — the widest point | The midsection |
Landing between two rows is normal — the calculator tells you which side you lean, and what separates the two.
How it works
Measured, not guessed
- Step 01Four girths, two minutes
Shoulders, bust, waist and hips with a soft tape. Three of them decide the shape: the published thresholds compare your bust against your hips, and your waist against both. Shoulders are recorded and shown with the rest, so you can see your whole set of proportions.
- Step 02Ratios, not inches
Built on the Female Figure Identification Technique from NC State, in the published form by Lee et al. (2007), with one deliberate change — we compare ratios instead of fixed inch differences, so the same proportions read the same at any height and size.
- Step 03An answer with its numbers
One of six shapes with the comparisons behind it. Land near a boundary and you see both candidates and what separates them, rather than a coin-flip answer that changes when you measure again.
The measurement points and the ratio bands come from one shared standard — read the measurement methodology used across every shape guide on this site.
The catalog
The six body shapes
Same four measurements, six outlines. One sentence each on what sets it apart, so you can read your own proportions against them.
Pear
A pear body shape has hips more than 8% wider than the bust, with a defined waist.
View guideSpoon
A spoon body shape has pear proportions plus a distinct shelf at the high hip, then a straighter line down.
View guideRectangle
A rectangle body shape has bust, waist and hips in a close range, with the waist less than 25% smaller.
View guideInverted triangle
An inverted triangle body shape has a bust more than 8% wider than the hips, so the frame leads from the top.
View guideApple
An apple body shape has a waist close to both bust and hips, making the midsection the widest point.
View guideNot sure which?
Four measurements and the calculator answers with the ratios behind it.
Calculate my shapeCommon questions
Asked before you ask
What body shape am I?
Enter your shoulders, bust, waist and hips above and you get one of six shapes with the comparisons behind it — two shapes when your numbers sit between them. No tape to hand? The quiz tab asks two or three observation questions instead.
Why does another site give me a different shape?
Most calculators compare your measurements by fixed inch differences, so the same proportions read as different shapes at different sizes — a nine-inch difference is a quarter of a 36-inch bust but only a fifth of a 45-inch one. We compare ratios instead, and show the numbers behind your result so you can check them yourself. Where you take the waist and hip measurements also moves the answer, which is why the guide above is specific about it.
What if I am between two shapes?
Then we say exactly that. When your proportions sit near a boundary you get both candidates, what separates them, and a ten-second mirror check to settle it, instead of a single answer that flips the next time you measure.
Do I need the high hip measurement?
Only to tell Spoon from Pear. Both carry width below the waist, but Spoon has a distinct shelf at the hip bones. Skip it and you still get a full result — it is read as a Pear.
Does my body shape change with weight?
The shape follows the ratios between four measurements, not the numbers themselves, so it often stays put while the measurements move together. When they move unevenly the shape can change, and a result that sat near a boundary is the most likely to. Measure again after a big change; both readings were true when they were taken.
Why six shapes and not four?
The published seven-type system separates top and bottom hourglass, which we map onto inverted triangle and pear, and keeps spoon as its own type because the high hip behaves differently. Apple is not in that system at all; we include it because a midsection that leads the outline needs its own answer rather than being filed under rectangle. The number is specific to women, too: a body type calculator for female proportions works with these six, while the systems written for men use four.
Is one shape better than another?
No — these are proportion groups, not rankings. Rectangle is by far the most common: in a study of 6,310 US women it accounted for 49%, against 11.8% for hourglass. Every guide starts from what fits your proportions, not from turning you into a different shape.
Are my measurements stored or uploaded?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is sent to a server — your measurements stay on this page, and they are not part of the result link or your browser history.
Two minutes, tops
Grab a tape.
The math is waiting.
Want the whole picture first? Read the six body shapes and what each one changes about fit.