Traits
- Straight-looking silhouette – Your shoulders, waist, and hips are nearly similar in terms of width, so there will be apparent angular lines present in your figure.
- Athletic features – You have toned muscles and slender limbs. In fact, you may have similar bodies with runway models or gymnasts.
- Less pronounced flat rear – It’s very common among rectangle shapes to have a flat bottom because of the fact that they don’t naturally possess curves.
- Gain weight evenly all over the body – You don’t carry your excess weight in one place as it gets evenly distributed in your body. As a result, you look slender in general.
- Undefined waistline – Since there’s not much difference between the measurements of your waist and hips, there’s very little to almost no definition in your waistline.
- Varying bust sizes – It’s a common misconception that rectangle body shapes usually have flat or smaller bust sizes. However, this is not entirely true because rectangle figures can have a bust size ranging from small to big.
Belted Shorts
Just like what I mentioned in our brief walkthrough about your rectangle body shape’s traits, your lack of waist definition is one of your weakest points. The perfect way to bring definition to your waistline is to cinch your waist to create a more obvious indentation at the sides of your waist.
Wearing a belt will always be a classic way to cinch your waist so going for a pair of belted shorts can help visually break up the torso to create a distinctive curved line that separates the upper and lower body. This can instantly give you the illusion of curves by making the waist look narrower compared to the hips and bust, resulting in a more balanced and shapely silhouette.
Belts come in various designs and widths, allowing you to choose one that suits your personal style and complements your ensemble the best. Just remember that when choosing a belt, go for something that’s not too thin, otherwise it may not be enough to give you the snug cinch your figure needs.
Bright-colored Waist Tie Shorts
Bright colors can instantly draw a significant amount of attention that can help distinguish your lower frame from your upper body. A pair of waist-tie shorts in bright colors will help distract the eyes from seeing a straight, monotonous line to create better balance in your overall proportions.
Additionally, going for vibrant hues can also distract from any perceived lack of curves, redirecting attention to the colorful style of your shorts. Meanwhile, the waist tie or belt on these shorts can cinch in at the waist to create a more obvious indentation.
You can also greatly benefit from the fact that the waist tie detail is also adjustable, allowing you to have full control of the level of tightness and comfort you want.
Casual Paper Bag Shorts
For someone who lacks shape and curves, a subtle addition of volume in your lower half can be very helpful in adding more dimension to your rather angular look. This is what paper bag shorts can do for you, as they feature a design detail that adds volume and definition to your waist area.
Paper bag shorts are typically high-waisted and are also characterized by a cinched or gathered waist with a tie or belt that creates extra room for your hips. The gathered fabric on the waistband of the shorts draws the eye to the waistline and away from the straighter lines of the body for a more dynamic and shapely overall look.
And because it provides an adjustable fit on the waist and a roomy leg fit, paper bag shorts are very comfortable to wear. No wonder they make a great casualwear piece to complete your wardrobe!
Flared Shorts
Flared shorts can look amazing on rectangle body shapes because of the shorts’ wider or flared leg opening that slightly resembles a skirt. This shorts style is typically tailored to be fitted at the waist and hips and then gradually widens towards the hem, hence the “flared” appearance.
Flared shorts add volume and dimension to the lower half of the body to create the illusion of curves as the widening silhouette from the hips down can make the hips appear curvier to balance out the straighter lines of the torso. Apart from this, the flowy and flirty nature of flared shorts can add a touch of femininity to your outfit, which can also help tone down your strong athletic features.
Flared shorts often have a fitted waistband, which can emphasize and add a curvy indentation to your waistline. This effectively helps create a more pronounced appearance of curves, mimicking the balanced and shapely proportions of the hourglass shape.
White Denim Shorts
White denim shorts may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but rectangle body shapes will definitely be helpful in creating a more balanced silhouette. What’s great about wearing white denim shorts is that they help create the illusion of curves by adding volume and dimension to your lower body, and this is all because light colors in general draw more attention and therefore make your hips and thighs appear fuller.
Additionally, white is a neutral and clean color that gives off a fresh and clean vibe to your chosen ensemble. As white is a versatile color, it won’t be too tasking to pair them with other different clothing pieces.
Cotton A-Line Shorts
A-Line shorts are specifically tailored and designed to flare out slightly from the waist to the hem, which creates a flattering “A” shape. Because of the way the shorts gently widen out to the hem, it will create more dimension and curve to neutralize your rectangle figure’s angular lines.
They usually come in a higher waistline too so this effectively helps define and accentuate the waist to make it appear narrower and therefore add more shape to the torso. Also, by adding volume and shape to the lower half of the body, a well-tailored pair of cotton A-Line shorts can help balance the proportions of your straight-looking rectangle body shape.
The beauty of A-Line shorts is the fact that they are universally flattering, so regardless of your weight or height, they can still work well with your proportions. Choosing a cotton fabric for your A-Line shorts will make it more versatile and therefore easier to work with your fashion ensembles.
Streamlined Pleated Shorts
Pleats can add texture and visual interest to an outfit as they also come in different types of aesthetic styles such as box, knife, or accordion pleats. These types of pleating details can draw attention to the lower body and create a focal point to bring more depth to your frame.
Since your body shape has similar measurements for the bust, waist, and hips, you’re going to need to add volume to your lower half to balance out the proportions and create a more dimensional silhouette – something that pleated shorts can instantly do! Also, since the pleats are strategically placed along the waistline, they will also snugly cinch your waist to define your feminine curves even more.
Wearing a well-fitted pair of pleated shorts can also give a roomier space for your hips and buttocks, resulting in superior comfort and additional visual depth.
Structured Shorts
Structured shorts are tailored with a more defined and rigid silhouette as they also often use certain types of fabrics that are able to hold shape. This particular style of shorts features clean lines, and tailored seams, and may include elements like pleats, darts, or panels to give them a more polished and put-together look that can surely benefit your rectangle body shape.
Structured shorts have a well-defined shape, which can be very beneficial as you would want to add depth to your angular silhouette. It can give you the illusion of curves and a more defined waistline while the clean lines and tailored fit of structured shorts can add visual dimension to your lower half of the body.
They can also be very versatile as structured shorts have a streamlined appearance that can look good both on casual and formal occasions.
Sailor Shorts
Sailor shorts typically have a high-waisted cut and distinct button details along the waist, which can help create the illusion of a more defined waistline. This is particularly helpful for you because of the fact that you have minimal waist definition.
Its prominent button or anchor detailing at the waist can effectively draw the gaze along the curves of your pockets and help create the appearance of curves.
Shorts with Pocket Details
Your athletic rectangle body shape has harsh straight lines that contribute to the monotony of your figure and the obvious lack of feminine curves. This is why you can always benefit from adding interesting designs or details to your outfit to visually create the illusion of depth and dimension.
The presence of pocket details such as flap pockets, patchwork, buttons, or embroidery, can add an extra layer of dimension to your shorts and therefore make you look more shapely. This can give the lower half of the body a more textured and three-dimensional appearance, specifically your hips and thighs.
Additionally, pocket details can help break up the straight lines you have in your frame. This will add femininity to your figure and help balance out your proportions.
Avoid Black Bermuda Shorts
Black is a visually slimming color and Bermuda shorts typically have a slightly knee-length boxy silhouette – both of which are immensely unflattering for rectangle body shapes. Black Bermuda shorts will only further emphasize this lack of curvature in your body and the dark color can create a uniform appearance that doesn’t help in creating the illusion of a more defined waist.
Black Bermuda shorts may also contribute to a boxy and straight-lined silhouette that can emphasize the angularity of your figure. This can potentially make you look flatter and undefined overall.
Avoid Tight-Fitting Shorts
Tight-fitting shorts can accentuate the straighter lines of your rectangle body shape. Since your goal should be to create the illusion of curves, tight-fitting shorts won’t be very beneficial in the sense that they won’t be able to give you your much-needed shape.
Moreover, since you tend to have minimal waist definition, tight-fitting shorts can further downplay this area and make it appear even less defined. They may also draw unwanted attention, resulting in an imbalance in your frame.
Avoid Low-rise Shorts
One of your key struggles in your figure would be your minimal waist definition, meaning the measurements of the bust, waist, and hips are relatively similar. With this said, wearing low-rise shorts, where the waistband sits below the natural waistline, can emphasize the straighter shape of your rectangle body, and further reduce the appearance of curves in your frame.
In addition to this, low-rise shorts can sometimes create a “muffin top” effect, wherein the waistband digs into your skin and causes a tummy spill. You don’t even have to carry much weight for this to happen, which is totally why you should avoid them.
Rectangle body shapes have athletic features, but this doesn’t always mean that you’ve got long legs. So, low-rise shorts can visually shorten the appearance of the legs, especially if they have a longer inseam and this can affect the balance of your figure.
