A new way to look at body type (at least for those of us in the western hemisphere)

You've heard it all. The hourglass, the triangle, the pear, the ruler, the banana... And you probably saw a lot of advice on how to flatter each. While some of that is useful, I have more concerns over what my body looks like from the side, rather than from the front. From the front, there is very little work to do. Accentuate the waist, create some hips, and voila (I am a ruler/banana).

But from the side, things can really go awry. It took me decades to figure out why a lot of outfits looked great from the front, but were major fails from the side, making me look much bigger than I am. You see, I am a Moiselle Jeanne.

While Gaston Lagaffe is completely smitten with Moiselle Jeanne, this is to be viewed by the reader as an odd choice. Because here is a typical secretary at the Spirou editorial offices:

Mademoiselle Sonia is the stereotypical beauty, who can rock a pencil skirt. Moiselle Jeanne isn't. But Moiselle Jeanne does have the ideal body type... in Asia. The S-type.

Image credit: http://fooyoh.com/menknowpause_lifestyle_living/4546978

The blog credited above explains the Asian body shapes. I have seen this on Indian blogs as well. The S-type body has a round bottom and full breasts, while everything else is small. Models and actresses will pose in unnatural positions to bring out these features.

Moiselle Jeanne is not posing. Her pelvis is naturally tilted. If you google "tilted pelvis", it comes up as a medical condition. But in reality, it is a body shape that many women have, in particular through Asia. And it's never discussed. And so I went decades not knowing what to do with it.

Here is how you can make Moiselle Jeanne look fat. Put a shirt on her that fails to follow the curve of her back and voila, you have a barrel (still kinda cute, but that's Moiselle Jeanne).

And that's what it looks like in real life. There is a lot of empty space in that dress. [Apr. 29, 2019 update: I fixed the dress. See the result.]

And so the single secret to dressing the S-shape body so that it doesn't look fat is to make sure to follow the curvature of the back with the clothing. A belt can do the trick, but the best is to favor clothing that has darts in the back or is otherwise fitted in the small of the back.

Now I mentioned before that I was a ruler, implying that I am not curvy. This is where I differ from Moiselle Jeanne. I don't have very much in the way of a chest to speak of. I am a modified S-type, with my tummy replacing the chest. No-one finds that sexy, and this is why it is an art to dress a body that is otherwise balanced and slim.

The modified S-shape body with that troublesome tummy

With the modified S-shape, there are two more items to take care of. One, fill in the front to de-emphasize the tummy area. A belt buckle, or other embellishment above or below the tummy area come in handy here. Second, augment the chest with padding.

Dressing the modified S-shape body. Follow curvature of the back, check. Balance out the tummy in the front, check.

Another example, simply using a belt that ties in the front.