Every Which Way

It appears my hair does still curl. I half think it’s done it in an attempt to persuade me not to cut it. Look! I still curl! Really, we don’t have to do this… Remember all the good times we’ve had together! Sorry hair, I’m not entirely convinced. You’re going to have to work harder than that if you want things to go back to the way they were.

I was raging last night as I read a magazine in bed. The cover article title was Celebrate Your Shape and was supposedly a bunch of tips on how to dress to flatter your shape. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that they used plus sized models and are encouraging women to embrace their shape. What raged me was the narrow “advice” that they gave. The “article” itself was an editorial with a couple of pretty lines over the picture or in the corner giving out such gems as “avoid horizontal stripes, instead wear vertical stripes which are slimming”. OK, first off a recent study has shown that vertical stripes actually make you look larger than horizontal stripes (thanks QI). Sure, ok, the writer may not have known that. Then we get “avoid wearing too many layers as this makes you look bulky” and “small prints will make you look bigger”. The problem I have with all of this is a) it’s not true and b) women without the confidence to dress in what they like will restrict themselves by following these rules.

I am wearing both horizontal and vertical stripes. And checks which, as The Man pointed out this morning are a combination of the two. I am also wearing layers. This does not make me look any bigger than I am. What I wish an article would say is, “Wear whatever you like because you know what? That’s what you’re going to look best in. Sure there are things that won’t be flattering on your shape but sometimes that’s OK to wear too, if you want. Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you should or should not wear. Dress to be comfortable. Dress to be happy. Dress to please yourself and most importantly dress to be yourself. Unless you’re channeling someone else which is cool too.”

I’d like to point out here that this was not a teen magazine. Nor is it a strictly fashion magazine. This magazine covers a spectrum of areas and has a demographic between 25-70. It makes me sad to think that there are Nannas out there still restricting themselves and what they wear. Liberate the Nannas! Say no to being told what to wear!

Hair clip: Gift
Checkered shirt: Valley Girl
Striped shirt: Tightrope
Badge: Junk Shop
Skirt: Myer
Ring: ?
Tights: Myer
Shoes: Chemist