Curvy = Curves!

One of the biggest misconceptions I run into when I try to explain what I'm doing with Hourglass Heaven is that people don't seem to understand what the word curvy means.

Curvy means having curves. Curvy is being curved. Synonyms for curvy are buxom, curvaceous and shapely.

I find many people I talk to assume when I say curvy, I mean plus-size. I try to explain, yes and no. Yes, we plan to fit larger sizes and we plan to fit smaller sizes. Women of ALL sizes can have curves, both big and small!

Shapely means having a well-proportioned and pleasing shape; "a slim waist and shapely legs".

Hourglass is a body-type. Some plus-size women have this shape and some much smaller women have this shape too! We are all sizes.

I also found many fashion agencies at the Metro Show this week seem to assume that curvy means "mature". I even had one young woman gleefully explain to me that women "get" an hourglass figure when they get older. She went one to explain that it's something that naturally happens when you're in your 30's or 40's. LOL

Really?!? You think women just magically become an hourglass when they get older? Uhm, ok, I think a lot of women would be quite happy if that was actually true.

So, no, women do not magically become an hourglass. Hourglass does not mean you've gained weight around the middle. Quite the opposite! Refer back to that shapely definition. We're talking about women with a SMALL waist and BIG bust and hips.

If you want to "get" an hourglass figure and you don't have one naturally, you're going to need a corset, some shape-wear or plastic surgery.

I started having difficulty fitting into most mainstream clothing and DD bras when I was in high school! I've had an hourglass figure pretty much since I hit puberty. Being an hourglass has nothing to do with age. We are all ages.

So are we clear now? Here is a curve:

Being curvy is having some of those.

I'm not using the words curvy, buxom, curvaceous, shapely and voluptuous as euphemisms. I mean what these words actually mean. I mean women with curves!

Vintage pic of Mme. Bianca Lyons, c1902 (in the public domain now, Library of Congress)