Fashion Changes Shape

The hourglass figure has officially been declared dead. The government-backed National Sizing Survey has revealed that the average British woman's waistline has expanded by more than 6in since the 1950s; busts, hips and height, by contrast, have changed only slightly. The result is that the typical female form is almost straight, in contrast to the narrow waists and curves of the 1950s woman. The survey was commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry and 17 high street clothing chains