DOES YOUR CLOTHING SIZE AFFECT YOUR BODY IMAGE?
Dear Friends, Floggers and Fashionistas,
I have been wanting to write about this topic for quite a while now. This has been the number one topic that many of my readers have requested, so with much anticipation, here we go...
While the fashion industry has made strides toward being more inclusive of different body types, it's clear we still have a long way to go before the standard is overthrown. New findings from a survey conducted (Garner, 1997) found that 43% of women feel that thin and muscular models make them feel very insecure about their weight and make them want to lose weight to look like them. It seems that current societal standards for female beauty emphasizes the desirability of thinness, an ideal accepted by most women but impossible to achieve. In a world super obsessed with women's bodies, we are bombarded with images of them. Although we see women's bodies everywhere we turn, its only really one body that we are seeing over and over again. Usually a young, thin, white, toned, large-breasted, long legged, non-disabled body. Oddly enough, that's not what most women's bodies look like. However, the airbrushed media is so powerful that women find themselves comparing their own bodies to it anyway and finding themselves wanting. We are all guilty of this I'm sure, in our own lives. In the same study looking at body image, they found that girls as young as five are worrying about their size and appearance, and that one in four seven-year old girls have tried to lose weight at least once (Garner, 1997). This survey showed that body image affects women throughout their lives, not just in their youth. It can hold women back by eroding their self confidence both at work and socially.
Is garment size really an issue? A newspaper story explained how a woman buying an expensive size 2 dress that fit her larger size body. Although it was the wrong color and it was too short, she bought it anyway. She was just so thrilled that she could fit into a smaller size.(Novice, 2006) This mindset defies logic. In women's wear, isn't the size number on the inside of the garment and not visible to others? Does the size number on the garment truly have that effect on a women's self esteem and/or body image. The reality is that garment dimensions within a single size category can vary from brand to brand.
Manufacturers, retailers and designers not only develop their own size standards but they also tweak them from time to time. This is enough to induce body image schizophrenia. For example, what is generally understood as a size 10 for a brand might change to a size 8 next season which is referred to as VANITY SIZING. This is generally done to flatter the ego of the customer who feels better about buying a smaller size. Women want to feel thin and buying a smaller size than expected facilitates this feeling. Although we often tend to blame ourselves for not fitting into garments, lets STOP and look at it from a different angle, like maybe the garment is not necessarily appropriate for our particular body type.
You see, although the fashion industry has helped to create this culture of thinness as designers were resistant in adding larger sizes to their lines, times are now shifting into the opposite direction. Plus size models like Ashley Graham have made such a huge impact on the fashion industry. She has revolutionized the face of models forever. She is what we have all been waiting for, a new representation of real women today. Lets hope that within time, the myth of thin is beautiful can be dispelled and we can consider women of all sizes to be beautiful. Ashley Graham has taken the cover of many top fashion magazines and was the first ever plus size model to walk runway for Micheal Kors. Many designers are now following the trend and introducing plus sizes to their fashion line including Ashley Graham herself. Here are some links for plus size online retailers. http://www.ashleygraham.com , http://www.avenue.com , http://thecurvyfashionista.com/plus-size-fashion-resources/curvy-designers/ and http://www.ashleystewart.com
And to you all; my dear beautiful girls, my size 2 girls or my size 18 girls, your size doesn't determine your beauty; your life does. The size printed inside your clothes is subjective to the fashion industry's personal taste and it fluctuates rapidly. Stop believing the social normatives about who and what you should be.
You are lovely and you are loved. Just exactly the way you are.
Fashionably Yours, LIANA
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