Seven body shapes, and what to wear with each

The rules

Seven labels rather than the nine of the published system, because a label with no rules behind it is a worse answer than a coarser label that has some. Every one of them is a lossy summary of six continuous numbers, and the advice is graded by how firmly a body sits inside its label precisely because the label is the least reliable thing in the reading.

• Rectangle: a clean shoulder, a skimmed waist, and a clean leg line.
• Triangle: structure on top, space at the waist, and a clean leg line.
• Inverted triangle: softness on top, a marked waist, and a clean leg line.
• Trapezoid: a clean shoulder, a marked waist, and a clean leg line.
• Oval: structure on top, space at the waist, and a clean leg line.
• Hourglass: a clean shoulder, a marked waist, and a clean leg line.
• Spoon: a clean shoulder, a marked waist, and a clean leg line.