Pear Shaped Troubles
I’m having a little bit of difficulty with pants lately on my ever changing body.
It seemed like my weight loss was going great and now it’s really not. About 3 months post partum, I was only 5 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. Now 8 months post partum, I’m 15 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight and my eating habits haven’t changed at all and I’m still breastfeeding.
It seems like the extra weight I had before was evenly distributed and now it has all flocked to my upper thighs, making my measurements very awkward.
Waist: 29″
Hips: 37″
Thighs: 39″
ACK! I can’t believe I just told the whole world that!!
So, clearly I have moved from hourglass shaped into the pear shaped category. I’m having a hard time making the transition to dressing my pear shaped body though, since I’m so used to wearing pretty much whatever I want.
Do any of you pear shaped ladies have any secrets you can share with a pear shaped newbie? Whether it’s exercises to slim down thighs or fashion tips to hide them until I do, I want to hear it!
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Ouch, sorry! It’s unsettling to deal with shifting body shapes, even when not a new mom. I think if we all wait long enough, we’ll experience this problem. My basic shape has remained relatively constant, but parts of it have outgrown other parts a bit. Frustrating, at the least. I’m tall, and have broad sholders, shorter legs, and disproportionately large hips. Not really circus-freak large, but certainly inconvenient. At 5’10”, my measurements are usually around 36-30-43, plus generous thighs, long since retired from ballet and marching band. IF I dress myself with an eye toward balanced proportions, people always tell me how thin I am. Ha. Anyway.
1)Really study your shape to determine which body parts and proportions you wish to emphasize and deemphasize.
2)Don’t take size tags in pants and skirts too literally, as shape and size are two different matters altogether.
3)Become acquainted with a good tailor, ASAP. Or, learn to sew.
I like knits, but usually not for pants and skirts, and they can’t be tight. Clothing, knit or otherwise, which gently skims the body–but isn’t baggy–is more flattering than that which clings to areas we don’t wish to highlight, or cuts right across a wider spot. Choose blouse-to-pantwaist proportion carefully, as all shirts and bottoms aren’t compatible, lengthwise. Some combinations make us pear-shaped gals look reallllly unbalanced. Avoid items that cut across the widest point of your hips, as this merely shouts, “Hey, these are my hips!!”. This means that a lot of trendy styles may not prove terribly flattering.
**Pants have been a lifelong problem, with the garment industry offering few solutions. The Gap now has a line of jeans and pants they call ‘curvy’, but I find that the waist still gaps wide, while the thighs remain tight. In order to avoid the sausage-casing-pants phenomenon, I usually buy pants one to three sizes larger than my waist size, and have them altered. They have to fit hips and thighs first, and then the rest can be remedied. I therefor factor the alteration cost (modest for a waist, depending on the details of the garment) into the cost of the initial purchase.
**Color plays a role in perception as well. Dark-colored pants and skirts minimize the appearance, relatively, of a larger bottom, and an outfit which is monochromatic will create the appearance of a longer, leaner line. Properly-fitting black pants are a girl’s best friend. Add a little heel at the bottom to lengthen legs.
**Boot cuts and straight legs are more flatting to our shape than skinny-leg styles. The extra volume at the bottom of the leg helps to balance the proportion.
You may find, as I did, that you will lose a little bit more weight, specifically from your hips, after you stop breastfeeding (which isn’t a reason to stop, but that is what happened to me after all three pregnancies)but I too was still left with that bewildering pear shape no matter how much weight I lost. So, I was a size 2, but still definitely a PEAR.
I am also a fitness instructor and despite working extensively to tone my body, including my lower body, I am still, stubbornly, a PEAR. I’ve had to learn to deal with it ~ but this shape is common and not as hard to dress as some!
I do agree with Melissa on her well thought out recommendations. I would also add that the current dark jean trend will be a lifesaver for those of us pears out there!
Skinny jeans and most leggings are a DON’T, unless you intend to wear them with tunics or very long jackets, but I still find that silouhette vaguely “mushroom like” and most of us don’t care to look like common garden fungus.
In pants be extremely careful with details. Front pockets, extra stitching, light wash all call attention to the widest part of you, your hips.
Also? The short “swing jacket” shape, tends not to work so well on our figure. The hem of the jacket flaring out over our hips points out that particular flaw like a beacon. Flats also seem to shorten my leg (and I have a long inseam, so I wouldn’t have thought it was an issue)so I avoid flats altogehter.
I’ve had good luck with long tops that I can ruche myself to create a longer, smoother silhouette. I also use necklaces or scarves to draw attention up toward my face and neckline instead of belts that might point out my flaws.
And, again, like Melissa said, a great pair of black pants that you can wear with a little heel? Priceless!
Fashionable Housewife, Melissa and Maggie,
Your story and comments are oh so real to me…So I created my own denim line. I didn’t do it to because I wanted to be rich nor famous; I did it because I knew I was not alone.
Check out my line via http://www.BelFomDesigns.com – If you have any questions by all means send me an email. If you have any suggestions and/or request…I WANT TO KNOW!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Dionne.
hey .. dont worry at all..tats the first thing… just remember to not eat sweet n fat together..eat protien with each meal..the oestrogen in the body is higher in pear shaped.. tats a hormone … it trigers hunger n crave(the protien cuts tat ) …also a pear is heathier rhan any other shape of the body …i mean probs tat come with bein fat…to work out combine cardio…followed by yoga tat trims your lower half ..Dr. neha
don’t know where you are right now, but…
I came across some pants that I had made when I was nursing my daughter. They were _really_ pear-shaped. I was shocked. I don’t know if it’s a post-partum thing or a breast-feeding thing. Also, 8 mo. post-partum, your eating habits may not have changed, but those of your nursing child _have_. I gained weight when my child nursed less but I kept eating a lot.
Hope some of that is helpful to you at this late date:-)
ok.. here’s the dilema, I have a concert coming up in May(i know, i know, months away) but, I’ll be meeting the band im going to see. My top is perfect, just what i want, but the jeans… thats another problem. I’m sorta pear-shaped, in the sense that i have pretty broad shoulders and slightly wider hips, 2 1/2 years post partum. What advice would you give a ‘gothic’ (i HATE that tag, I’m NOT goth) woman with no clue how to show off what she has? The top is a black victorian-sleeved mock corset, which hides what needs to be hidden and shows of all the right places. it’s a bit longer in the front, but thats what i want. The jeans I have to go with it are black, but look MUCH older than the top, when in reality, the jeans have been washed MAYBE 10 times in cold water. What color jeans would you all recommend to me, since im clueless?