Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Latest Issue
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Health and Fitness

    Today’s women want curves like Nigella

    The TV chef's classic hourglass shape is the figure to aim for

    By Marie Claire
    Published 22 July 2009 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Nigella-Lawson, Celebrity News, Health News
    Nigella-Lawson, Celebrity News, Health News
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    The TV chef's classic hourglass shape is the figure to aim for

    When it comes to the perfect body shape, women are rejecting the boyish straight-up-and-down look paraded by the likes of the teeny-tiny Cheryl Cole in favour of Nigella Lawson's hourglass figure.

    Her generous curves topped the list of figures that women would most like to have themselves. In fact two in three yearn for an hourglass 'in and out' figure, a survey of 2,000 women found.

    Miss Lawson topped the poll when the women were asked whose figure they found most inspiring. She was followed by the womanly Dame Helen Mirren (whose photo last year in a red bikini was regarded as the epitome of mature glamour), the elegant Dame Judi Dench and Kate Winslet, a curvy English rose.

    Leaner shapes, along with the out-of-proportion figure of Katie Price, were no longer regarded as ideal.

    A third of British women (35%) saw themselves as apple-shaped with an undefined waistline. A further 25% claimed to be pear-shaped with a big bottom.

    Only 13% of women regarded themselves as the perfect hourglass. But a whopping 65% dream of acquiring this shape.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    The poll, carried out for Special K breakfast cereal, suggests it is shape rather than size which is most important to women these days. ‘The report shows that women's attitudes to slimming over the last 50 years have changed with their figures,’ said a spokesman for the brand.

    ‘It seems British women have lost their waists but now they are demanding them back. They are more concerned about getting a curvy hourglass shape instead of being the perfect size 10.’

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH NEWS

    ARE YOU A TWITTERER? FOLLOW US HERE!

    BECOME A MARIE CLAIRE FACEBOOK FAN HERE

    Marie Claire
    Social Links Navigation

    The leading destination for fashion, beauty, shopping and finger-on-the-pulse views on the latest issues. Marie Claire's travel content helps you delight in discovering new destinations around the globe, offering a unique – and sometimes unchartered – travel experience. From new hotel openings to the destinations tipped to take over our travel calendars, this iconic name has it covered.

    Latest in Health and Fitness
    women at yoga
    Wellbeing 'Selfish' Isn’t a Dirty Word: Why Putting Yourself First Could Be One of the Best Things You Do for Your Health
    Health freelancer Georgia Brown hiking in Korea
    Wellbeing I Tried Korea’s Approach to Stress for Seven Days—Could It Help My Permanently Switched-On Brain?
     
     
    Freelance Health Writer Ash S during her screentime experiment
    Wellbeing I Thought Reducing My Screen Time Was Impossible—4 Months On, These 5 Habits Have Completely Changed How I Feel
    Women walking and running; through a city and on a beach.
    Fitness Run Free, Stay Safe: The Impossible Double Standard Facing Women Who Run
     
     
    Latest in Features
    The best things to do this November
    Culture The Agenda: November Is Looking Good
    Oestrogen skincare
    Skincare Can Oestrogen Really Reverse Skin Ageing? MC Investigates Beauty’s Next Hormonal Frontier
     
     
    Grey Blending hair colour trend
    Hair Grey Blending Is Changing the Way We Colour Our Hair—Here’s Everything You Need to Know
    Chanel shirts
    Fashion How Much is Too Much to Spend on a Shirt?
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.