The hourglass is known for the most feminine curves coveted by every woman. While you can pull off most formal styles, it’s important to know not all will look equally flattering on you. This detailed guide will help you understand your body features, thus choosing the most suitable formal wear to enhance your best assets.
MAIN CONSIDERATIONS
Donning formal wear involves a lot of attention to detail and tailoring in order for it to fully embrace your figure. So to ensure that you are getting the right formal wear piece for your hourglass figure, you need to have a complete understanding of your features.
Sloped and Rounded Shoulders
Your shoulders aren’t too broad or sharp, but instead well-proportioned and slightly sloped around the edges. This makes your shoulders not too attention-grabbing and therefore much easier to work with.
The width of your shoulders is almost the same size as your hips so your hourglass figure boasts of a very balanced frame. With the right neckline, fabric detail, and neck structure, you can efficiently showcase an alluring shoulder line and decolletage.
Full and Rounded Bust
One of the most defining features of your hourglass figure is your full bust size and its rounded shape. Due to this fullness, you most likely have a prominent set of cleavage beautifully showcased by choosing the right type of neckline.
Well-defined Waist
Your relatively smaller waist is what brings all your voluptuous curves all together to create a balanced shape. Because of this particular waist accentuation, your full bust and your wide hips are prevented from looking too heavy.
This is what makes waist definition highly essential because drowning your natural waist definition can make you look shapeless and heavy. When looking for formal wear, always consider belts, seams, or darts that cinch the waist.
Pronounced Hips
Your wide hips perfectly balance out your frame as they have almost the same width and curved edges as your shoulders. They are relatively wider than the rest of your body so you need to be mindful of the fit of your formal wear specifically around this area.
Toned and Balanced Legs
Your legs are quite symmetrical as they aren’t too thick nor too thin, but just the right size to complement your hourglass figure. Your thighs tend to maintain a well-balanced appearance in relation to the hips and waist, as they feature smooth and gradual tapering down towards the knees.
Your calves also contribute to the toned and proportionate shape of your legs as they have noticeable curvature and definition. They also typically have a rounded and sculpted appearance that brings out your feminine curves even more.
FIT
Form-fitting
One of the quickest and most efficient ways to bring out the curvaceousness of your hourglass form is by going for formal wear that features a snug fit. This doesn’t mean that you have to go for formal wear dresses that cling too closely to your body – they don’t have to be tight!
What I want to emphasize whenever I mention the term “form-fitting” is that this means choosing clothes that feature a snug fit, as if the dress is specially customized just for you! Formal wear dresses can be form-fitting with the help of structured or semi-stretchy fabric, strategic darts, or streamlined seams.
Tailored
A tailored fit is pretty much close to having bespoke formal dresses. However, this doesn’t only include clothing pieces that were tailored and created from scratch, but also clothes/dresses that were altered for a more customized fit.
Tailored formal wear dresses typically feature structural elements such as darts, seams, and boning that can help shape and support the curves of your hourglass body. This additional structure can help accentuate and define your best features with minimal detailing.
Semi-stretchy
If you’re feeling a bit more sultry and sophisticated, formal dresses that come in stretchy fabrics can truly make the most out of your desirable curves. However, it’s still important to maintain your formal wear’s structure and you can do so by going for fabric materials that aren’t immensely stretchy.
STRUCTURE
A-Line
There’s almost no chance of committing a fashion faux pas when you opt for A-Line structures due to their very flattering silhouette. As an hourglass-shaped girl, you don’t really have to worry about your proportions because you naturally possess a figure that’s well-balanced and symmetrical.
A-Line formal wear pieces, specifically gowns and dresses, feature a structure that can easily accommodate your curves.
The A-Line silhouette maintains the natural balance that you have by gently flaring out from the waist to create a flattering flow between the upper and lower body. This particular structure also minimizes any excessive emphasis on the hips or thighs because of how it subtly flares out.
Wrap
Wrap structures feature a waist detail that allows you to cinch your waist with the freedom to adjust for a customized and perfect fit. Because of this feature, it can be adjusted to suit individual body measurements and enhance your hourglass figure by ensuring that the dress fits snugly while accentuating your curves without being too tight or constricting.
The wrap structure is also universally flattering so you can say that it’s your safe fashion option. However, you still need to consider several factors such as the fabric and detail to make sure your wrap dress perfectly embraces your figure.
Sheath
The classic sheath structure is something your hourglass body will definitely love if you’re into minimalist fashion. It has a fitted and streamlined silhouette that emphasizes the waist and accentuates your curves, without the addition of any dramatic detail.
Sheath formal wear dresses sculpt and trace the contours of your bust and hips to exude your feminine and alluring shape. Crafted from fabrics with a slight stretch, sheath dresses give you a very comfortable fit while showcasing curves in the most flattering way.
Mermaid or Trumpet
One dramatic way to flaunt your exquisite curves is through the structure of mermaid and trumpet dresses. Both feature a fitted bodice that hugs the waist and hips to bring out the natural curves and definition of your hourglass shape.
Mermaid and Trumpet dresses often have very defined waistline details or strategically placed embellishments, such as belts or sashes, which draw attention to the narrowest part of the body. As you go down its silhouette, you’ll notice a dramatic flare that starts from the knee or mid-thigh up to the hemline.
This flare gives additional definition and extravagance to your look without adding too much volume.
NECKLINE
V-Neck
When it comes to selecting a suitable neckline for your formal wear dress, you can always rely on the versatility of V-necks. These universally appealing necklines have a sharp, angular design that plunges toward the center of your body to effortlessly give your prominent bust more recognition.
The V-shaped neckline possesses the remarkable ability to create an elongated illusion, which visibly enhances the natural balance of an hourglass silhouette. Additionally, its symmetrical form beautifully emphasizes your décolletage, hence drawing attention to your ample bust while adding a touch of allure to your overall appearance.
Sweetheart or Queen Anne
Sweetheart and Queen Anne necklines are perfect for enhancing the curves of your upper body, particularly your shapely and ample bust. These neckline styles feature a unique and charming heart-shaped pattern that beautifully emphasizes the bust and accentuates the feminine contours of your cleavage.
Moreover, if you’re looking for additional support from the sleeves of your formal wear dress, the Queen Anne neckline offers a high back and a scooped front, providing a gentle lift to your breasts.
Square
Square necks offer a geometrical aesthetic that visually provides balanced framing for both your décolletage and overall frame. The straight and level line of this specific neckline creates a sense of structure that harmonizes flawlessly with the voluptuous contours of your hourglass body type.
Plunging
It’s not like you wear formal dresses every single day! So when you get the chance to fully flaunt your highly-coveted hourglass figure, why not go all-in with a risque-plunging neckline?
It’s another example of an open neckline, so just like the previous neckline styles mentioned, this also allows you to showcase the proportions of your body and the prominence of your upper half. Plunging necklines dip deeper than the usual V-necks so it’s a perfect way to show off your cleavage if you feel like it.
PRINTS AND DETAILS
The simplicity of minimal prints and details allows the focus to remain on the natural curves and balanced proportions of your hourglass shape, without creating any visual clutter. Some good examples of this would be monochromatic embroidery or small-scale beadwork.
Additionally, you may want to consider a belt for your formal wear dresses because it serves the goal of having your well-defined waist highlighted and accentuated. By cinching the waist, you are efficiently giving your hourglass figure a more pronounced silhouette.
FABRIC
A vast variety of fabric options exist to enhance the beauty of your hourglass figure. It is quite crucial to consider the fabric’s structure and texture because they play vital roles in showcasing your curves.
When choosing the right fabric for your formal wear dresses, it’s ideal to go for structured fabrics that offer more shape and dimension such as velvet, rayon, or cotton. You can also go for more flowy fabrics but since you’d like them to have more shape, you may want these fabrics seamlessly layered such as tulle or satin.
SLEEVES
Three-fourths
Three-fourth sleeves provide a balanced visual effect by covering a portion of the arms but without completely overwhelming your upper body. They also draw attention to the waistline by highlighting the area between the bust and hips to efficiently accentuate your natural curves and enhance your hourglass silhouette.
Butterfly
If you’d like a more charming design that’s not too fully covered nor too revealing, butterfly sleeves can be worth a try. Its cascading design gives your silhouette a sense of movement but without the dramatic and heavy look of voluminous fabric flounces.
Sleeveless
Go ahead and flaunt your well-rounded and balanced shoulders by freeing your formal wear dress from sleeves! Going sleeveless can also be visually beneficial if you want to highlight your bust size, as sleeveless gowns tend to lead your eyes to the upper half of your body.
STYLES TO AVOID
Strapless
Since you have a fuller bust size, your upper half tends to lean towards the heavier side. With this said, your full and well-shaped breasts will need superior support to keep them accentuated without the risk of a wardrobe malfunction.
Strapless formal wear may not provide your generous bust size enough coverage and support. In addition to this, it’ll have bigger chances of slipping down so constantly adjusting your dress can be terribly distracting and uncomfortable.
Heavy Ruffles
Everything that adds an unnecessary huge amount of volume is something every hourglass-shaped girl should run away from. Heavy flounces of fabrics, particularly ruffles that are placed along the bust or hip area can instantly overpower your body definition.
High-Neck
High-neck dresses tend to create a more vertical and boxy silhouette that can make the upper body appear less defined and proportionate. This potentially reduces the emphasis on the waistline and the natural curves of your figure.
Certain formal wear dresses that feature high necklines will mask the curves and balance of the figure, and therefore make it less visible and potentially diminish the desired hourglass effect.
Empire Waist
The silhouette of the empire waist, wherein the waistline is placed way higher than its natural position, is a feature that simply doesn’t work with the hourglass figure. This raised seam that sits just right under the bust can disrupt the natural balance of your hourglass figure because it draws attention away from the defined waistline and focuses more on the upper body
