An inverted triangle body shape is wider at the top than at the bottom. Style guides usually describe it by the shoulders. A tape measure reads it at the bust, and on the rule our body shape calculator uses, the bust has to be more than two inches bigger than the hips.
What is an inverted triangle body shape, in numbers?
Take your bust around the fullest part and your hips around the widest part, and subtract the hips from the bust. More than two inches, or about 5 cm, is an inverted triangle.
| Bust | Waist | Hips | Reads as | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 30 | 34 | Inverted triangle | Bust 4 inches wider than the hips |
| 36 | 29 | 33 | Inverted triangle | Bust 3 inches wider |
| 40 | 32 | 36 | Inverted triangle | Bust 4 inches wider |
| 36 | 30 | 35 | Rectangle | Bust only 1 inch wider, which counts as level |
| 38 | 34 | 35 | Apple | The waist is within 4 inches of both, so the middle decides |
The last row shows the order the rules run in. When the waist is nearly as wide as everything else, that is the fact that matters most for clothes, so the calculator checks for it before it compares bust and hips.
What if it is my shoulders that are broad?
Then the tape may not call you an inverted triangle, and your wardrobe will behave like one anyway. Shoulder width is hard to measure alone and does not appear on most size charts, which is why the calculator works from the bust. If shirts and kurtas fit your bust and pull across the shoulders, or you size up in tops for the shoulder seam alone, read the clothing advice below as written for you.
The reverse also happens. A full bust on a narrow frame measures as an inverted triangle without broad shoulders. The numbers are the same and the fit problem is different: there the bra does most of the work, which the last section covers.
Why do tops run out of room first?
Because the largest measurement is above the waist, and tops are cut to a chart that assumes a smaller gap between bust and hip. A kurta that fits the bust is loose from the waist down. A shirt that closes over the bust has shoulder seams sitting past the shoulder.
Buy tops for the bust and shoulders and have the body taken in if it bothers you. Buy bottoms in your actual hip size, which will often be a size smaller than your tops. Dresses are the awkward case, so look for ones with stretch through the bodice or a wrap front that adjusts.
What should you wear on an inverted triangle?
Cuts that are simple on top and have some volume below sit most evenly: V-necks and scoop necks, plain fitted tops, A-line and flared skirts, wide-leg trousers, palazzos, shararas. A lehenga suits the shape for the same reason, since all its volume is in the skirt. With a saree, more pleats at the front add width at the hip.
Boat necks, puff sleeves, shoulder pads and heavy embroidery across the yoke all add width where you already have it. That is a look some people want. If you want the opposite, keep the detail below the waist.
Halter necks show the shoulders on purpose, so wear one if you like that. They need a bra solution of their own, covered in what to wear under a halter neck.
What should you wear underneath?
Start with the bra, because most of the fit question sits above your waist. A bra that puts the bust where you want it does more for the line of a top than anything shaping below it. Check the size before anything else: the bra size calculator needs your underbust and bust, and a full bust on a narrow ribcage often comes out at a smaller band and a larger cup than the one in the drawer.
Wide and open necklines are where this shape gets caught, since they show straps. An adhesive cup has none. The butterfly stick-on bra is sized by cup letter, A-B, C or D-D++, and the fabric uplift cups are the lighter, sweat-proof option for a warm evening. From a D cup up, a band does work an adhesive cup cannot, and a strapless bra for a heavy bust goes through the choices. The neckline finder matches a neckline and a cup size to one answer.
Shapewear is optional here. If you want the hip to read fuller, a bodysuit with a lifted seat adds shape at the bottom, which is the reverse of what shapewear usually does. The all-in-one sculpt bodysuit is cut that way, and its straps detach for the open necklines above. Size it by your waist and hip with the size finder, not by your top size.
The short version
An inverted triangle is a bust more than two inches bigger than the hips, and broad shoulders produce the same fit problems even when the tape disagrees. Tops decide your size, bottoms are often a size smaller, and volume below the waist evens things out if you want that. Underneath, get the bra right first: an adhesive cup for open necklines, a band from a D cup up. Your own numbers go into the body shape calculator.
