Shape shifters

The hourglass was bound to run out eventually. The curvy, slim-waisted female figures of the 1950s are no more, according to a survey that has compared the shapes of Britons in the 1950s and 2004. The average figure is straighter, and often tubbier, now.

The hourglass was bound to run out eventually. The curvy, slim-waisted female figures of the 1950s are no more, according to a survey that has compared the shapes of Britons in the 1950s and 2004. The average figure is straighter, and often tubbier, now.

Some might see that as a pity (especially Marilyn Monroe fans), but would anyone seriously want to turn the clock back? Food rationing is a distant memory, women are taller now, and enjoy more equality. It is interesting to note that men were left out of the 1950s survey, but this time they have gone through the mild indignity of being measured up for scrutiny too.

Nostalgists beware: size isn't everything.