Today is the last day of the Dress your best challenge week. It's not easy to talk about what you like about your body, something that other bloggers have noted (Kendi, for example, wrote about how it's so much easier to make fun of one's body). Today, I'm dressing to emphasize my hips. I've had a love/hate thing with my hips for a while, and I'm starting to love the more. I hated them because I thought they made me look unbalanced. To 15-22 year old Rad, a small bust should equal narrow hips, like Diane Keaton. But this how I'm built and you can't change your skeleton. No amount of misguided working out in high school and college ever changed the width of my hip bones and the tops of my thigh bones.
Over time, I learned appreciate how the made me look nice in certain kinds of clothing, like pencil skirts. They give me what few curves I have. While it is a pain in the butt to find pants or skirts that can fit my waist and my hips, I've heard that the bigger difference means certain health advantages (we'll see about that). So to appreciate my hips, I showing them off (for a day of working the home office) in what makes them look good- well fitting* low rise boot cut jeans. I've read that longer torsoed gals like me should wear medium to higher rise jeans, but my hips can have some of the spot light too. Plus, proportion flattery be damned, but these are the only kinds of jeans that I can fit right off the rack.**
Jeans: Uniqlo
Belt: borrowed from fella
Top: Lux, thrifted
Scarf: via Ebay
Shoes: Ecco
*This is temporary. Once I've been sitting for more than few minutes, they stretch out. Damn you, awesome jeans that have no stretch in the material!
** I said earlier that my legs made off the rack pants easy to fit. I was just talking about the inseam, not the whole waist/hips conundrum.
(Once again, Lula the chupacobra cat has decided to lord over my outfit photos. She is possibly semi-feral, so believe me when I say that standing in the photos is something that she decides to do. In fact, whenever I move stuff around to take pictures, she runs into our office before I close this door.)
Edit: I'll be featuring more of these "vintage" scarves I got for a song on Ebay the next few weeks. I'll try not to overload on them. Blokey was instantly amused by the acquisition, but not entirely on board. He wore the one from yesterday, ascot style, and serenaded me with "Dedicated Follower of Fashion." I have the sneaking suspicion that he might be making fun.
Those are some excellent fitting pants! I love the scarf in your hair! My boyfriend is always stealing bits of my outfit (usually my vintage boy scout pins and putting them on his messenger bag) or mocking me for loving clothes so much. Guh, he'll never get it!
ReplyDeletetoo orgeous- you have an amazing figure girl!
ReplyDeleteand forget boys- they dont even begin to comprehend fashion.. haha
xx
I think that anyone wearing an ascot, however ironically, is not effectively making fun of following fashion.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, you look great in these jeans. I am not as tall as you but I also feel disproportionately pear-shaped and you are inspiring me with this look, which I would totally shy away from normally. Thanks for a great week of thoughtful DYB posts. I wish I could have participated but I am not nearly body-confident enough yet (blogging to the rescue!).
Also, was Blokey in "show choir" too?
You look so adorable in this outfit! Jeans and a t-shirt have never looked better :) And I love S. in the scarf. Great look for him. According to the Daily Show earlier this week, ascots are back. So I'm glad he's on board.
ReplyDeleteDM: Blokey wasn't in show choir. He can sing OK but he's not a ham like me. And you're probably right- he took the scarf. I didn't put it on him.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the lovely compliments! Blokey actually cares a lot about style, but he doesn't really accessorize or accumulate like me. But man is picky about a pair of jeans.
I love your vintage scarves!
ReplyDeleteI agree that unfortunately (women especially) are socialized to feel much more comfortable picking apart and deriding our bodies rather than finding ways to praise them for their health, their attractiveness, or even their able-ness when applicable. You have a lovely shape so from where I sit, it would seem like a simple task to find reasons for praise but I also realize that the self can be more critical than onlookers. I love the Kinks, btw.
Wow, those jeans fit like a dream!
ReplyDelete