Hip Dips: What They Are and How to Style Them
Hip dips are built into your skeleton. Here is the anatomy in plain language, why almost everyone has them, and 10 pieces that work with the shape you already have.
What Hip Dips Actually Are
A hip dip is the inward curve on the side of the body between the hip bone and the top of the thigh, where the outline tucks in before curving out again at the leg. Hip dips are also called violin hips, because that outline resembles the waisted curve of a violin. To find your own, look at the side of your body between your waist and your thigh: in many people the line curves out at the hip bone, tucks inward, then curves out again at the top of the leg.
The reason is structural. Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy at Lancaster University, explains in The Conversation (June 10, 2026) that hip dips exist in both men and women and are simply the visible result of the space between two bones: part of the pelvis called the iliac crest, and a bony bulge on the upper thigh bone called the greater trochanter. Those two points are the widest landmarks in the area. Between them sit muscle and soft tissue, and your outline follows whatever fills that space.
Cleveland Clinic exercise physiologist Katie Lawton describes the same geometry from the leg side. In Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials (February 22, 2024), she points out that the upper leg bone is not a straight line. It angles near the top, so the bony bulge on its outer edge sits below and out from the widest point of the pelvis. Cleveland Clinic lists pelvic width, the length of that angled section, and the size of the bulge itself as the three structures that shape the outline. The dip is the space between those landmarks, seen from the outside.
Three structures decide how visible a hip dip is, and all three are set by your skeleton rather than by anything you do. The table below names them in the order Cleveland Clinic lists them.
| Structure | What it is | Effect on the outline |
|---|---|---|
| Pelvic width | The distance across the iliac crest, the upper rim of the pelvis. | A wider pelvis places the upper landmark further out, so the gap beneath it reads deeper. |
| Femoral neck length | The angled section near the top of the thigh bone, between the hip joint and the shaft. | A longer angled section drops the lower landmark further below the pelvis, lengthening the dip. |
| Greater trochanter size | The bony bulge on the outer edge of the upper thigh bone. | A more prominent bulge pushes the lower curve outward, sharpening the contrast either side of the dip. |
How muscle and fat sit around the joint then decides how much of that bone geometry shows on the surface. Taylor sums the whole picture up as largely the result of genetics. You did not create your hip dips through any habit, and there is no habit that removes them.
Why Hip Dips Are Completely Normal
Hip dips are very common and carry no medical concern. Asked in its February 2024 explainer how common hip dips are, Cleveland Clinic answers in a single word: "very." Everybody with a typical anatomy has them. What varies from person to person is not whether you have them but how much they show, which depends on the three structural variables above and on what you happen to be wearing.
Two myths are worth retiring here. The first is that hip dips are a fitness issue. Cleveland Clinic states that they have nothing to do with weight or physical fitness and are about the structure of your pelvic bones. Muscle mass and fat distribution can exaggerate the violin shape, but they do not cause it. The second myth is that they can be trained away. Taylor notes that the opposite can happen: as you build muscle and reduce fat in the area, the underlying bones and muscles can become more prominent, making the dip more visible rather than less.
That is why this guide has no exercise plan and no before-and-after. Some people do choose cosmetic procedures, and that is a medical conversation for a qualified professional, not a styling one. Everything below is about line, proportion, and what you enjoy wearing.
Hip Dips and Your Body Shape
Hip dips and body shape are two different readings of the same body. Body shape describes the relationship between your bust, waist, and hip circumferences. Hip dips describe a vertical distance between two skeletal landmarks on the side of your body. You can have any of the five shapes and still have visible hip dips, and plenty of people do.
There is a rough pattern, and it follows from the anatomy. A dip reads as a dip because of the contrast on either side of it. When the hip line is generously wide relative to the waist, as it often is on pear and hourglass shapes, there is more curve above and below the gap, so the gap itself is easier to see. On a rectangle shape, where the three measurements sit closer together, the side outline is straighter overall and the dip often reads as a subtle notch rather than a curve. None of these versions is better than another. They are different bone arrangements catching light differently.
Knowing your shape is still worth 30 seconds, because it tells you which silhouettes tend to sit well on your proportions before you ever get to a fitting room.
Find Your Exact Body Shape
Our free calculator reads your shoulder, bust, waist, and hip measurements and returns a precise body shape result with personalized style recommendations in under 30 seconds. No signup, no email.
Calculate My Body Shape10 Pieces That Work With Hip Dips
These 10 pieces work with hip dips in one of two ways: they create a continuous vertical line down the side of the body, or they move the eye to the waist. Both are ordinary styling tools that work on any body, and none of them is a correction. Take the ones you like and leave the rest.
High-rise wide-leg trousers
The waistband sits at your natural waist and the leg falls straight down from the widest part of the hip, so the eye reads one continuous vertical line from waist to hem instead of stopping at the side of the body.
A-line and skater skirts
An A-line skirt is fitted at the waist and widens steadily toward the hem, like the letter A. The flare starts above the hip, so the skirt builds its own silhouette rather than tracing the contour underneath it.
Peplum tops
A peplum is the short flared ruffle attached at the waist seam. It ends just below the waist and places a soft horizontal at the top of the hip, which pulls attention to the narrowest part of the torso.
Wrap dresses
The wrap creates a strong diagonal across the body plus a tie at the waist. A diagonal is the most interesting line in an outfit, so the eye follows the wrap rather than scanning down the sides.
Belted waists
A belt at your natural waist marks the narrowest point of your torso and gives the whole outfit an anchor. It works over dresses, coats, and untucked shirts, and it takes about three seconds to add.
Longline cardigans and open layers
An open cardigan or duster coat creates two long vertical columns down the sides of the body. Those verticals frame everything between them and make the full silhouette read taller.
Ruched and textured fabrics
Ruching, the gathered fabric that forms soft folds, scatters light across the surface. The fabric then reads as texture instead of behaving like a smooth contour map of what sits underneath.
Palazzo pants
Palazzo pants carry even more volume than a standard wide leg, and the fabric hangs from the fullest point of the hip straight to the floor. Pair them with a fitted or tucked top so the proportions stay balanced.
Bike shorts with an oversized tee
The tee ends around mid-hip and the shorts pick the line back up below it, which splits the lower half into two clean blocks. It is a relaxed formula that needs no structured piece at all.
Swimwear with a high-cut leg
A high leg opening extends the visible line of the leg and lifts the eye toward the waist. Ruched one-pieces and high-waisted bikini bottoms do the same job differently, so pick whichever you actually enjoy wearing.
To test these combinations against pieces you already own, the Outfit Generator builds full looks from a single starting item, and our guide to wearing lace for your body shape applies the same line-and-proportion logic to one fabric.
Or Do Not Style for Them at All
Styling for hip dips is entirely optional, and skipping it costs you nothing. This is the part most articles on the topic leave out. You are allowed to wear the bodycon dress. You are allowed to wear the low-rise jeans, the cutout swimsuit, and the fitted knit skirt that follows every line of you. None of those are mistakes, and a hip dip is not a reason to put something back on the rack.
The list above exists because some readers genuinely enjoy the look of a long unbroken line and want to know how to build one. That is a preference, the same way liking a boat neck or avoiding cropped sleeves is a preference. It is not a repair job. Once a styling rule starts to feel like an obligation, it has stopped being useful to you.
A practical test: if you have ever taken a piece off because of your hip dips rather than because you disliked it, try it on again and check which reaction was actually yours.
Fabric and Fit Notes
Fabric decides how much of your outline a garment reports. Structured mid-weight fabrics such as denim, ponte, twill, and heavier crepe hold their own shape and skim past the body. Fluid fabrics such as silk, viscose, and bias-cut satin drape close and follow the contour underneath. Thin high-stretch jersey is the most literal of all, which is exactly right when that is the look you want and worth knowing about when it is not.
Texture is the other lever. Ribbing, ruching, tweed, corduroy, and small prints scatter light across the surface, so the eye registers pattern before outline. Flat matte colors and high-shine finishes do the opposite, in opposite ways. Our fabric guide breaks down how each common fabric drapes, wears, and washes.
On fit, three details matter more than the number on the label. Check that the waistband sits at your natural waist instead of sliding down onto the hip. Check that the side seams hang straight and do not swing forward. Check that pockets lie flat rather than gaping open. A tailor can adjust any of the three for less than the price of a replacement, and a waistband taken in by an inch changes how a whole pair of trousers hangs. If you shop internationally, our Size Converter translates between US, UK, EU, and AU sizing so your starting point is right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are hip dips normal?
Yes. Hip dips are a feature of your skeleton, not a sign that something is wrong. Cleveland Clinic describes them as purely anatomical and states that everybody with a typical anatomy has them. How visible yours are depends on the shape of your pelvis, where the top of your thigh bone sits, and how muscle and fat are distributed around that area.
Can you get rid of hip dips?
Not through styling, and that is not the goal of this guide. Anatomy professor Adam Taylor writes in The Conversation that short of surgery, hip dips cannot be eliminated, because no amount of gym work will move your bones. Clothing can change the line the eye follows. That is a styling choice, and nothing about your anatomy needs changing. Decisions about cosmetic procedures are medical conversations to have with a qualified professional.
What body shape has hip dips?
All five body shapes can have them. Hip dips come from the distance between your hip bone and the top of your thigh bone, which is a separate measurement from the bust, waist, and hip numbers that define body shape. They tend to read more clearly on shapes with a wider hip line, such as pear and hourglass, simply because there is more curve on either side of the dip. You can check your own shape with our free Body Shape Calculator.
What are the best jeans for hip dips?
High-rise wide-leg, straight-leg, and bootcut jeans all work well, because the waistband sits at your natural waist and the leg falls in one continuous vertical line from the widest point of your hip to the hem. Rigid denim holds that line better than very stretchy fabric. If you like the way low-rise or fitted styles look on you, wear those instead. There is no cut you are required to skip.
Do exercises reduce hip dips?
Targeted exercise changes muscle and fat, not bone. Cleveland Clinic notes that muscle mass and fat distribution can exaggerate a violin shape but do not cause it, and Adam Taylor points out that building muscle and losing fat in the area can make the underlying structure more prominent rather than less. Exercise is worth doing for how it makes you feel and function. Treat any change in your outline as incidental.
Do hip dips mean you are out of shape?
No. Cleveland Clinic states plainly that hip dips have nothing to do with weight or physical fitness and are about the structure of your pelvic bones. People of every size, age, and fitness level have them. They appear on men and women alike, which is one more sign that they are structural rather than a marker of anything you did or did not do.
What swimwear works with hip dips?
High-cut leg openings extend the visible line of the leg and move the eye upward. Ruched or textured one-pieces break up light across the fabric so the surface reads as texture. High-waisted bikini bottoms sit at your natural waist and give you a clean horizontal to work with. A tied sarong adds a diagonal line if you want one. All four are options, not requirements.
Are hip dips the same as violin hips?
Yes, violin hips is the informal name for the same feature. It describes the curved-in silhouette at the side of the body between the hip bone and the upper thigh, which resembles the waist of a violin. Both terms describe normal anatomy, and neither one describes a condition.
Sources
- Taylor, Adam, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University. Hip dips: what are they and can you really get rid of them? The Conversation, June 10, 2026.
- Lawton, Katie, MEd, exercise physiologist. Your Hip Dips Are Normal, and They Are Not Going Anywhere Anytime Soon Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials, February 22, 2024.
This guide is style information, not medical advice. If you have questions about your body or are considering a cosmetic procedure, speak with a qualified medical professional.
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Build the outfit, not a workaround
You have the anatomy and the piece list. Next: find your body shape so the silhouettes are matched to your proportions, then let the outfit generator assemble full looks around a piece you already own.