Wearing Clothes That Don't Suit You

Magazines, websites and fashion advisers that tell you which cuts, colours and styles best suit your body type are really helpful and can help you to feel more confident in your body. However, I think that so much emphasis on fitting people in to categories that can only wear certain types of clothing can be pretty constricting. I mean, how many times have you heard "I love this dress but I'm too skinny to wear something like that" or "Wow, that top is gorgeous but that colour would look terrible with my skin tone". I think it's fun to try on things you would never usually wear!

So I'd like to suggest to anyone who has been sticking rigidly to the specific clothes the fashion industry says suits them them the best, at least try wearing some items of clothes that you don't techically suit you. You might feel great in something outside of your "category". It's a great way to internally reject the idea that your figure needs "flattering" or "enhancing", for you to look awesome. Of course, it is extremely helpful and even liberating to know what clothes will make you look good, especially if before you've been finding dress shopping a bit of a nightmare but, at the same time it can be fun to flaunt a quirk or to reject conventional ideas about beauty. This does not have to be a public statement so much as a reminder to yourself that these fashion rules are based on socially constructed, very narrow perceptions of beauty.

Comfy clothes make me happy!

So does dancing in swishy dresses... 

I think it's important to remember that, in the eyes of capitalism we are never beautiful and we are never good enough because they want us to continue to buy makeup to correct our faces and clothes to flatter our imperfect bodies. Screw that! As much as clothes, makeup and shopping are fun and artistic pastimes, if we can shake the feeling that we don't have enough, these become much healthier, less destructive pursuits. We should never aim for perfection but happiness, comfort and self expression. If you try something on and you feel great, don't worry about whether that particular shade of green is recommended for your skin tone.

So I say have fun wearing clothes that might not suit you. You might just look awesome!