Comments on: You ask, readers answer: Help for the hourglass girl

By: Short Sleeve Knit

Short Sleeve Knit — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:13:54 +0000

Dolce shoes are endorsed and worn by many celebrities, and this may place them out of the average price range for many buyers. Dolce shoes are dynamic, bright and chunky, and designed to appeal to young buyers.

By: Apple Jeans

Apple Jeans — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:12:46 +0000

I Would suggest Apple Bottoms Jeans:)

By: Rebecca Jones

Rebecca Jones — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:21:06 +0000

I have recently gained about 20-25 pounds and due to a medication that I take it doesn’t look like I will be losing it soon. Soooo, the pants dilemma. I have probably bout 20 pairs of pants in the last year and end up just feeling fat in them. I bulge just below the hip joint. Not a lot, but enough that i just feel bad in pants. I am also home a lot, so I don’t and to spend a fortune. I just want to look nice when I go to the grocery or book store. Walking through a mall just makes me feel old, fat and hopeless. I have found I can buy pants from Talbots and feel semi ok. but oh I long for those days when I could put on a pair of pants a shirt and look great. Any suggestions? I just turned 60, I am 5’3″ and about 145 pounds. I don’t really mind looking like someones grandmother, which I am, but I hate the dowdy look.
HELP
Rebecca

By: dovian

dovian — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:02:25 +0000

I am also an hourglass, but short-waisted and 5’8″ with a D cup. I bought the 3/4 sleeve version of this dress http://tinyurl.com/3b6sa3 earlier this year and I love it. The waistband hits right at my waist. It is a touch longer than I would like but for 5’10″ it would probably be just right.

I also have good luck at Express with their button-downs. They are fitted at the waist so they accentuate one’s curves. I do have problems with gapping at the bust sometimes but I have a 3/4 sleeve low-necked black sweater that I wear over the button-downs and it looks great, as well as keeping the gapping under control.

By: maggie

maggie — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 03:53:50 +0000

I, too, am an hour glass, and I LOVE my Lane Bryant right fit jeans. Also, Liz Claiborne/Elizabeth sells button down shirts that are a better fit for our chests. Keep an eye on their Web site because they go on sale often.

By: JayKay

JayKay — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:05:19 +0000

I too am an hourglass, although only 5’6″, and range anywhere from a size 8 to a 12. I cannot live without the Editor pants and the curvy cut jeans from Express. They both fit my legs without gapping in the back of my waist right off the rack. They also come in long lengths. Express also makes some great wrap v-neck tops that are cut really well and accentuate the good things!

If you’re willing to spend a little more on jeans, I highly recommend Seven for All Mankind. I know they’ve caught some flak here, but I gotta say, they fit. Well. =)

By: monkey

monkey — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:20:21 +0000

A solution I have found for dress shirts is to wear a nice, somewhat substantial cami or tank under and the leave the top few buttons open. This way you can get a shirt that fits in the waist and not worry so much about it closing around the bust. It creates a nice, almost v-neck line also, which I think works well on an hourglass. (Also, look for princess seams and darting, both very helpful for fitting a curvy shape.)

I too am a fan of the Right Fit Blue, though I just got my pair, so it’s a qualified recommendation. I was just so excited to find a pair of jeans that actually go out and then back in again, so much that you can totally see the curve when you look at the folded jeans. cool! (I knew they would be good when I could barely get the waist over my thighs, but once I got the waist up the thighs were perfect.)

By: supersam

supersam — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:13:27 +0000

It’s hard to be an Hourglass. I think that nearly all clothing manufacturers (pattern makers are included) believe us to be mythological creatures, and so no one really makes clothing specifically for Hourglasses. Well, from my experience here are some tips (I am usually between a 12 – 14 – sometimes 16 on top).

A. Pants
1. Look for curved waistbands. This shape will hug more closely to the body because it has had extra room removed from it
2. Wear a mid rise. A pair of pants that sits at your high hip (top of the hips) will not have as much buckling because it doesn’t have to go all the way to your smallest area while fitting one of the widest areas of your body at the same time.
3. With high waisted garments – Try a paperbag style waist. If they help minimize (and showcase at the same time – weird, I know) your shape.
4. Medium width belts on pants do very well to balance top and bottom with middle
5. Pants with a higher rise at the back than the front.
6. A little lycra, spandex, or elastane usually make for a better fit.

- Personally my favorite jeans are from Calvin Klein, and the JC Penny Misses section (DKNY also makes nice ones). My favorite pants are from Express (good if you can fit a 12)

B. Tops
1. Button down shirts are always hard. You either have to spend a lot of time looking for a good fit, or visit your tailor.
2. Again, a bit of stretch in the fabric is good
3. Shirts with runching near the center of the bust will help conceal a small amount of pulling.
4. Make sure you have on the bra or bra type you want to wear with the shirt when you try them on
5. Avoid most button downs where the first button is set really low.

- My current favorite button downs are Ralph Lauren (L) with no darts, some side seam fitting and no ‘action back’ (a/or several pleats or tucks along the yoke – seam across the top shoulders- on the back of a shirt). They fit the bust well, and while not form fitting manage not to be boxy either.

Also, I personally have yet to find a ‘wrap’ dress or top that looks good on me without turning me into a freakish ‘snowman’ – I think wraps work much better on pears.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:27:43 +0000

Same figure here! (Although only 5’8″). I wear a size 20 to 22, depending on cut. I’m currently really digging on the Lane Bryant Right Fit jeans (blue is the one for hourglass figures). Finally, a pair of jeans that don’t gap in the back! (Plus they make me look like I have a butt – bonus).

For dresses, I’m a big fan of jersey whenever possible, also knits or modal. I usually opt for a surplice dress with a crossover bodice because I’m very busty and this cut and fabric allows for the different sizes of your figure. Otherwise, if I’m trying to fit my bust, the dress doesn’t hit me anywhere else. I’m a huge fan of Michael Kors Woman (at Macy’s and Nordstrom).

On sale right now:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2920458?refsid=203171&refcat=0%7e2376776%7e2378685%7e2378693%7e2374394&SourceID=1&SlotID=1&origin=related

Or something like this:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2923101/0~2376788~6002242~6007533~6007558?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6007558&P=1

(Trust me, it’s far more flattering on than it looks in the pic!)

http://bandlu.com/product.asp?item=sovs

I like faux wrap dresses, but not real wrap dresses because they make me look like I have the biggest waist in the world (they’re just not for everybody).

Can’t help you with dress shirts – I never wear them (see earlier comments on bustiness!)

By: paranoid

paranoid — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:17:15 +0000

Have you looked at the Lane Bryant perfect fit jeans yet? They’re the only jeans I’ve ever tried on that don’t gap in the back. They sell different cuts for different body types, and their salespeople have been pretty helpful in finding the right fit.