Knowing if You are a Petite Hourglass is easy. If you are 5ft 4in (163cm) or below in height and your hips and bust are equal in circumference with a well-defined waist less in circumference than both hips and bust, you are a petite hourglass.
The petite hourglass body shape is the most sought and admired body shape in the fashion industry. It’s so much admired that it’s basically considered synonymous with femininity. One of the reasons behind the popularity of this body type is its rarity. According to an article published in the Telegraph recent studies have shown that only 8% of women have an hourglass figure.
Petite hourglass characteristics
A petite hourglass body type has its distinct characteristic. It can be identified easily in both side and front profiles. The hips and shoulders have almost the same width. Almost here means a 5% of difference which is widely accepted in industry standards. Now this is only a front profile characteristic. When it comes to the side profile, you have a full chest and hips.
You do have curvier thighs but they are always proportional to your hips. Another great feature of this body type is a lean and well-defined waistline. The best part is your weight gain and losses are distributed evenly among your whole body frame. While building your wardrobe you always need to remember to draw attention to these characteristics.
Understanding Hourglass Body Types
When it comes to hourglass body type, due to its rarity (8% only) not everyone gets it. At the same time, many almost get close. The difference between hips and shoulders is sometimes more than 5%. That leads us to, two other similar body types.
Bottom Hourglass
If your hips are larger (More than 5%) than your shoulders and carry extra weight, you fall under the petite bottom hourglass body type. With a little bit of exercise and diet planning along with the choice of dresses, you can easily create the illusion of a perfect hourglass body type.
Top Hourglass
If your shoulders are wider (more than 5%) than your hips, you can easily consider yourself a petite top hourglass or petite inverted triangle body type. It takes more effort than the bottom hourglass to go closer to the perfect X shape. The main reason behind it is the shoulder line doesn’t hold much fat or masses.
The diet and exercises depend on your metabolism type. To know more about body type based on metabolism, click here. Hourglass body type offers you a wide range of flexibility while stocking up your wardrobe.
Hourglass Celebrities below 5 ft 4 in
Whenever you are in doubt, you often draw fashion inspiration from celebrities. Here we have curated 18 petite celebrities with hourglass body types. Along with Drawing inspiration, you can also stay in touch with the latest trends by following them on social media.
Ariel Winter
Ariel Winter is another 25-year-old American actress who gained fame from the ABC comedy series Modern Family. She is present on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth “Bette” Davis (5th April 1908 – 6th October 1989) was an American actress who was an ideal petite hourglass.
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish is an American actress and singer who gained public attention for her song “Ocean Eyes”. She is a petite hourglass and is present on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.
Cardi B
Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar Ceplus is a well-known American rapper with a petite hourglass body. She is present on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
Dita Von Tesse
Dita Von Tesse, Originally Heather Renee Sweet is an american burlesque dancer, vedette and model. She is born in 1972 and is present on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (1932-2011) was a petite hourglass British-American actress. She was one of the most popular Hollywood actresses in the 1950s.
Emilia Clarke
Emilia Isabel Euphemia Rose Clarke is a British actress with a petite hourglass body. She is well known for her Daenerys Targaryen character in GOT. You can find her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
Emma Roberts
Emma Rose Roberts is a petite hourglass American actress. She is well known for her work in the horror and thriller genre. You can find her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (1911-1937) was an American actress with a petite hourglass body. Known for her “bad girl” characters she became a leading sex symbol in the early 1930s.
Jenna Dewan
Jenna Lee Dewan is a petite hourglass American dancer and actress. Her Nora Clark character from the film step up is how most people know her. She is on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.
Kat Dennings
Katherine Victoria Litwack is an American actress with a petite hourglass body. You can find her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and youtube.
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian is a petite hourglass model, socialite, and businesswoman. You can find her on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.
Kourtney Kardashian
Kourtney Marry Kardashian is an American socialite with a petite hourglass figure. You can connect with her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.
Madelaine Petch
Madelaine Grobbelear Petch is a petite hourglass American actress and YouTuber. You can connect with her on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty is a petite hourglass Trinidadian-born rapper, singer, and songwriter. She is subsequently present on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek Pinault is a Mexican-American actress with a petite hourglass body. Born in 1966, she is subsequently present on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson is a petite hourglass American actress. She was on Forbes Celebrity 100 list multiple times. You can follow her on the news since she has no social media presence.
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh (1913-1967) was a petite hourglass British actress, who was also known as Lady Olivier.
How to dress a Petite Hourglass Body?
Until now you understood the petite hourglass body, its types, and characteristics. You also have a list of petite hourglass celebrities to follow for the latest fashion trends. Now you must understand the goals of dressing your hourglass body. There are two major factors, occasion and temperature (Weather) which impact your dressing choices.
The hourglass shape is the most naturally balanced body shape. While dressing, your Goal should be to balance between the top hourglass and bottom hourglass. If it’s already balanced, you must never unbalance the natural body frame. You do that in three easy and simple steps.
Highlight your waist
Defining or highlighting your waist is the most important part of the dressing process. In its absence, an hourglass body will turn into an apple shape. Through the waist, you control your curves. Especially for Petites, the waistline in your dress plays an important part in elevating your look. It is very effective when combined with vertical designs to create lengthening effects on your upper or lower body.
Elongate your Legs and Torso
Nature has not made every petite hourglass body structure the same. In some bodies, you have longer torso and petite legs. While in Other bodies you have longer legs and a petite torso. When you elongate your petite leg or torso you are elongating your whole body structure.
There are a couple of ways to do that. One of them is wearing the same color or design from top to bottom. You can also wear a darker color on the bottom to make your legs look taller. Bail-bottom pants also help you in making your legs taller. When it comes to the torso, you need to pay attention to the neckline. V-neck, Scoop, Sweetheart, and Square necklines are a few good options to start with.
The balance between top and bottom heavy
The most important tip while dressing your petite hourglass body is to maintain your natural body frame. If you are top-heavy (Bigger circumference than the bottom), you can wear a gathered skirt. It will make your hips look bigger. That way you can maintain your natural shape. If you are bottom heavy the key is to draw attention to your face and chest. Higher waistlines and lower necklines are the best ways to balance your heavy bottoms.
Things to avoid if you are a petite hourglass
It’s said that hourglass bodies can wear anything and still look good. That’s not true when it comes to petite hourglass. When you are petite, fashion rules are slightly different for you. You have to flaunt your curves as well as maintain the elongation of your body structure. Keeping this in mind you should avoid these 9 mistakes while dressing up.
1. Shapeless Dresses
Anything baggy, boxy, or shapeless dresses should be a red flag for a petite hourglass. With them, you can neither flaunt your curves nor elongate your look. That includes loose tops and baggy trousers.
2. Large patterns
The root idea while dressing is to draw attention to positive parts of your body structure. When you are petite elongation of your body structure becomes an addition to the root idea. Larger patterns create problems in both.
3. Turtleneck
Basically, necklines play an important role in managing your body shape. The problem with turtleneck tops and dresses is it makes your neckline non-existent. That downplays your bust which is in perfect harmony with your upper body part.
4. Dropwaist dresses
In drop-waist dresses, the waistline starts from your hip instead of the waist. That creates a visual impression of a longer torso. Unless you are trying to elongate your torso, Dropwaist dresses are red flags as they unbalance your natural shape.
5. Short Skirt
Short skirts add weight to your bust. Wearing too short skirts makes you look bottom-heavy. At the same time, it exposes your short legs. Unless you are top-heavy and have longer legs Short skirts are a no-go for you.
6. Horizontal Stripes
Certainly, horizontal stripes make your body look wider or bulky. Many fashion experts don’t agree with it. We with our experience agree with avoiding horizontal stripes.
7. Thick or Wide belts
Belts are often used in nonetheless defining your waist. Thick or wide belts tend to wider your shape. You may end up losing your curve from bust to waist.
8. Bulky Shoes
Bulky or chunky shoes attract attention and create disharmony in your balanced body shape. It surely makes your whole body look bulky and shorter.
9. Empire Waist
Empire Waist dresses are best when you want to redirect attention from the waist or hips to the bust. These dresses also tend to make your torso look short. For hourglass shapes, especially when you are petite such dresses must be avoided.
