The Spoon body shape
A hip-dominant figure like the pear, but the hip steps out sharply at the upper thigh instead of curving gradually.
Also called shelf hip, violin figure.
What a spoon body shape is
A spoon shares the pear's headline measurement — the hip comes in more than 5% above the bust and shoulder — but the shape of the curve is different. On a pear the line sweeps out from waist to hip. On a spoon it steps: the waist is defined, then the upper hip juts out into a distinct shelf just below it, and the thigh runs straighter down from there.
The shelf is the whole distinction, and a tape measure at a single hip point will miss it. Measure the hip at the fullest point and again three or four inches higher, at the top of the hip bone. If those two readings are close, you have a shelf; if the higher one drops away, you have a gradual pear curve.
It usually pairs with a small to medium bust, a well-defined waist, and a fuller upper thigh. The styling problem is specific: anything stiff that lands exactly on the shelf will sit on it rather than fall past it.
The measurements
A worked example. The rule is a ratio, so it holds at any size.
hip 42 > max(bust, shoulder) 35 × 1.05 → hip-dominant · then check the upper-hip shelf
Without a tape measure
- Your hips step out abruptly just below the waist rather than curving out
- Jeans gape at the back of the waist while gripping the upper hip
- Your upper hip and full hip measurements are within about two inches
- Your waist is clearly defined above the shelf
- Skirts with a stiff waistband sit out from the body rather than hanging
Spoon sub-types
These are descriptions of the same measurement pattern at different scales and heights, not separate shapes. The rule above classifies all of them as spoon.
Petite spoon
Under about 5'4", where the shelf sits high on a short leg line. Keep the bottom half a single color and put any hem at the narrowest part of the calf, so the eye does not stop twice on the way down.
Curvy spoon
A fuller version with a fuller bust as well, which balances the line from the top. A-line dresses that release from the waist clear the shelf entirely and are the single most reliable garment for it.
Athletic spoon
Muscular thigh and seat below a narrow waist. Stretch through the hip stops the fit fighting the step, and a straight leg keeps the line running past the shelf rather than stopping at it.
What to wear
Works with the line
- A-line skirts and dresses that release at the waist and clear the shelf
- Soft fabrics with drape over the hip rather than stiff cotton
- Straight and bootcut pants, which continue the line past the shelf
- Interest at the neckline and shoulder to lift the balance point
- Tops that end above the waist or well below the fullest hip
- Stretch waistbands and contour panels that follow the step
Fights it
- Stiff waistbands landing exactly on the shelf
- Pencil skirts that grip the upper hip and release below it
- Hip pockets, patch detail and pleats set at the shelf line
- Tops finishing at the widest point
- Very thin clingy jersey over the hip
Questions
- What is the difference between a spoon and a pear body shape?
- Both measure wider at the hip than the bust. A pear curves out gradually from the waist; a spoon steps out sharply at the upper hip, creating a shelf, and then runs straighter down the thigh.
- How do you know if you have a spoon shape?
- Measure your hips at the fullest point, then again three or four inches higher at the top of the hip bone. If the two readings are close, the hip shelf that defines a spoon is there.
- What should a spoon body shape avoid wearing?
- Anything stiff that lands directly on the shelf — a rigid waistband, a pencil skirt cut close at the upper hip, or pockets set at that line. A softer fabric that falls past it solves most of it.
- Is a spoon shape the same as a violin figure?
- They describe the same feature. Violin is the older term for a waist that steps out into a pronounced upper hip.
Often confused with
Spoon body shape and Kibbe body type
Body shape is one of two systems worth knowing, and they answer different questions. This one compares four measurements and tells you where your width sits. The Kibbe body type quiz reads bone structure, flesh and vertical line together and tells you what kind of line suits you. A spoon figure can land in several of the thirteen Kibbe types, so the two readings complement each other rather than compete.
The calculator classifies a spoon figure as a pear. Both are hip-dominant, and four circumference measurements cannot see the upper-hip shelf that separates them — that takes the second hip measurement described above. The body type quiz asks about the shelf outright, and the photo analyzer can see the step in your silhouette, so those are the two tools here that can land on this page.
Not sure this is you?
Seven questions and no tape measure — and unlike the calculator, it asks about the upper-hip shelf, so it can land here. Prefer showing to telling? The photo analyzer sees the shelf too.
Take the body type quiz