I seem to be the original princess with the pea under her pile of mattresses. I am slim but very curvy (5’8", 130 pounds with a very narrow waist and back but broad hips). I have been unable to find a bed that works for me as it seems there is not enough weight at my hips and shoulders to cause enough sinking to allow the area between to support my middle and if I go really soft the area in the middle sinks nearly as much creating just another kind of discomfort. I have been making do on a foam mattress for several years while traveling in my trailer looking for my next place to call home. Having found it and built my new house, I was ready to find a mattress that was kinder to my (aging) body. I knew it would be a challenge but have found it to be seemingly impossible. I just returned what I thought was a good mattress for me and brought in the old foam to sleep on while I thought things through. I decided to use the opportunity to experiment and folded some towels and placed them under the foam right at my waist and lower rib cage. For the first time in years I slept through the night on my back, never rolling over once. I have been using it for about a month now and can sleep on my back or on my side with little to no hip pain. I am going to combine that discovery with my recent foray in the bed stores where I tried a very soft talalay latex mattress with a soft topper that I slid a small pillow underneath at my waist. I didn’t want to leave! I have decided to try a 6" talalay mattress from Sleepez with a 3" talalay topper that I can fine tune supportive layers under my middle. I may need to bump the mattress up to 9" but assume they will work with me on an upgrade. Wish me luck!
Hi hopefulforlatex,
Thanks for taking the time to share your comments and experience … I appreciate it.
Congratulations on your new mattress 
You certainly made a great quality/value choice and I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
What you were experimenting was a type of zoning. Zoning isn’t as important with latex as it would be with other types of materials or components (see post #7 here) but having said that … even with latex zoning systems can sometimes be useful and worth considering for people that have more difficulty finding a mattress with the right “balance” between comfort/pressure relief (under the shoulders especially) and support/alignment (under the hips/pelvis especially) or who have more challenging circumstances or sensitivities, body types that are more difficult to “match” to a mattress, more complex medical issues, or who have a history of having more difficulty in finding a mattress that works well for them.
There is more about zoning in this article and in post #11 here and the additional posts it links to that may be helpful.
Phoenix