Pear Body Shape: A True Confession

A Pear body shape has more ample booty than boobs. Sometimes we cover this up, and sometimes we don’t, that’s just life as a Pear.

By Deborah Hetrick Catanese

This post contains affiliate links. 

Okay friends, it’s time to jump into all the ins and outs of the pear body shape from a personal level. Even though you might heck everything off as a pear from our full guide to decoding your body shape, there’s still a lot that can be learned by hearing about the highs and lows of shopping for someone with a similar shape. Knowledge is power, right? You will love all of these pear body shape tips and you will feel armed with so much information that will help make your next shopping trip a huge success.

Pear Body Shape: A Confession

As Allison pointed out recently in her “Confessions of an Apple Shaped Body”, every-body has a different story to tell, and as the Pear Shaped Body of our Project Motherhood group, I am certainly no exception. And just so no one confuses me with the strawberry, which is the inverted top-heavy opposite of the pear, us Pears walk around life with the stem up, meaning we have ample booty on the bottom and a top that is smaller in comparison.  Sometimes we cover this up, and sometimes we don’t…it’s our choice and that’s just the way life is, as a Pear!

Long ago, I didn’t really notice that I had a pear body shape…I was more like a cute twig, lol, skinny with a little bit of curviness all over.  But now, years later, after two children and numerous weight gains and losses as I’ve repeatedly gained 12, lost 10, gained 5, lost 4, I’ve somewhat stabilized into a size 10 Pear, with any visiting fat deposits seeking to settle in my thighs and my behind, and yes, triple darn it, in my midsection.

My pear body shape confession

Size 10 Pear means I continually must be on the lookout for very particular types of clothing that flatter yet directly address the… ahem…issues.  Truth is, my butt can either look fantastically curvy OR it can look like the side of a barn.  Pears like me practically TAKE OVER the three-way mirrors in stores as we obsessively check out our rearview as the rest of the world sees it.  My husband says that people always watch me walk away. Ummm… WHAT?!! Not Mae West, “Happy to see me?” but “Happy to see me leave?!” Ouch. And a second ouch for me is that, being a Pear, my bust-line can totally disappear if I am not extremely careful about what I wear!

Tips for Mastering the Pear Body Shape

• Avoid too much fabric. One thing I’ve learned about my Pear Shape is very counter-intuitive…which means that trying to HIDE my booty usually makes my Pear shape turn into a bubble.  And that is WAY worse than showing my shape.  Thus, the trend of fitted waists and gathered skirts looks absolutely horrible on me and gives me the appearance of a giant bubble butt! No thanks!  In fact, too much bulk and fabric is never a good thing for a Pear.
• Wear separates or dresses that flatter. Another awkward aspect to being a Pear is the two different sizes I wear… a 6-8 (M) on top, but a 10-12 (L) on the bottom. Pears must either wear separates to allow for this, or dresses must be quite carefully selected size wise, avoiding dresses that require too large shoulders to accommodate the… um…booty.
• No belts! Next time you look at a pear standing up nicely on your counter waiting to become fruit salad, note that a pear body shape does not really have a waistline.  Um, yeah, so forget belts, the figure saver for so many of the other body shapes.  A belt around my midsection just makes my Pear’s waistline look thick and prevents my top half from flowing into my bottom half.
• DO wear sleek bodices. Another counter-intuitive aspect to being a Pear shaped body is that, though I am definitely not top heavy, I find that sleek tops that hug my breasts or lower cut necklines with a bit of reveal can bring a nice focus on the top half of my body and enhance my look in a figure flattering way.
• Pear, not Square! A PEAR body shape can easily become a SQUARE, yuck, if you choose the wrong clothes. So listen up ladies, no matter what team you are cheering for, you MUST buy your favorite team Tees in the ladies’ cut, because NOTHING looks worse on a Pear shaped body than a man’s cut tee. OR you can wear a jersey style with ¾ length sleeves that elongate your lovely slender arms, instead of chopping them in two!
• Rule of Halves. Over-sized styles only work on a pear if it is done on half of your body at a time. For example, I wear a long jersey style tunic with sleek leggings, OR I wear a sleek tight-fitting top with flowy skirts or softly fitting pants.  But I NEVER wear big on both top and bottom. And, I NEVER belt my waistline, while longer tanks or sleek tank style dresses are my best friends, especially when worn with a light weight cardigan on top.
• Accentuate the positive. Accenting my legs and thighs works wonders too, and is often the easiest way to distract from any other issues.  For this reason, I like skirts that hit mid to upper knee. Or shorter 🙂
• Ideal Pear Silhouette: a sleek chemise that hugs the booty or an empire waist with a fitted top that lightly graces the bottom half. And Pencil skirts with a lightly bloused top. Or skinny jeans with a top that just barely covers the waistband while showing the butt.

Looking for more pear body shape goodness? I’ve got everything you need here:

• • Jeans For Pear Shaped Women
  • Skirts For Pear Shaped Women
  • Blazers For The Pear Body Shape
  • Bathing Suit Shopping For The Pear Body Shape
  • Celebrities With The Pear Body Shape
  • The Best Pants For The Pear Body Shape
  • How to Choose The Right Lengths For Your Body Shape
  • How to Decode Which Body Shape You Are

Overall, I’ve made peace with my pear body shape. After trying many styles and much scrutinizing in the mirror, front and back and sideways, I’ve learned that my Pear shaped body looks best if I draw attention to either my booty, or my bust, while not cutting myself in half at the waistline. This allows an equalizing and slenderizing shape as a whole, allowing me to love my Pear like I love its sweet namesake.

So, do you have a pear body shape? What’s your confession?

Fashionably yours,

Deborah