Women's bodies can be broken down into four basic categories: Ruler (also known as gamine), apple, pear and hourglass. Knowing your body's shape is imperative when shopping for swimsuits. Let's take a look these four forms and what type of swimwear flatters them.
The Ruler: The ruler, aka gamine, is typically tall and thin with a small bust, flat stomach, slender legs and straight hips. Nicole Kidman is a classic ruler. As Ms. Kidman routinely demonstrates every time she walks a red carpet, when you dress to suit your figure, the results are astounding. When it comes to women's swimwear, rulers are ideally suited for bikinis. They do not require extra support in the bust or paneling for the tummy.
The stretch lace waistbands of the ultra-low rise Rapture and Black Magic Woman by Beach Bunny are perfect for the ruler as the waistband will not roll down and the flat stomach will not bulge over. Both Rapture and Black Magic Woman feature sliding triangle tops with back and neck ties. This makes these tops adjustable for coverage and open at the back. Rulers tend to have very sexy backs and like to show them off. Think Hillary Swank in her jaw dropping blue Oscar gown that was all business in the front and sexy siren when she turned around.
The Apple: The apple carries her weight on the top portion of her body. She has large breasts but slender legs and a small behind. Tyra Banks accentuates her apple shape by choosing tops that flatter her bust and bottoms that balance her figure. Apples should purchase tops and bottoms separately to ensure a perfect fit. Bandeau bikini tops offer more support and lift than string back tie backs, making them work well for apples. To balance a heavier top, shy away from minimal coverage over the hips and backside. While you do not need to be in clam diggers, having some fabric over the hips and derriere will give the illusion of a more balanced figure.
Caviar by Beach Bunny is a perfect for apples. The bandeau top supports and flatters the bust while the fold down waistband of the bottom gives you the option of boy shorts or double banding at the waist (a little extra fabric low on the waist is also figure flattering for apples).
The Pear: Opposite to the apple is the pear. Pears have smaller busts, a defined waist, and larger hips and thighs. Pears, like Jennifer Lopez, carry their weight on the lower portion of the body. Once again, balancing proportions is key for Pears so purchasing tops and bottoms separately is a good idea. Choosing bikini bottoms that are high cut makes the legs look longer and the thighs look leaner.
A pear can easily give the illusion of a fuller bust in ruffled bikini tops like Nicolita's Limonada. In fact, this shape is fortunate to be able to wear tops that have extra details and styling, like Maaji's Ruffled Juniperus or Aloe Mesh.
The Hourglass: We think of Marilyn Monroe or her modern day counterpart Christina Hendricks when we think, "hourglass". These ladies have full busts, defined waists, and curvy hips and when it comes to women's swimwear, hourglass ladies have several options. First of all they can buy tops and bottoms in the same size as the circumference of their busts matches their hips. Secondly, they easily can rock both a bikini and a one-piece.
Nicolita incorporates moulding and underwire into their swimwear, which is designed for women with fuller figures. Hourglasses benefit from Nicolita's extra support on the top as well as the more generous cuts on the bottom. For the hourglass that wants a little fabric support over the tummy (hourglasses tend to carry some weight on the middle), Nicolita offers maillots that tone the midsection while detracting nothing from the healthy curves of the bust and hips.
Creators of designer swimwear know that beautiful female bodies come in many different shapes. They take care to offer different styles to flatter different curves. Never let your figure deter you from wearing beautiful, sexy women's swimwear. There are so many options open to you once you know how to dress for your body type.
The staff at Azura Swimwear are trained to help you discover the perfect swimwear for you and they carry a wide selection of designer styles that celebrate the ruler and the hourglass, the apple and the pear.
Swimsuits for women have come a long way in the past few years. Gone are the one-size fits all maillots and the string-bikinis for petite frames. So go ahead and indulge yourself today in swimwear designed with you in mind.
