Body Shape Calculator – Body Calculate

The Body Shape Calculator helps you find your “body shape” based on specific body measurements. You’ll need measurements of your shoulder or bust, waist, and hips, with the high hip being an optional addition. A body shape calculator can offer insights into how different clothing styles might complement your unique shape.

A body shape calculator is an online tool designed to determine the body shape your measurements resemble most. The most common measurements needed when calculating your body shape are the circumference measurements of the shoulder or bust, waist, hip and sometimes high hip.

Once a body shape calculator has all the required measurements, the algorithm of the calculator will calculate the ratios and differences between the different body areas to determine the body shape category your body resembles the most.

The categories include:

Rectangle (or banana) – where your bust, waist, and hip measurements are relatively close.
Hourglass – where your bust and hips are approximately the same width with a noticeably narrower waist.
Pear (or triangle) – where your hips are wider than your bust and waist.
Inverted Triangle – where your bust is broader than your hips.
Apple (or round) – where your waist is broader than your bust and hips.
Bottom Hourglass –where you have met the hourglass requirements but have wider hips.
Top Hourglass – where your bust or shoulders are broader than your hips or waist with a noticeably narrower waist.
Spoon – where your shoulders bust are narrow with a more pronounced difference between the waist and hips than a pear.

How to Use a Body Shape Calculator

Find Measurements: Use a soft measuring tape, like a sewing measuring tape, to measure your shoulders, bust, waist, hips and high hip. See
Input Measurements: Enter each measurement into the calculator.
Results: The calculator will then try to match your measurements with a body shape. Not everyone has a direct match with a body type so don’t worry if the results indicate that you resemble multiple body types.

How to Measure your Body

The easiest way to discover your body shape is to measure your shoulders, bust, waist, hips and high hip.

How and What to Measure:

Shoulders: Measure around your shoulders and back.
Bust: Measure around the widest part of your chest. The tape measure needs to be fully level around your bust and back.
Waist: Measure around the smallest part of your natural waistline, typically 1- 3 inches above your belly button. Keep your mid-section relaxed without sucking in or pushing out.
Hips: Measure around the widest part of your hips and buttocks.
High Hip: Measure around your high hip, which is commonly 1-3 inches below your belly button, or where “low-rise” jeans would sit.

How to Work out Your Body Shape Manually

There are many different methods to ascertain the silhouette or body shape of your figure. Some equations use set ratios and some use an algorithmic comparison method. We have listed popular equations for both ratio and comparison methods below for each shape.

Rectangle (or banana):

Method 1. Ratios. You are a Rectangle if you answer true to BOTH of the following
Your waist is less than 25% smaller than your shoulders OR Your waist is less than 25% smaller than your bust.
And your bust and hip are within 5% of each other.

Method 2. Comparisons. You are an Rectangle if you answer true for ALL of the following
The difference between your hip and bust measurements is less than 3.6 inches.
The difference when you subtract your hips from your bust is also less than 3.6 inches.
The difference when you subtract your waist from your bust is 9 inches or less.
The difference when you subtract your waist from your hip is 10 inches or less.

Hourglass:

Method 1. Ratios. You are an Hourglass if you answer true to ALL of the following
Your waist is equal or more than 25% smaller than your shoulders.
Your waist is equal or more than 25% smaller than your Bust.
Your waist is equal or more than 25% smaller than your Hips.
Your bust and hip are within 5% of each other.

Method 2. Comparisons. You are an Hourglass if you answer true for ALL of the following
The difference between your bust and hip is 1″ or less.
The difference between your hip and bust is less than 3.6″.
The difference between your bust and waist is 9″ or more.
The difference between your hip and waist is 10″ or more.

Pear/Triangle:

Method 1. Ratios. You are a Pear/Triangle if you answer true to EITHER of the following
Your hips are 5% bigger than your shoulders.
Or Your hips are 5% bigger than your bust.

Method 2. Comparisons. You are a Pear/Triangle if you answer true for BOTH of the following
Your hip minus bust is more than 3.6″
And your hip minus bust is more than 3.6″

Apple (or round):

You are an Apple if you answer true to BOTH of the following
Your waist is more than 5% bigger than your shoulders OR Your waist is more than 5% bigger than your bust.
And your bust and hip are within 5% of each other.

Inverted Triangle:

Method 1. Ratios. You are an Inverted Triangle if you answer true to EITHER of the following
Your shoulders are more than 5% bigger than your hips.
Or your shoulders are more than 5% bigger than your hips.

Method 2. Comparisons. You are an Inverted Triangle if you answer true for BOTH of the following
Your bust minus hip is greater than 3.6″
Your bust minus waist is less than or equal to 9″

Bottom Hourglass:

You are a Bottom Hourglass if you answer true to Each of the following
Your hip minus bust is greater than or equal to 3.6″
Your hip minus bust is less than 10″
Your hip minus waist is greater than or equal to 9″

Read more on bottom hourglass body shape here.

Top Hourglass:

You are a Top Hourglass if you answer true to Each of the following
Your bust minus hip is greater than 1″
Your bust minus hip is less than 10″
Your bust minus waist is greater than or equal to 9″

Read more on top hourglass body shape here

Spoon:

You are a Spoon if you answer true to Both of the following
Your hip minus bust is more than 2″
Your hip minus waist is equal to or more than 7″

Body Shape Formula

Hourglass
If (bust – hips) ≤ 1″ AND (hips – bust) < 3.6″ AND (bust – waist) ≥ 9″ OR (hips – waist) ≥ 10″

Bottom hourglass
If (hips – bust) ≥ 3.6″ AND (hips – bust) < 10″ AND (hips – waist) ≥ 9″ AND (high hip/waist) < 1.193

Top hourglass
If (bust – hips) > 1″ AND (bust – hips) < 10″ AND (bust – waist) ≥ 9″

Spoon
If (hips – bust) > 2″ AND (hips – waist) ≥ 7″ AND (high hip/waist) ≥ 1.193

Triangle
If (hips – bust) ≥ 3.6″ AND (hips – waist) < 9″

Inverted triangle
If (bust – hips) ≥ 3.6″ AND (bust – waist) < 9″

Rectangle
If (hips – bust) < 3.6″ AND (bust – hips) < 3.6″ AND (bust – waist) < 9″ AND (hips – waist) < 10″

Considerations

Measurement Accuracy: Minor measurement errors or measuring in the wrong area can result in inches lost or gained. This can have a significant impact on your body shape result, especially if you are bordering on meeting the measurements of another body shape. This is another reason to consider multiple body shapes that might fit your shape.
Body Changes: Your body can go through many different transitions during your lifespan, including pregnancy, weight gain or loss, and muscle development. Your body shape might change dramatically or remain unchanged during any of these transitions; we are all unique and our bodies respond in different ways to change.
Variations: Most body shape calculators and their classification systems do not take into account body shape variations. Variations exist within body shape categories and should be considered when exploring body shape and when dressing.

Further

Body shape calculators are a great staring point to understand how to dress your body and understand the way different styles and fabrics look on your body.

Do Not Limit Yourself based on your body shape result. As mentioned above, variations do exist and trying to classify your body into a single shape is generally not the best approach.

Use the results to find which shapes you resemble most. Explore multiple shapes. Share and mix styling from closely related shapes and be creative and experimental in finding your own personal style.

A body shape calculator is best used to understand your shape better and as an aid to embracing everything that is uniquely you.