BEING “IN” WITHOUT BEING “THIN”
Is it possible to be “in” fashion in 2022 if your figure doesn’t resemble that of the high-style fashion model? Many may say that the old ways of coping with the looks of the fashion models are no longer important. I would say that yes things have changed but if women were honest with themselves they still buy clothes with the hope of emulating the looks of the gorgeous models that grace the runways and social media.
We are all constantly bombarded by the media images of what is considered “beautiful” and those styles that seem to be “sprayed on the “perfect” figures. Whereby, any woman over 120 pounds might as well stick to her old wardrobe, if the “look” of perfection is “skinny”, and you are not a size 4 or 6. My belief is that to be stylish, does not mean wearing a garment currently touted in the upscale fashion magazines, but rather choosing clothes that enhance your unique body type.
So many women get caught up when shopping for clothes with the image in their minds of the fashion models that they lose sight of what styles are right for their figure and age. Women must take the time to analyze what styles enhance their shape and which do not. This is one of the reasons I invented the personalized Stylefitter® Virtual Fashion Advisor, to help women learn what clothing shapes work for them individually.
A woman who is a petite height size 14 and a woman who is tall and size 18 are obviously at different ends of the body spectrum. Yet, one often hears women with both body types. excitedly exclaiming how they can’t wait to go out and shop for that same “fabulous” outfit. The question one would ask is why do they get so excited about clothing styles that are not right for their shape and would not enhance their appearance. I believe is it what I call becoming “fashion blind™ ”. For those women who shop for styles that are so obviously not right for them, they are shopping without taking into consideration their body type, but rather are shopping unconsciously. As if they had the same body type as the models in the magazines and on the runway.
Advertising agencies know how women react to the strong need to be “socially beautiful” and their ads appeal to this need. Women are shown what is determined as “beautiful” for today. This message is solidified by what they see on the runways all over the world… thin, young, and extremely tall models that would look good in a potato sack. In fact, at my event “ A Closet Full of Clothes With Nothing to Wear™ performed in New York City I designed an outfit made out of a potato sack and put it on a lovely model and the audience cheered! I also took a garbage bag and made a skirt out of it, matched it with a lovely sweater, and put a gorgeous model again cheers were heard from the audience. Beautiful models who are extremely thin and tall are still the women we see wearing the latest styles and trends on the runway and in the media. They look good in almost any clothing style they wear. The result is that we begin to fantasize that we can look as lovely as those models if we buy that dress or suit, etc. This propaganda is done so subtly by the fashion media that our fantasies become our shopping reality and we get “fashion blind™ ”.
Therefore, it is very important that we stop before we shop and take stock of our own body type and what enhances our appearance. As times have changed they have brought more and more clothing styles to choose from making the task of shopping for the correct styles more difficult that are right for our shape. Whereby we need to, more than ever, focus not on what we are told is “in” fashion, but rather realize that following the fashion trends may mean we are totally “out” of touch with the right clothing that enhances our individual body type. Once you begin to accept that being fashionable needs to be based on what you look good in and learn what enhances your body shape; you will start shopping smart, save time and money and enjoy dressy-up!
Learn more about Andrea Rose’s “Stylefitter® Virtual Fashion Advisor”
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