I've just got big stomach bones ... no really, I have

At some point in the not too distant past, I believe I was the owner of a waist. The recollection is a little hazy (being on account of both my memory - and anything in the abdominal region - having being trashed by child-bearing). Still, older parts of my wardrobe seem to tell a story of a torso that once went a little bit in and then a little bit out again. All in the right spots.

Now as I look in the mirror, there's little evidence as to its prior existence. Ever. My pre-baby figure was never particularly perfect, but the hourglass bit seems to be indelibly stamped in my sense of self. Brown hair, brown eyes, 5-foot-5 and a waist.

Being waistless feels a little bit sad and a whole lot exasperating.

Some clothes no longer fit. Others do, but drape oddly or don't look particularly flattering. I seem to take a pile of wrong things into the fitting room when trying on clothes. And there's been more than one sewn muslin abandoned - just because something fits, doesn't mean you should wear it. I am beginning to see I am attracted to sewing patterns that are likely to produce more misses than hits.

I wonder if once lost, a waist be recaptured? Realistically the odds of it happening again in my lifetime seem somewhat slender. Sure, I could lose a little weight (ok, ok, maybe quite a bit ... or a lot even ... I realise that the I've just got big stomach bones excuse would never wash at Weight Watchers), but I suspect that even as I begin the process of trimming-down, my basic shape is unlikely to change.

So I have been casting around to work out what the new body shape is and how I should dress it. Google helpfully profers shapes and fruits. Am I a rectangle? A triangle? A pear perhaps? Or maybe an apple? Er no, no, no and no.

Just when I was beginning to think I should call myself a paw paw and be done with it, I chanced upon a website called Shop Your Shape. This site has a good body shape calculator. You input your bust, waist and hip measurements in inches and answer a couple of additional questions and the calculator ascertains your shape. (I do have to point out that none of the questions relate to kilos or pounds - afterall the site's by-line is Its Your Shape Not Your Weight That Matters!)

Once the calculator has deduced your shape, you are directed to line diagrams of trousers, skirts, dresses and jackets that are most flattering for that shape. I had a genuine light bulb moment when I saw the recommended styles and colour blockings. Only a few were things I would have intuitively chosen; some I would have actively rejected. But once I saw the logic behind the shapes and lines, I had to agree that I'd be inclined to give them a go.

So now I can shop and select patterns with the confidence of knowing that my body shape is a "Spoon". (Of course the irony of the probable role of the spoon in the disappearance of my waistline, is not entirely lost on me.)

Shop Your Shape
http://www.shopyourshape.com/
Body shape calculator and dressing hints online.
Free. Registration on the site is available, but is not required.
Links to a selection of clothing stores are provided.