Body type and linearity

Many are familiar with the theory of body types—some reject it, others embrace it, but everyone has at least once asked themselves, "Am I a Pear or an Apple?" In my analyses, I use the most common classification: Hourglass (X or 8), Pear, Triangle, Apple, and Rectangle. The system is simple and effective, but as they delve deeper into stylistics and become familiar with the much less explored topic of linearity, many style enthusiasts begin to wonder about its correlation with body types. They also ponder the question of possible dissonance between the face and body. In this article, I will attempt to highlight the key points about the intersection of these two fundamental themes.

So, the first thing I'd like to start with is distinguishing between linearity and body type. These factors don't overlap and, in style, address different areas of recommendation. In the examples below, I've tried to reflect the combination of more angular and more rounded linearity with different body types:

A body type is its silhouette. That's all. The body type determines accent areas (neckline/waist/legs, etc.) and complementary styles. Linearity, however, is responsible for the fullness and character of this silhouette:

• tissue structure (dense/thin, soft/hard)

• structure of clothing items (clear form/lack of it)

• lines of prints, hairstyles, makeup, and accessories (geometric/rounded, crisp/soft, large/small, multi-detail/monolithic, voluminous/flat)

The linearity of appearance is formed due to many factors: the thickness and shape of bones, muscle structure, the distribution and structure of the fat layer, skin turgor - all this brings us to the answer to another common question.

Linearity of the face vs. linearity of the body.

Based on the above discussion of how the linearity of appearance is formed by body composition, we can confidently say that the linearity of the face and figure are similar. You'll agree, it would be quite a labor-intensive process for Mother Nature to devise and combine linearity separately for each body part. If you take a moment to examine other people or yourself in detail, you'll see this—from the crown of the head to the tips of the fingers, the character of the lines will be uniform. We'll use several female models as examples to illustrate the differences in linearity with similar levels of slenderness:

Let's look from left to right:

• A round face means rounded shoulders, arms, waist, hips, and joints. Bones don't stick out in either the face or body.

• A flat face with elongated lines—similar to the body. Thin, long bones, thin joints, flat muscles.

• a voluminous, solid, massive face - the same joints, muscles, curves.

• fragility, discontinuity and coalescence in the face - fragility and coalescence throughout the body.

  
  

So, dear fellow travelers, linearity can essentially be "read from the palm of your hand." However, we use the face because it's what we're trying to harmonize first. And even if it so happens (unlikely, but still possible) that the linearity of your face and body differs dramatically, you should, of course, give preference to the face, as its framing will determine the freshness of your look.

Achieving a well-proportioned look isn't just about body type, but also about a couple of compositional nuances rarely mentioned in style treatises: length maps and vertical proportions. But we'll discuss them in a future article.

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Peace between the outer and inner to each and everyone!

Thank you for your trust, and until next time!