The pear body shape, the triangle shape body, the spoon shape body … whatever you want to call it, it is one of the most common body shapes that women have (and some men too!). So why shouldn’t it be celebrated and valued as a thing of beauty? Twenty percent of adult women identify as having a pear body.

History loves the pear body shape

For most of the last thousand years, the esteemed pear has been the beauty ideal for women. It showed health, fertility, and the kind of wealth that allowed you to have leisure time. The Rubenesque body displayed in many paintings of the 15th to 18th centuries was unmistakably a pear shaped. It had with ample legs and midsections and relatively slender shoulders and arms. By the 19th century, fashion turned oppressive, and corsets squeezed women’s waists into punishingly small dimensions to sit atop petticoats blossoming in all directions. We grew out of that in the 20th century, when people’s attention returned to full-figured beauties like Mae West and Marilyn Monroe. It wasn’t until the 1960s that skinny became a thing, lasting right into the 2000s.

We have emerged now from a temporary flirtation with skinny. The world recognizes the beauty of a pear shape once again. The age of the ample, hard booty has arrived. Clothes that suit a pear shaped body are much easier to find. Retailers stock sizes, styles, and dresses for a pear shaped figure that show off your natural curves and full-bodied shape. Underneath it all, many women are sculpting their pear body shape to perfection with shapewear.

Pear shape to perfection

The shapewear industry has exploded with designs and materials that tone and contour virtually any part of your body. With a pear shaped figure, the most important areas to keep firm and tight are the thighs, buttocks and tummy. Thigh length capri-style panties or a knee-length shapewear bodysuit will provide compression in the right areas. They will also give you a comfortable hold. You can purchase both shapewear and clothes for pear shaped bodies together, but it is best to get your shapewear first. This way you will know exactly how you will fit.

You are in good company among the one in every five women with a pear shape. It is a look that captures timeless beauty through the ages and you can show it with pride.