I've never been quite so confused when it comes to wearable shapes and what the look of the moment is as now.  With British fashion being as great as it is, in my opinion, there has never been a time when the key to defining a silhouette or body shape so difficult to pin down.  What is a girl to do?  It‘s all so confusing.

Looking back through history, we have been able to neatly trace and identify each decade based purely on the fashion shape of the time. Thanks to our trusty and dusty old fashion history books we'd had it all mapped out for us, hadn't we?

The 1920's saw a lean, straight up and down boyish look that was favoured by the flapper and Coco Chanel.  A topic for heated debate now, being incredibly thin then was as much about diet and availability of less fatty foods as it was about fashion, as this dictated what the normal body shape was due to pure necessity.  Poor things, and never to be repeated again.  Or so we'd hoped.

Unfortunately, one staggering fashion trend of late subscribes to actually choosing this shape of free will, and then in some stupid cases excessively dieting to achieve a dress size zero.  Do we really want to emulate emaciated body shapes for the sake of fashion when our plates can be full?  Who has triggered this turn of events and do we really want to embrace it?  I for one would look like a lollipop in a wig if I tried this idiotic craze.  There is a tendency for heads to look oversized when too much weight is lost.  Besides, I'm not going to give up my traditional Sunday roast dinners and chocolate treats for anyone.  No way!  I really do love fashion, but not to that degree.

At the other end of the scale, however, we're also seeing designers favour the curvy, waspish waisted shape of the 1950's which dictated the way women were to dress during that era.  Times were improving and so figures became fuller with erogenous zones fully pronounced.  Extremely feminine and achievable by all, although a little extra padding here and cinching there may have helped out some I'm sure.  The hourglass shape is much loved today by designers such as Vivienne Westwood, new boy on the block Giles Deacon and style queen Dita Von Teese, while being emulated by many as the look of now - and a much healthier option too, don't you agree?

So exactly what is the body shape or silhouette of now?  I'd been driven to distraction trying to dissect and pin this one down, but decided to try and clarify the situation.
It soon became apparent, however, that there simply is no one way to be right now, as the following examples will illustrate.

But which of these three shapes is key to defining the shape of now?  Curvy, lean or in between?  How can all three shapes be right?  All the designers we have mentioned are relevant to today and inspirational to high street trends, but all dress different women and have a differing silhouette in mind.  Now you understand my dilemma.

During the sixties, things were slim, while the 70's saw a return to curves.  In the eighties it was simple - big hair, ra-ra skirts, wide shoulders and, of course, leg warmers (yes, I know!), making the silhouette more about angles than curves, but a defining silhouette all the same - no matter how exaggerated.

It was in the 90's things started to blur a bit as far as shape and definition were concerned.  Women started to adopt unisex dress far more, experimented with varying hemlines, boot-cut and tapered trousers.  Baggy, lean, short and long - we were all over the place as far as shapes were concerned.  We are seven years into the next decade and still cannot say there was a key shape for that time, or for now either come to that matter. 

We have experimented with fashion to such a degree that the mould has been melted; the formula juggled so many times that we've created a less rigid and far more free way of expressing our individuality through dress. 

But is this a bad thing?  I think it actually speaks volumes about where women have ended up as far as equality through fashion is concerned.  We have entered into a period where anything goes, where girls can be boys and vice versa, making boundaries blur and the rigid constraints of decades before disappear.  Will there actually be any more talk of a defining silhouette in the future?  Perhaps not.

This surely must be a welcome thing, as freedom of expression hits mainstream and is available for all to try out - no matter what shape.  Hurrah and ‘Vive la difference', I say!