When a friend of my mother was asked to be a godmother, she was discussing presents with a group of her friends. I think her wish probably sums it up!
If, she said, she could give her goddaughter anything, she would wish for her to be a perfect size 10 figure all her life (that’s size 8 in the USA), never needing to diet or worry about what food she ate or what she did. A size 12 would also be good.
In the 50s, a hour-glass figure was the ideal – and most people seemed to have more or less that shape in that they had a waist – 36–24–36 was considered perfect but not many achieved that, having instead about 10″ difference between bust, waist and hips, even hips that were 2″ bigger than the bust (ie 36–26–38).
Now, the aim seems to be androgynous – more or less straight with little indentation for the waist – and a small waist is a cause for concern. What, I wonder, are we eating now that, in such a short time, has completely changed the female shape?