Hourglass Figure

For centuries women have desired an hourglass figure and they have gone to any lengths to get it. Cut to the Victorian era, when women in their frenzy to have the perfect figure, started wearing corsets, which were so tight that in some cases they forced the woman's ribs out of alignment. Even this did not deter women from wearing them. Nothing has really changed much today either. Now we have women opting for surgical procedures such as liposuction to reduce fat from their stomach and around their waist, breast implants and buttock implantation to enhance the size of their bust and hips, for the same reason - to get an hourglass figure.

An hourglass body shape is so sought after by women because it is considered an epitome of beauty by everybody, be it poets, writers, sculptors, or the regular ordinary men. That's why we have women with a figure such as Sophia Loren, Marylin Monroe, Salma Hayek, Catherine Zeta Jones and Kate Winslet being admired and looked up to as beauty icons by both men and women alike. So for all those women who want to have an hourglass body shape, similar to these famous celebrities, below are some interesting and useful tips.

Tips for Getting an Hourglass Figure

An hourglass figure is the one in which the measurement of the hips and that of the bust is same. The waist should be at the most seventy five percent of either the size of the bust or the hip. The waist can be lesser than seventy five percent but it cannot be more than that, for the figure to constitute as an hourglass. A woman who has the perfect measurements is wide at the hips as well as the bust and has a thin waistline, irrespective off whether she is large or small in size.

To get an hourglass figure, it's not necessary that a woman has to go under the knife and get herself surgically operated. There are a number of less risky measures she can take to get the perfect hourglass body shape.

Clever Clothing
Don't you envy celebrities like Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Lopez, who have the perfect symmetrical hourglass figure? You will be surprised to know that these celebrities were not born with such a figure but with some clever use of padding and women's clothing, they are able to accentuate their hip to waist or bust to waist ratio. So lady you can do the same thing. To make your breasts appear fuller, you can wear padded bras or opt for falsies. If your breast size is very large, then you can go in for minimizer bras which make the breasts appear much smaller than they actually are. Women who have narrow hips, can wear artificial buttock padding or padded briefs to make them the ideal size. For the waist to appear small, you can wear various slimming dresses such as high-waist garments or corset styled tops. It's that simple! With a little padding here and there, and a little change in your choice of clothing, you can look as good as any of these divas!

Exercise and Diet
Any amount of exercise cannot do much for your bust size, so to get an hourglass figure you have to work on your waist and the hip, and make them symmetrical to your bust. The workout should include cardiovascular exercises to lose fat from your stomach, love handles, around the waist and hips. You can opt for any of the cardio exercise of your choice such as aerobics, cycling, running, hiking, dancing, swimming, etc. Cardiovascular exercises should be combined with body toning exercises such as sit-ups, leg raises, crunches, oblique crunches as well as strength training on alternate days. Some professionals recommend Bikram, Iyengar and Kundalini yoga as the best form of exercises to get this figure. So you can try these under a trained professional. Combine your exercise with a controlled low fat diet to get the perfect figure.

When you are trying various options, be it padding or exercising or clever clothing to get the perfect hour glass figure (please...not surgery), you might find many people telling you that physical beauty is not the only measure of a woman's attractiveness. It's her overall personality which really matters. But to think of it, it's not a sin to be both intelligent and sexy. Right? So go on and try your best to get the much desired hourglass figure.