If you have the pear shaped body and you are also athletic, your body features are quite unique. A typical pear shape implies wider hips and thighs, and a smaller bust. An athletic pear not only has these features, but also has a small waist, and likely highly toned abs.
In this detailed guide, we’ll walk you through the most flattering clothing styles for your unique body shape that can accentuate your assets and distract from your weaknesses.
TOPS
Cap-sleeve
For your narrow shoulders and beautifully toned arms, you’ll be surprised at how something as simple as cap sleeves can amp up your athletic pear-shaped figure! The magic of cap sleeves is how they add a bit of volume to your shoulders without too much bulk and coverage, which accentuates your shoulders by drawing attention upward to make your shoulder line’s width more proportional to your wider hips.
Plus, wearing a top with cap sleeves showcases those toned arms you’ve worked so hard for! Cap sleeves not only add broadness to your shoulders but their small arm coverage also emphasizes the beauty of your athletic arms.
Ruffled Off-the-Shoulder
Despite your smaller upper half, there’s no denying that you’ve got a modelesque-looking decolletage thanks to your athletic frame! One way to showcase your neckline while also adding prominence to your shoulders and bust is by wearing an off-the-shoulder top.
Since you also tend to have a smaller breast size, going for an off-the-shoulder top that has ruffle detailing along the bust line should help you bring more depth to your bust. To further enhance the volume-boosting features of your ruffled off-the-shoulder top, try opting for lighter colors and more flowy fabric materials.
Fitted Halter Neck
Now, let’s talk about why fitted halter tops are an absolute win for your amazing athletic pear-shaped figure! These tops are not just stylish, but can also have style benefits to enhance your figure and bring better balance between your upper and lower body.
First off, fitted halter tops are tremendously helpful when it comes to showcasing your strong and toned shoulders. And to address the narrowness in your shoulder line, the cut of the halter neck exposes a significant portion of your shoulders to visually extend them and make them look more pronounced.
Racerback Tank Top
Just like how flattering halter neck tops are, the same style concept applies to racerback tank tops, only that they look edgier and sportier! If you’re looking into flaunting your well-toned shoulders, arms, decolletage, and back, racerback tank tops can help you do so while also balancing the proportions of your shoulders to your wider hips.
You can also find racerback tank tops that come with built-in bra pads. This can be especially beneficial for pear shapes with smaller breasts as this can add support and definition to your bust.
JEANS
Dark Wash Straight-Leg
Straight-leg jeans will always be a wardrobe classic and it’s a certain style that complements many body shapes, including your pear-shaped frame with an athletic build. The consistent width from the hips down to the ankles creates a straight, uninterrupted line that can enhance your proportions and give your frame a polished and sophisticated look.
Apart from its leg shape, having these jeans in a darker wash would help you achieve a more balanced silhouette as the slimming effect of darker shades will tone down the appearance of your wider hips and thicker thighs. This will downplay your bottom-heavy frame to achieve a more appealing top and bottom ratio.
High-rise Flared Jeans
High-rise flared jeans have two key features that are highly beneficial for athletic pear shapes, the high waistband being able to define your waist and the flared leg shape to counterbalance the wideness and thickness of your hips. As a pear-shaped woman who has an athletic build, you’d want to downplay your heavier bottom half without blurring out your athletic features.
The high waistband provides excellent coverage and support for your athletic hips and thighs to make you feel comfortable, while also giving your waist a snug fit for additional definition. The flared cut of these jeans can also be a real game-changer for your wider hips and thighs because it visually elongates your legs, resulting in a flattering and slimming effect that complements your athletic build perfectly.
Structured Wide Leg
With your narrow waist and broader hips and thighs, it may be very challenging to work around your natural imbalance especially when it comes to choosing the right fit of pants. But then, structured wide-leg pants work wonders by balancing out your proportions through its fabric that’s able to hold shape and its silhouette.
The structured and wide-leg design creates a clean and defined silhouette that can nicely emphasize your slim waistline while also providing ample room and comfort for your heavier lower body.
Jeans with Contoured Waistband
A contoured waistband doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be tight, but instead, having a flexible fit that can accommodate both your curvy waist and your bigger hips and thighs. Jeans with a contoured waistband are also known as curvy fit jeans and this type of design is specifically tailored to conform to the natural curves of your body, giving you a comfortable and figure-flattering fit.
This works well for your figure because you most likely have a huge size discrepancy between your less pronounced upper body and heavier lower body, making the size of your waist way narrower in comparison to your hips and thighs. The snug fit it gives you will accentuate your waist, downplay your heavy visual weight, and give you a more balanced overall proportion.
PANTS
Dark-colored Wide Leg
Dark colors can be incredibly helpful in slimming down your figure, which is something you will need to neutralize the heavier visual weight of your bottom half. Dark colors absorb light so it can create the illusion of a slimmer figure, and having your bottom half more toned down will make it look more symmetrical with your upper half.
Combine your choice of dark colors with a wide-leg silhouette and you can further correct your overall proportions. It features a wider legroom that can camouflage your hips and thighs by gently skimming through them down to your ankles.
High-waisted Pleated Pants
Pants that come in high-waisted designs can instantly elongate your legs, which can be quite desirable if you have a bottom-heavy athletic build. By elongating your legs, you are also giving your frame a slimmer and leaner look that’s more balanced with your narrower upper half.
Additionally, the pleats that are strategically placed along the waistband create additional space to accommodate your bigger hips and thighs, and this way, you’ll be able to move freely with superior comfort. These pleats also allow the fabric to drape smoothly onto your legs for a more streamlined look.
DRESSES
Structured Fit and Flare
The fit and flare silhouette will always be an iconic fashion choice for pear-shaped women because of its pleasing flow and symmetry.
The fitted waist in a fit and flare dress can beautifully accentuate your waistline, which can create the illusion of an hourglass shape. This also helps to enhance and showcase your natural curves to give you a better upper and lower body ratio.
If you’d also like to showcase your athletic build by flaunting your toned arms and shoulders, go for those that are sleeveless and have open necklines. This will help bring prominence to your upper half while also giving you a more balanced silhouette.
Princess Seam Dress
Your pear-shaped figure will find the vertical seams of a princess dress visually flattering. These seams shape the dress to conform to your natural curves while also providing some structure to make your less pronounced top half look more proportionate with your bottom half.
The key to maximizing the flattering effect of this dress is to make sure you go for the right fit. Find one that fits snugly around your waist and skims over your hips and thighs.
Dresses with Ruffled Top
Ruffles draw attention so by having the upper half of your dress adorned with ruffles, you’ll divert attention upward to shift it away from your heavier lower body. This can be particularly advantageous if you are conscious of your wider hips and thighs, which most pear shapes have.
Additionally, this can also be a good option if you’d like to tone down your strong, athletic features and give yourself a more feminine look. The ruffle details will soften the angular lines often associated with athletic builds to give your ensemble a more delicate and graceful appearance.
SKIRTS
Linen Wrap Skirt
For the athletic pear-shaped woman, wearing wrap skirts is a wise choice as they act as a clever camouflage for the areas you’d like to downplay, such as your wide hips and big thighs. These skirts possess a special charm that complements your lower frame without disrupting the overall body balance.
If you rock an athletic pear shape, the wrap skirt brings you a defined waist and blurs out any unflattering horizontal lines. It helps soften the strong features of your athletic build.
Flowy Pleated Skirt
Pleats can instantly bring your frame a sense of verticality as these distinct folds draw the eyes up and down. It keeps the visual line in your silhouette continuous and unbroken, giving you a more elongated stature.
If you go for a pleated skirt made from flowy fabrics, you’ll be able to accommodate your bigger bottom half without the excess detail. This will give you a more polished, streamlined appearance overall.
OUTERWEAR
Trench Coat
The trench coat is an excellent style choice for your athletic pear body shape as how it complements and flatters your frame by ensuring you don’t appear shapeless or unbalanced. With its clean and tailored lines, the coat avoids unnecessary detailing that could work against your athletic structure, but add more dimension for your narrower upper half.
The structured silhouette and shoulder details of the trench coat provide a balanced look for your athletic but narrow shoulders as they visually make your shoulder line broader. This classic outerwear staple accentuates the defined waist and offers a polished and sophisticated style that complements the muscular upper body and toned legs of your athletic pear frame.
Wrap Coat
Honestly, you can never really go wrong with a wrap coat no matter what your body shape is! This coat style can also be particularly helpful for athletic pear shapes because of how it can bring more depth to your less pronounced upper half, without overwhelming your toned, athletic frame.
Wrap coats allow you to cinch your waist with complete control of its adjustability, which can effectively bring balance to your overall frame. As a pear-shaped woman with athletic features, opting for a wrap coat will help soften your strong features and bring more femininity to your outfit through the distinct waist definition it offers.
Coats with Wide Lapel
The line that wide lapels in coats create, draws two extended adjoining diagonal lines that point from shoulder to shoulder. This effect helps broaden your shoulder line to make it more proportionate in width with your wider hips.
When choosing a coat with a wide lapel, make sure to go for those that offer a cinch at the waist, as well as a structured fabric that holds shape. This will further enhance your upper half while also giving your wider hips and thicker thighs a decent, balanced coverage.
Cropped Puffer Jacket
Because of your less pronounced upper body, you’ll find the cropped length and puffy nature of this jacket design very visually beneficial. The cropped length in which the jacket hits just right above the hip bone adds volume only to the area of your upper body that needs more shape, and this results in a more harmonious upper and lower body ratio.
Puffer jackets are also very cozy and warm, perfect for the colder seasons. In addition to this benefit, the pads in it not only keep you warm but also helps add some depth to your smaller upper body.
