I’ve always had hips, boobs, and a small waist. You might call my figure an hourglass…and I embrace it. I have come to a place where I love my body.
What don’t I love? So happy you asked…being told what is good for my body type.
The math of it all is very simple. Almost every issue of every magazine will inevitably have a page that shows “How to wear ______ for your body type.” If you’re a pear shape, they say, you want to accentuate your bust or shoulders to balance your body. If you’re apple-shaped, you want to accentuate your waist and legs for a more slimming effect…and on and on and on.
Courtesy of Rachael Forster
This type of magazine article begs another question: Why should we aim for a more slimming effect? Embedded within these articles is the stigma that looking slimmer is better. Ah, see that…another societal standard snuck into a simple magazine article, though that’s a conversation for another time. I rant, sometimes. It happens.
Anyhow, I don’t want to be told that I should wear figure hugging pieces that nip at the waist because it’s slimming to my body. I don’t want to be told that drop waists “aren’t right” for my shape. No, it won’t look as slimming as an A-line, but sometimes I just want to feel like Daisy Buchanan. I don’t want to be told to wear a boot cut jean over a straight leg because it “balances my hips,” because I love the ease of a straight leg. I don’t want to be told what trends are best for my body, or that I need to put myself together a particular way because I was born with a certain body type.
The other day, I watched an interview with Melissa McCarthy (yass kween) where she talked about her eponymous clothing line. She talked about fabric and style (which I understand all too well as a new designer), as well as the usual interview chit-chat. But the one thing she touched on that stuck out to me was that people kept telling her that plus-sized women “won’t” wear prints or bold colors. McCarthy just told them that’s what she likes to wear, and that’s how she designed the collection. Her attitude was “bring on the color, prints, and jumpsuits!”
She wasn’t going to sacrifice trends and styles she loved because someone told her that her body shouldn’t wear it. Women are women. We just want to wear what makes us feel pretty, unique, and special. And most of all, we don’t want to be told by some magazine what is best for our bodies.
I’m making a pact with myself. I will no longer avoid trends I love because people tell me they are “not right” for my body. So, when you see me in my over-sized, bag lady sweater dress with no sign of my waist, just give me an imaginary slow clap for ignoring to the naysayers. And if you happen to decide to never sacrifice a trend again for your “body type,” tag Runway Riot or me for a not so imaginary slow clap.
