We get an unimaginable number of messages about our bodies being wrong, or flawed. There’s the media, of course…
…but there’s also getting dressed in the morning. Ready-to-wear clothes (and hand-knit sweater patterns, too) are created for table of numbers I like to call “Miss Average”. There’s nothing wrong with that, necessarily; automatic and mass production of clothing make it necessary. But there’s one big down side, and that’s that anyone who isn’t exactly like Miss Average (which means everyone) is told, every day, by their clothing, that their body is wrong.
I say this, in my classes, and it seems to resonate? But this Fashion Friday I want to give you a stark visual example.
Here’s what happens when I get dressed in the morning, if I’m not careful.
I need to be clear here: This is a regular, long-sleeved sweater, and mid-rise, regular-length pants. Both in “my size”. This is what happens if I don’t tug them into place. The sweater, though it looks like I might be raising it for effect? Goes this way when I breathe. These clothes tell me that my arms are too long. That my legs are too short. That my torso is too long. I wore clothes like them nearly every day for far, far too long.
What are your clothes telling you?
Whatever they’re telling you, I say: There’s nothing wrong with your body. The clothes are defective.
Here’s me again, in a store bought tunic-length top and capri jeans. In the same size as the clothes above.
This outfit might be more plain than I’d typically wear, most days. But at least things fit, you know?
Custom-made clothing makes you feel amazing. And not just because of the skill required to craft it. It sends a message, every time you move without tugging, that your body is right. That your body deserves clothing that honors it. That respects it. That tells it it’s beautiful. I urge you to wear clothes that are truly worthy of you.
Because you’re perfect, just as you are.
Amy Herzog Designs