About the Body Shape Calculator
This body shape calculator classifies your figure from three tape-measure readings: bust, waist and hips. It compares the differences between them and returns one of seven common shapes — hourglass, bottom hourglass, top hourglass, pear, inverted triangle, rectangle or apple — along with your waist-to-hip ratio and the exact differences it used.
The rules are adapted from the FFIT for Apparel (Female Figure Identification Technique) system developed by clothing researchers at North Carolina State University, which sorts figures by bust–hip and bust/hip–waist differences in inches. Metric measurements are converted automatically. The apple category is added for figures where the waist is as wide as the bust and hips.
Body shape is mainly useful for clothing fit, sewing patterns and styling — every shape is normal. It is not a health score, although the waist-to-hip ratio shown alongside is a recognised marker of where fat is stored. Measure over light clothing or bare skin, keep the tape level and snug but not tight, and breathe out normally before reading the waist.
How to use the body shape calculator
- 1Choose centimetres or inches.
- 2Measure your bust around the fullest part, keeping the tape level.
- 3Measure your natural waist at its narrowest point after breathing out.
- 4Measure your hips around the widest part of the buttocks.
- 5Enter the three numbers and read your body shape and ratios.
Formula and method
The calculator works out four differences between your measurements in inches (centimetres are divided by 2.54) and tests the shape rules in order. Apple is chosen first if the waist is at least as large as both bust and hips. Hourglass needs bust and hips nearly equal (bust no more than 1 in larger, hips less than 3.6 in larger) plus a waist at least 9 in smaller than the bust or 10 in smaller than the hips. Bottom and top hourglass allow a larger hip or bust difference (up to 10 in) while keeping a defined waist.
If none of those apply, a hip excess of 3.6 in or more gives pear and a bust excess of 3.6 in or more gives inverted triangle; anything else is rectangle. The thresholds come from the FFIT for Apparel system, simplified to three measurements (the original also uses high-hip and stomach measurements to separate spoon and other sub-types). The waist-to-hip ratio is waist ÷ hips.
- Bust
- Fullest chest circumference
- Waist
- Narrowest torso circumference
- Hips
- Widest hip/buttock circumference
Worked examples
Bust 91 cm, waist 71 cm, hips 97 cm
Hips exceed the bust by 6 cm (2.4 in), under the 3.6 in limit, and the waist is 26 cm (10.2 in) smaller than the hips, above the 10 in threshold. That is an hourglass, with a waist-to-hip ratio of 71 ÷ 97 = 0.73.
34-29-40 inches
Hips are 6 in larger than the bust (between 3.6 and 10 in) and 11 in larger than the waist (at least 9 in), which defines a bottom hourglass.
34-32-40 inches
Hips are again 6 in larger than the bust, but the waist is only 8 in smaller than the hips — not defined enough for a bottom hourglass — so the shape is pear.
40-33-35 inches
The bust is 5 in larger than the hips, and the waist is only 7 in smaller than the bust, short of the 9 in needed for a top hourglass, so this is an inverted triangle.
40-41-39 inches
The waist (41 in) is larger than both the bust and the hips, so the figure is classed as apple, with a waist-to-hip ratio of 1.05.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main body shapes?+
The most common categories are hourglass, pear (triangle), apple (oval), rectangle (straight) and inverted triangle. Systems such as FFIT also split hourglass into top and bottom hourglass depending on whether the bust or hips are larger.
What measurements make an hourglass figure?+
Under the FFIT-based rules, an hourglass has bust and hips within about 1 in (bust larger) or 3.6 in (hips larger) of each other, and a waist at least 9 in smaller than the bust or 10 in smaller than the hips — for example 36-26-37.
Does body shape affect health?+
Shape labels themselves are about proportions, not health. Carrying more fat around the waist, which shows up as a higher waist-to-hip or waist-to-height ratio, is linked to higher cardiometabolic risk, so check those ratios if health is your concern.
Can my body shape change?+
Weight gain or loss, pregnancy, menopause and strength training can all change your measurements and therefore your category. Your bone structure, such as hip width and shoulder breadth, stays the same, so some proportions remain.
Does this work for men?+
The thresholds were developed for women’s clothing. Men can use the same measurements (chest instead of bust), but men’s shapes are more often described as rectangle, triangle, inverted triangle, oval or trapezoid based on shoulder and waist width.