I'm kind of a big deal...

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Every Body...

Hi!

Many of my friends/family come to me for fashion advice because they think I am some fashion guru.  I am flattered by the compliment but admittedly, it makes me feel uncomfortable.  I think fashion is personal and it is hard for me to tell people what they should wear. I am of the adage that you should wear what you feel comfortable in and it should be what you like.  If wearing sequin shorts makes you feel like a rock star than you should wear them!  I am so sick of hearing people make comments that fat people shouldn't wear _______ or that tall skinny people should stay away from________. Seriously???  Life is too short to be boxed in.  Putting yourself in a box/adhering to fashion conventions only serves to solidify the stereotype that only certain bodies can wear certain things.  Haven't we evolved past that thinking?  I know what you are saying to yourself: Izzy, I hear you but what about the designers who don't design for my body? It's true.  As fatshionistas, we are sometimes relegated to what is at our disposal.  It seems a bit disingenuous to tell a size 32 person to "make it work" when the majority of clothes out there won't/don't work for that size. Well now what?  I don't have all the answers but I do know that if we continue to advocate for ourselves and each other changes in the industry will occur.  I'm not just talking about advocating for all the size 20's just because that is the size you happen to be.  I'm talking about advocating for the body to your right or the body to your left no matter how different it may be from your own.  In social work there is a term called "we-ness"--it is essentially the cultivation and promotion of a common agenda and vision and the belief that as a unit, we must commit ourselves to moving that agenda/vision forward.  So what should our agenda be? I believe it should be that all bodies have equal access to fashions/styles that make the individual wearing them feel fabulous, empowered, and just plain beautiful. In war it is a common conception that a soldier fights not for himself or herself on the battlefield but for the person next to him/her.   Now let's all espouse that notion and do the same...

<3
Izzy

Top: Banana Republic
Pants: Gap
Belt: Talbots
Shoes: F21
Clutch: Purchased from Canal Street in NYC
Glasses: UO
Bangle: Ashley Stewart
Earrings: ASOS

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