your ideal measurements should be: Bust, 34 inches to 35 inches: waist, 24 inches to 25 inches; hips, 34 inches to 35 inches. If you're a tall woman of over 5 feet 6 inches, you must stack up to these measurements for perfection: Bust, 35 inches to 37 inches; waist, 25 inches to 27 inches; hips, 35 inches to 37 inches.
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Here is a collection of articles and photos from the 1950s, discussing the idealized body types and measurements for women. It is not modern-day advice in any sense, so the measurements and other topics mentioned below should not be necessarily considered healthy or correct for the 21st century. We have come to learn so much more about diet, fitness and health over the past decades, but the information here is a fascinating snapshot of what people were thinking back in the fifties.
Vintage body types from 1950: “Rule of 10” will help gauge the ideal figure
From the Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) January 31, 1950
Do you know the ideal measurement for your figure? John Robert Powers tells you how to calculate them!
Compared with the American standards of the perfect form today, Venus would be out of the running — way out! Modern athletics and nutrition have streamlined the American woman.
Today, she is taller and casts a more willowy shadow than the woman of other times.
The ideal figure from the past: 1915, 1926, 1931 & 1947
1915 figure was really no figure at all. Straight up-and-down boned corset made women look bulgy. Clothes completed potato-sack effect.
1926 figure symbolized the “tubular twenties” with its straight, uncorseted figure. Boyish lines were unflattering to many women.
1931 saw a changing figure. Rigidly girdled, bias-skirted fashions were more feminine, but not exciting by today’s standards.
1947 featured the padded-hip, full-skirted fashions and the famous “New Look,” which is as dead today as last week’s corsage.
Do you have the ideal figure for the 1950s?
How ideal is your figure? It is something you should know. There is a right set of proportions for every height and frame.
the ’50s method explained
The rule of 10, frequently referred to in this column, is the basis of the ideal. Your bust and hips should measure the same, and your waist 10 inches less than either.
But even though your measurements are correct by this rule, your figure may be out of proportion to your height and frame.
Imagine a woman of 5 feet 2 inches measuring 38 inches around the bust and hips, and 28 inches around the waist! That’s hardly ideal for her!
MORE: 36 summery vintage ’50s swimsuits for women, when strapless one-piece suits with ruffles were hot
Ideal frame & bone structure: There’s a difference
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Don’t confuse frame with bone structure. Your frame refers to the breadth or girth of your skeleton. If your shoulders and hips are broad, you have a large frame; if they are narrow, your frame is small.
To simplify your calculations, my Physical Education Department made a table for you to follow [measurements below].
The figures are based on the woman with an average frame. If you have a small frame, deduct one inch to determine your correct proportions. If your frame is large, add one inch.
How to calculate the ideal figure proportions
If you’re a short woman of 5 feet to 5 feet three inches, the following are your standard proportions: Bust, 32 inches to 33 inches; waist, 22 inches to 23 inches; hips, 32 inches to 33 inches.
If you’re a medium-tall woman of 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 6 inches. your ideal measurements should be: Bust, 34 inches to 35 inches: waist, 24 inches to 25 inches; hips, 34 inches to 35 inches.
If you’re a tall woman of over 5 feet 6 inches, you must stack up to these measurements for perfection: Bust, 35 inches to 37 inches; waist, 25 inches to 27 inches; hips, 35 inches to 37 inches.
Notice not one word has been said about weight. Your weight will be correct if your measurements are! [Editor’s note: See weight calculations from a separate article below.]
MORE: The perfect body, ’30s-style: Measurements women wanted in the thirties
Your ideal weight calculator, from John Robert Powers
Published in The El Paso Times (Texas) October 20, 1949
Your ideal weight is determined by your height and size of your bone structure. Follow today’s guide!
Many women have written me to ask how they can determine their ideal weight. Without this knowledge you cannot gauge the amount of dieting and exercising you must do to achieve and maintain a perfectly proportioned figure.
As an answer, I have worked out three charts that will help you calculate your normal weight within a few pounds.
First, measure your height, to the last fraction of an inch. Now, since your height must be related to your bone structure to determine your proper weight, measure your wrist around the most prominent part of the bones at that joint.
Hold the tape firm, neither tight nor slack, and remember accuracy is the watchword!
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With these figures, you can compute your ideal weight from one of the three groups below. Select the group that fits your measurements and then go to it.
GROUP I
— Height: 5′ to 5’3″ … average wrist measure 5-1/2″.
— Step one: Allow 100 pounds for the first 5 feet.
— Caution: If your wrist is larger than 5-5/8″, add 5 pounds to the total. If your wrist measures smaller than 5-1/2″, subtract 5 pounds from the total.
GROUP II
Height: 5’3″ to 5’6″ … average wrist measure 5-3/4″.
— Step one: Allow 100 pounds for the first 5 feet.
— Step two: Allow 5 pounds for each inch over 5′ for your total.
— Caution: If your wrist measures larger than 5-7/8″, add 5 pounds. If your wrist measures less than 5-3/4″, subtract 5 pounds.
GROUP III
— Height: 5’6″ … average wrist measure 6″.
— Step one: Allow 105 pounds for the first 5 feet.
— Step two: Allow 5 pounds for each inch over 5′.
— Caution: If your wrist measures larger than 6-1/4″, add 10 to 15 pounds. If your wrist measures less than 6″, subtract 10 pounds.
EXAMPLE
To show you exactly how these calculations work, let’s figure the ideal weight of an imaginary girl.
Mary Smith is 5’2-1/2″ tall and her wrist measures 5-3/4″. Because of her height, you’ll find the instructions for calculating her weight under Group I.
Following them step by step, you allow 100 pounds for Mary’s first 5 feet. To this, you add 12-1/2 pounds for her 2 inches that are over the 5′ (2-1/2 x 5). Now you add another 8 pounds to allow for her oversized wrist measurement. If your figuring is right, your total will be 117-1/2 pounds.
Now add up your own ideal weight, and then make everything you do add up to it!
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Barbell exercises for keeping your figure slim (1953)
The famous Betty Grable in 1954
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