Changing face (and body) of women over six decades
- 21st century women are likelier to be bustier and taller than previous generations
- Average waist size in the 1950s was 27.5 ins but in 2017 34ins is the medium
- In the 1950s, the average-sized British woman was 5ft 2ins, 9st 10lbs, stats say
- Miss Average is now 5ft 5in, 11st, wears a dress size 16 and has a shoe size of 6
Richard Marsden for MailOnline
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Forget the hourglass figure – 21st century women are more likely to be curvier, bustier and taller than their compatriots 60 years ago.
The most notable change, new research suggests, has been waists increasing more than one fifth from an average of 27.5 inches in the 1950s to 34ins – and a corresponding increase of four dress sizes.
But although she may not have a waist like Marilyn Monroe, the 2017 female is wealthier and can look forward to a longer life.
Then and now: Pin-up Joan Collins (right) and reality television star Kim Kardashian
Researchers compared a diverse range of statistics for women’s body sizes including data from the fashion industry, the British Bra Survey, Office of National Statistics and the NHS.
In the 1950s, the average-sized British woman was 5ft 2ins, 9st 10lbs, had size 3 feet and was a dress size 12.
She had a petite figure, with a slim waist of 28 inches and a 34B bra size.
Miss Average was expected to live 73 years and earned just £10 a week.
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But flash forward 60 years and the shape of the typical British woman has changed dramatically – most strikingly in her waist and chest.
Miss Average is now 5ft 5in, 11st, wears a dress size 16 and has a shoe size of 6.
Her bust has swollen more than any other part of her anatomy to a more shapely 36DD.
And women’s life expectancy and earnings have soared, too, to 83 years and an average £530 a week.
The research was carried out by lingerie firm Bluebella. Its chief executive Emily Bendell said: ‘It is extraordinary how much Miss Average has changed over the last 60 years.
‘She has changed from being quite petite with what would be considered quite small breasts by today’s standards to a much more fuller figured silhouette.’
She added: ‘Miss Average is likely to exercise at least twice a week – consuming 2,300 calories a day compared to 1,800 calories back then.
Hollywood actress Natalie Wood, who appeared in Rebel Without a Cause, is considered to look like the ‘average woman’ from the 1950s
‘She is much healthier than her Fifties counterpart and devotes around 30 per cent more of her income to her wardrobe.
‘This is reflected in the size of her lingerie collection which is twice the size of 1950s woman.
‘She now has an average of 12 bras compared to just six in the 1950s.’
Typical women’s body sizes of the 1950s were reflected by Hollywood actress Natalie Wood, who appeared in Rebel Without a Cause.
She had the same 34B bust size and body shape of the average woman 60 years ago.
Meanwhile reality TV star Kim Kardashian’s surgically enhanced 36DD bust is the same size as the average 2017 woman.
Increased body size is down to a complex set of factors, according to Professor Bernard Harris, a social policy expert, of Southampton University.
He said that warmer homes, better medicine and improved sanitation may have played a part because the body can devote more of its energy to growth in childhood rather than keeping warm or fighting infection.
But nutritionists say modern women’s curvier bodies are also down to increased consumption of sugar, junk food and alcohol, which are all highly calorific, combined with more sedentary lifestyles.
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