We’ve all read a few articles about “how to dress for your body type”. Articles of this nature are designed to get consumers to buy new products or equip people with the knowledge of how to better dress their bodies.
Generally speaking, they leave readers feeling inadequate as they highlight parts of the body that need to be hidden or camouflaged; depending on which body shape category you fall into. Should we even listen to what these articles are saying? Let’s take a minute to decide if “how to dress your body type” articles are oppressing the lives of so many or actually helping our self-confidence.
Clothing and Fashion
Since it came into existence, clothing has had one purpose: covering bodies. As time has gone on the purpose has evolved into what we call “fashion”. Is fashion just a fancy way of telling us that we can’t wear what we want? Do these articles have the potential to oppress us and take away our ability to express ourselves? This is not the bear that I want to poke. Too many people are outraged at the idea of having anything taken away from them, but let’s take a moment to cool off and look at the entire situation rationally.
Television has provided a wide variety of shows that display up to date styles and trends that will make us appreciate the way we look. These shows are great examples of how deciding what to wear does not have to be the most dreaded part of the day. Fashion is fun. When was that forgotten?
Shopping for clothes should not be an activity that we only do once a year because we fear trying on a bunch of clothes in the dressing room. Who cares if you only find a few items that make you glow? Accentuating your favourite parts of your body will achieve a flawless look any day of the week. That is the important part, right? This does not mean that we must wear colours that we hate or head to toe patterns. Step outside the state of mind that told you fashion was wearing things that make you wildly uncomfortable.
Are you Guilty of Oppressing Your Fashion Sense?
On the other hand, if you only wear items because someone tells you they look good on your body type, then you do fall under the category of oppressing your fashion sense. We all come in different shapes and sizes. This is not new news. Clothing comes in so many different styles and due to this; there are many different styles that people can have such as comfy casual, vintage, business chic, or classy.
While these are only a few different style “types” you are able to see the main picture. I’m sure everyone looks good in more than just one style. Therein lies room for the average consumer to be pushed into a clothing category that does not suit their true vision of themselves.
Clothing is meant to give women the ability to express who they are and how they feel about themselves. There is not one way to do this. To think that it is possible for fashion experts to dictate what everyone wears is a laughable concept. Wear whatever you want to wear. In the end, your self-confidence comes from you. No one else can supply it for you. If wearing loose clothing makes you feel beautiful or you think you can rock those cowboy boots, more power to you.
Overall, it is important to remember that no one can tell you how to feel about what you wear. It is up to every individual to be in the state of mind that can learn to love themselves. There is a happy medium to all of this though. Dressing for your body type is possible without feeling oppressed by the standards of the experts. The only thing that matters at the end of the day is how you feel about yourself. Once you let fashion experts and “how to dress your body type” articles dictate how you feel about your body, you are on a slippery slope.
Making up your mind can be a difficult task, but let’s remember we only have one life to live. Let’s make the most of it. There is not a wrong answer. What will you choose: the experts or your own style?
