The Bell shape is often simply the result of a bit of middle age spread. In younger years you Bells may have been fairly petit with a nicely rounded bottom but further into life this round peach has succumbed to a bit of middle aged spread. This throws your whole body out of proportion and makes you decide that everything is best covered up these days setting you on a direct route to frump city well before your time.
To combat this you need to need to try to balance out your top and bottom halves rather than simply just cover everything up. The easiest way to do this is to make your top half subtly more prominent so the focus is held there with detail and colour and dress more plainly on the bottom half so that your bum and thighs are minimized and don’t draw the eye.
You shouldn’t be afraid to try feminine styles on the top, Bells often have good arms and waists and if this is the case you can happily show them off.
Keep away from:
Wide V-neck clothes.
Skimpy vests.
Large foppish sleeves.
Anything elaborate or fussy on your lower half.
Take a look at:
Cowl neck jumpers.
Flowing trousers.
A-line dresses.
Funnel coats.
Eye catching necklaces.
The key is to draw attention to the feminine highlights like your small shoulders and neck so anything that helps with this is perfect including fussy necklines and elaborate necklaces. Keep the bottom half simple and don’t make any statements with it and you’ll be on your way.
The Pear and Skittle are closely related body shapes, so take a look at them if you feel the Bell is not quite the right shape for you.
I whish you had a place, where I can put my own cm´s instead of saying my hips are broad
incl my height and weigth
Hi Alice,
Yes that is a very good point! The reason we don’t include measurements on our body shape calculator is that to do it properly you need to include shoulders. Take a look at D’s situation on the vase body shape comments, basically pear shaped by the bust, waist and hip measurements but in reality not at all because she has broad shoulders.
The problem comes with measuring shoulders accurately (because nobody is used to doing it) and also it’s not just the actual size (circumference) it’s the look and feel of them that counts and this is always a little subjective. In the end body shape always needs a bit of interpretation so that’s why we try to use questions rather than simple measurements to try to gauge shape – it’s not always a 100% but often better than the “tale of the tape”.
Hmm, the body shape calculator just sent me here but am I really a Bell? Especially because cowl neck jumpers look horrid on me – I’ve got broad shoulders and a large rib cage. My breasts are quite small for my size though.
My measurements are 37-28-39. Could it be that the 2 inch difference between my hips and breasts make be a Bell? I always thought I was a Cello. Can anyone help?
Hi Linda,
No a Bell doesn’t sound quite right for you. I think from the small difference between hips and breasts you probably right that you’re a Cello, though it sounds like you’re a Cello with a smaller bust than is usual for this body shape.