Thread: so what makes a gal "thick" or "curvy"

Watching DWTS tonight (ochocinco...oohhhh baby!) and Niecy's performance made me wonder...what makes a gal thick? I know, I know. Its all relative but looking at her, she looks 'average'. When you use curvy to describe a costume for sale (or some similar situation) what do you mean exactly? When we're talking about BD it seems like our primary adjectives are:
petite
shorty
curvy
goddess

Just pondering. Looking for thoughts, musings, rants, perspective

ive always been described as thick. i'm tall but i have big thighs and butt and so it is noticeable and def. not something u see from yugoslavians (in fact, one guy had the balls to say i was the thickest bosnian he's ever seen...i was 14 then and gee how that brought up my self esteem! *sarcasm*)

I always thought of myself as curvy. I'm an hourglass shape but sometimes curvy can mean other things so I always check the sizing. Curvy seems to be over a USA size 12 on this board I think??? Usually with bras it seems to be a D size or above. I still think I'm curvy at an 8-10 because of my shape.

So to recap...i'm babbling
I check out the "curvy" costumes because I assume they will fit a 40" lower hip or so minimum and might possible be a D/DD cup.

While I have been described by others as curvy, because I'm hour glass shaped, I don't believe I qualify in how people typically use the word (I'm about a size 2 on a 4'10 frame).

Curvy is someone who's going to be larger. I think lylagus's measures are about right.

I've also been described as curvy even though I'm between a size 6-8. I've seen petitie people who are curvy just because of how their weight is distributed.

But I'll always describe myself as a goddess and that is my personal interpretation! Muahaha!

I would fall into any of the "thick", "curvy" or "goddess" descriptions. They all seem to describe similar traits - usually more than a size 12.

I think the definitions are really subjective and need to be taken in context. If you're looking at costumes, the measurements given are going to be more descriptive than the verbiage.

I'm not an hourglass, as my waist is too broad, but I've got a 45" chest (DD/DDD cup) and a 43" full hip. I also have linebacker shoulders and wear a street size 16 or Large (US/Canadian sizes). Looking at me straight on you'd see broadness (thick), in profile, you'd see "curvy" and overall I fall into the "goddess" category.

Originally Posted by nayastrance

Watching DWTS tonight (ochocinco...oohhhh baby!) and Niecy's performance made me wonder...what makes a gal thick? I know, I know. Its all relative but looking at her, she looks 'average'. When you use curvy to describe a costume for sale (or some similar situation) what do you mean exactly? When we're talking about BD it seems like our primary adjectives are:
petite
shorty
curvy
goddess
Just pondering. Looking for thoughts, musings, rants, perspective

Niecy is just gorgeous! I love her! According to some websites she recently lost some weight. She used to be a size 12 but is now a size 8 (don't know if this is accurate). She is 5'4". I haven't seen her new footage- but in her old stuff I always thought of her as "luscious and curvy" (but not plus size).
"Thick" to some people is a compliment, to some people not so much. To me, in "real life" curvy is about the hourglass figure, regardless of size. I believe on the boards however it's a nice way to say of a larger size, as is goddess.
As to what the definitions of the words... I think a person's perspective will make a difference. A person's perspective will depend upon their own size, the size of people in their family, where they live (The US has an obesity problem for example) and more. The "average" size American woman weighs around 169 and the "average" UK woman weighs around 147 (similar average height). What we see in our everyday life makes a difference in what looks "normal" to us.
There ARE some standards in the clothing. Petite clothing is for under 5'5". Plus size clothing stores usually start around size 14.

Maybe we need more definitions. I consider myself to be athletic. Anybody else want to contribute some definitions?

Let's not forget "slender". I'm a fan of slender. I worship it from afar!

In my mind curvy means hourglass shaped and thick means overweight. But that's just how it's defined in my brain. I am sure everyone has different perceptions.

I'm 5'0", 95 lbs, and very small-boned. One day, this awesome old lady at a jewelry store said, "My, you have such a dainty little figure!"

So there, I said it. I'm not a shorty, a shrimp, a twig or a skinny beeyotch. I'm dainty! ..g.:

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

I'm 5'0", 95 lbs, and very small-boned. One day, this awesome old lady at a jewelry store said, "My, you have such a dainty little figure!"

So there, I said it. I'm not a shorty, a shrimp, a twig or a skinny beeyotch. I'm dainty! ..g.:

I dance with a young lady about your size. I am 6 inches taller than she and literally 1 and a half times as broad as she is... she disappears in choreo that puts me directly in front of her. Although she is, indeed, dainty, I think of her more as slender... in a willowy, ephemeral way. It doesn't hurt that she's a beautiful dancer and wonderful human being, either!

well im def. not overweight but i do consider myself thick and curvy for someone my height. i am pretty proportionate. gah i'm babbling too lol

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

I'm 5'0", 95 lbs, and very small-boned. One day, this awesome old lady at a jewelry store said, "My, you have such a dainty little figure!"

So there, I said it. I'm not a shorty, a shrimp, a twig or a skinny beeyotch. I'm dainty! ..g.:

Oh Thank God! I thought you were going to say skinny hot dog again! ..l;, Which is not true, BTW. Dainty is really nice!

I am a short hour glass... so I saw curvy. I was dainty "back in the day" but 4 kids later I have seen a shift in the sands of the hourglass as it were.

IMNSHO, curvy doesn't imply anything about weight. I'm thin but consider myself curvy...it's more to do with your proportions, your chest/waist/hip ratio. You CAN be thin and curvy!

Originally Posted by Zeevah

I dance with a young lady about your size. I am 6 inches taller than she and literally 1 and a half times as broad as she is... she disappears in choreo that puts me directly in front of her. Although she is, indeed, dainty, I think of her more as slender... in a willowy, ephemeral way. It doesn't hurt that she's a beautiful dancer and wonderful human being, either!

I think of willowy as being someone who is extremely slender and over 5'8 with perhaps a small chest.

I consider myself curvy and goddess-sized, but really I am just fat.

Width vs Depth?

Originally Posted by Safiyah

IMNSHO, curvy doesn't imply anything about weight. I'm thin but consider myself curvy...it's more to do with your proportions, your chest/waist/hip ratio. You CAN be thin and curvy!

THANK you! ..g.:

I am NOT curvy. I'm slim, but totally straight up n down. I always joke that dancing next to my teacher I look like a dancing spider monkey or a #2 pencil or an 11 year old boy - seriously, the lady has fabulous, well proportioned hips that go BOOM with every move! On the Richter Scale! I just have to work that much harder to make certain moves work, and have to stick to bedlah/skirt combos that puff up the top and bottom. No lycra sausage skirts for me, although they look beautiful on my friends.

To me curvy should not mean large, it should mean hourglass, e.g. a relatively large hip to waist ratio. There are large hourglasses and small ones :-)

To be honest, it irritates me to see a large costume described as "for curves" or "for curvy dancers". My hip to waist ratio gets bigger as I get thinner. Conversely, when I was heavier it was all around my waist, thus my hip to waist ratio was smaller, thus I'm less curvy when I'm heavy and more curvy when I'm thin.

I always thought I am curvy, judging by swapmeat descriptions.
I'm hour glass (same measurements top and bottom, about 38/39") but I have a thick waist 33" so I'd say I'm quite chunky.
I'm also not tall at '5'4" but I'm hardly petite. I don't bother looking at petite costumes as they'd be too small except for the skirt length.
I usually wear a bra size 36 C/D and rarely see a costume set with similar size bra that dosen't have a skirt which is way too big.

Originally Posted by KelsNasim

I am a short hour glass... so I saw curvy. I was dainty "back in the day" but 4 kids later I have seen a shift in the sands of the hourglass as it were.

..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,

I consider myself thick. It's not just that I am overweight, or that I'm short. I have broad shoulders, a wide waist, a wide (but flat) butt, large neck and a small chest. I am very deep front to back. I am not curvy in a traditional sense, though I have a corset that can give me artificial curves. My shape is not traditionally feminine and I have a hell of a time finding clothes that look good on me. I am square, hobbit-like, earthy, strong.

I always think Suhaila looks thick. More so when she's heavier, but even when not. I think it's that there her hip/waist difference looks small.

i consider myself curvy, but overweight: 43" bust, 32" waist, 44" lower hip though i have what i call "horse legs". They are super thick and muscular at the thigh and then my calves are slender and small with a small ankle, haha, it's so weird. But at least it's not the other way around XD

I think of curvy as being hourglass or even pear shaped, and thick as being not particularly defined through the waist.

I don't think you need to be heavy to be curvy. But it does seem to be used as a euphemism for heavy. I'm not very large but I guess I would be considered curvy. I've got a 39" chest, a 28" waist and 39" hips. (I'm only 5'2 and I wear 4/6)

Whenever I see a "curvy" costume on the swap meet it's probably going to be too small in the chest and too big in the butt.

Many people use "curvy" as a euphemism for big or heavy, and it does sound nice, but I don't think of curvy as large or small. It's about shape, essentially waist-to-hip ratio, not size. Eva Longoria is curvy, but she's also tiny. I happen to be both large and curvy (hourglass, big hips and bust, with a small waist for my size) but if I lost 50 pounds I'd still be curvy, with the same overall shape.

It's a bit like "big-boned" to me. Big-boned has become so established as a euphemism for overweight that people no longer understand or use it as having its literal meaning. I'm not big-boned, unfortunately -- I'm not tall, I don't have broad shoulders or strong-looking hands or impressively-sculpted features. I can't get away with cocktail rings, statement necklaces, or super-cool cuff bracelets. I'm small-boned. I just weigh a lot. :)

Where I live, "thick" = "curvy" or sometimes "stacked." It's a complimentary description of a body with noticeable bust and hips/booty. It doesn't mean overweight.

I get sooo confused about these "definitions" in regards to my body type. I get what most people mean by them, and in this board, I generally post as petite. I am a size 0/1/2 in womens, 3 in juniors and 5'2.75" 112(now) though I like myself at 105-110. BUT I think I actually have a thick, somewhat athletic body type. I have small shoulders, and a small ribcage, but because I have no torso, my ribcage runs right into my hipbones and I don't have much of a waist. And my legs are kinda thick looking-and I generally use a very average length in a skirt because I have long legs. I dunno...on my frame my chest looks kinda big, but the girls are really a 30-32 C, and sometimes they are a 34 B though the band is usually large if thats the case. Sigh. I have a very strange body. I've been trying to figure out what to call myself for sometime now.

Some consider me curvy. I consider myself to have an hourglass shape. I am literally big boned, as you were saying Zana. I'm 5'9",probably around 150lbs. I'm definitely not a delicate flower, though I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I were your size Satin.

Being tall, I have to generally stand in the back for pictures and group dances, and am often left out of a good viewing angle for my family because of it. I have long arms and legs, a decently long torso, and a lot of booty, as I am often teasingly reminded by my sisters (and not so teasingly by men).

I'm not overweight,but my shoulders and hips are somewhat broad. I'd say I'm about 38-28-38; so curvy yet I'm considered slender. I have 14 inch calves (which makes it hard to find boots ..cr.: ) and equally slender wrists. If I can shed some extra pounds from a sedentary job and lifestyle, I'd be more curvy yet, I'm sure.

My boyfriend actually said he never knew a real woman until he knew me. All his previous girlfriends were very slim and very tiny. Since he is 5'8" and 130 lbs, I often feel like a huge, ungainly filly around him. He loves me for who I am though, so that's all that matters. I can give him piggy-back rides though, which can be kinda fun ..l;, My twin is built just like me, though she's always been stronger, and used to give me piggy-back rides, or just pick me up and whirl me around. (We are essentially the same size).

My twin is not built as curvy as me. She's much more the muscular type. And my little sister is built like a brick house compared to the two of us. I would say she is what would be considered thick. She is taller than us at about 5'10" ( to our everlasting shame), and is even more bigger boned than we are. She has very broad shoulders and hips, and a much bigger chest. Some people find it hard to believe she is our little sister; others think we are triplets. ..c::

I hope this helps answer your question, and sorry for the rambling.

Take care,
~Ashryna