These jeans, multiple outfits, and one comment that made me think. Keep reading.
A while back, one of my favourite plus size shops gave me a little shout out on their social media. They shared an image and caption of me on their Instagram feed. I was so flattered to be one of their Friday feature gals. A few people left comments but one stuck out to me.
Image that was featured in the Instagram post.
The comment was “Super cute girl and outfit but she’s not exactly plus size. I don’t care what the fashion world says.”
I wasn’t sure how to read the comment. Size is a confusing and limiting thing for many women. We have been taught we need to put ourselves in a category. Now, I get that clothes need some guidelines to help us shop for the right fits that work for us (petite, tall, maternity, etc.). It totally makes sense. If everything was mashed up together, it would be near impossible to find what we are looking for. What sucks is how much stock we put into what category we “fit” into.
Admittedly, it took a lot for me to march on into a plus size shop for the first time. I didn’t like the stigma attached to being plus size. “This means I’m fat. It means I’m giving up and giving in to THIS body and accommodating my weight rather then loosing it. Is this what I am now? Plus size?” Ewww, nope! Not at all! Size does not define us. I am not a plus size person. I’m a woman, wife, mother of three, daughter, blogger, friend, joke teller, wine drinker, food lover, home body, who happens to find that some plus size clothes just work better for me. I am also a woman who shops in the same stores you do, because those work for me sometimes too.
My reply to the comment was “Thank you for your comment:) Always love a share. These jeans from Addition Elle that I am wearing are a size 16. But size is just a number anyway.”
We need to own who we are. Don’t be afraid of your size. That number does NOT matter one little bit. It’s a number. When I worked in retail (which I did for 15 years), I would see so many women pass on purchasing a piece they loved simply because they refused to try one size up when a garment didn’t fit right for them. I used to tell them that the only two people who knew what size they were wearing was “me and you….and I’m not telling anybody, so…..”
Ladies, many bodies and ages can all shop in one store and have it work for them. If the women standing around you in the check out line don’t look like you, so what! Do you love the piece(s) you selected for yourself? Did you stand a little taller in that dress in the fitting room? Did you catch yourself checking out your own ass in the mirror in those jeans? Then that’s it! Feel good in what you wear and ignore the rest. #imsizeme
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