Women's Body Shapes

Wikipedia defines the female body shape or figure is the cumulative product of a woman's skeletal structure and the quantity and distribution of muscle and fat on the body. As with most physical traits, there is a wide range of normality of female body shapes.

According to evolutionary approaches, males are naturally attracted to women, who they perceive, can maximize the number of their offspring. The focus is on women’s youth, health, and fertility as can be seen by physical characteristics. Science has shown that body type is a reliable indicator of health and fertility and men are more attracted to women with a lower waist-to-hip (WHR) ratio and an average body mass index (BMI), neither thin nor plump, because these are associated with youth and sexual maturity.

Contrast this with the idea of self-image, which has 3 main components to it:

·         What I think of me?

·         What others think of me?

·         What I think others think of me?

While we have the body shape that we have due to the genes and DNA that has been passed down through generations, we must make the best use of it. Research has shown it takes 7 seconds or less for someone to have a first impression on me. This means that most people see what I wear and how I carry myself as a binding image before I have any further interaction with someone I meet for the first time. Given this situation, doesn’t it make sense to dress myself up perfectly for an occasion so that question 3 above becomes irrelevant (for the first meeting) and the answers to questions 1 and 2 coincide? 


Coco Chanel said "Elegance is not a prerogative of those who have just escaped adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future."

So that is why I am here discussing body shapes and what can be done to enhance the first impression to have an enduring image.

We will discuss each body shape and what can be done to enhance the image that I leave behind for others starting next week.

Are you ready to take your future in your own hands? Read on... 

Image Consulting

So, I am an Indian guy writing about Image Management for women. How deliciously ironic!

I have always been a guy who had absolutely no sense of dressing up for an occasion. I mean I am most comfy in a pair of shorts or Jeans. I used to pair it up with a formal shirt and head to work as well! I had an epiphany when I read an article in a business newspaper which said “Dress for the job you are aiming for and not the one you are currently doing. No one will promote you unless they can imagine you in the higher position.”

I’ve done a couple of courses on NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and I aspire to become a life-coach. The question that I am constantly asked is what is Life Coaching and who do I help? My short answer usually is anyone who is transitioning from one phase of life to another. The deeper I thought about it, the more instances of this “transition” came up. Through the thought process, one of the things I came up with is transitioning from one management level to the next. It is during this phase that I began to see adverts of an Image Management training institute come on a weekly Job section of a popular newspaper. I decided to approach them as I saw synergies of Life Coaching with those of Image Management especially with regards to Executive Coaching. I took the plunge, signed up for the course.

I had always loved shopping and helping women dress up or at least critiquing women who are close to me: wife, friends, sis. This moved to the next level when my wife began to take up the suggestions that I began to gently make (needless to say, it wasn’t easy on the pocket, though!). The transformation was beautiful to watch and it lead to her getting a significant amount of compliments at work. Meanwhile, I started using the elements of Image Management on myself and I saw significant changes in how people engage with me. This further validated the thought I had on Image Consulting.

Women in India are making serious strides in the workplace. However, the choice of clothes they wear hasn’t changed because of multiple reasons, such as lack of proper fit, didn’t know what to wear and why wear something. I see myself contributing in that area, I mean, who doesn’t like to be surrounded by beautiful and well-dressed women?

This blog will be dedicated to various facets of ones Image. What to wear, when and why? What needs to be done to look impeccable and fabulous, how to get hair done based on face shape, hopefully, some fitness tips.

As Coco Chanel once said “Dress shabbily and they remember the clothes; dress impeccably and they remember the woman”.

Happy Dressing!