Flattering Clothes

Do Clothes Really Need to Be Flattering?

No.

There, it has been said.

For years, I believed every outfit had to be "flattering." Every shopping trip, magazine article, and fashion tip seemed to revolve around the same goal: looking thinner.

Wear dark colors because they're slimming.

Avoid horizontal stripes.

Accentuate your waist.

Hide your stomach.

Lengthen your legs.

The message was clear: clothes weren't meant to help me express myself, they were meant to help me disguise myself.

As a plus-size woman, I heard the word "flattering" so often that I stopped asking a much more important question:

Do I actually like it?

Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught that our bodies are problems to solve rather than bodies to dress.

We are encouraged to choose clothing based on what makes us appear smaller, taller, thinner, or more proportionate. Rarely are we encouraged to choose clothing simply because it makes us happy.

But what if clothes don't need to be flattering?

What if they just need to be fun?

What if they need to be comfortable, colorful, expressive, bold, dramatic, sparkly, trendy, weird, nostalgic, or completely over-the-top?

What if clothing is allowed to be art instead of camouflage?

When I stopped focusing on whether an outfit was flattering, fashion became enjoyable again. I started wearing bright colors, crop tops, statement pieces, bold prints, and styles that reflected my personality rather than my insecurities.

Did every outfit make me look smaller?

No.

Did every outfit make me feel more like myself?

Absolutely.

And that's what matters.

The idea that clothes must always be flattering assumes the highest purpose of getting dressed is making our bodies appear closer to a certain beauty standard. But I don't think that's true.

I think the purpose of clothing can be self-expression.

It can be confidence.

It can be joy.

It can be comfort.

It can be showing the world who you are before you ever say a word.

If an outfit makes you smile when you see yourself in the mirror, that's enough.

If it makes you feel confident, that's enough.

If it makes you feel powerful, creative, comfortable, or beautiful, that's enough.

Your clothes do not exist to earn approval from other people.

They exist to be worn by you.

So the next time you're trying something on, instead of asking, "Is it flattering?" try asking:

"Do I love it?"

Because life is too short to spend it dressing for a body you're constantly trying to change.

Wear the stripes.

Wear the crop top.

Wear the bold print.

Wear the statement piece.

Wear the thing that makes you feel like you.

That's more important than flattering could ever be.

My goal isn't to look smaller. My goal is to look like myself.