03/25/2021
Alyse Kaminski | Staff Columnist
As much as I love Spring and Summer, it is hardly my favorite time of year fashion-wise. Since high school, I’ve been self-conscious about my body. I know that according to my BMI, I am categorized as overweight, but I wouldn’t really call myself plus-size. Even so, wearing shorts and showing off my legs makes me nervous. Trying on swimsuits is a nightmare each year.
I am midsize and I am learning to be happy with that, but it’s been a journey to get there.
Mid-size women get lost in the shuffle. Most brands show off their skinniest models, with small waists and hardly an ounce of fat on their bodies. Of course, these women deserve to have representation, but so do others. Brands are also finally learning to show off bigger girls, because they deserve to be seen and feel represented too. However, a lot of popular stores don’t really show women who are a size 8 to 14 — girls who are in the middle.
American Eagle and Aerie, like always, probably do the best job at showing off how their clothes will look on any body type. You’d really think by now more brands would be following suit, but I just haven’t seen that. For example, I’ve been looking high and low lately on all the popular brands’ websites for a cute graduation outfit. Scrolling down every page there is one skinny model after another, accompanied by the few and far between plus-sized woman.
For the longest time, I felt like my size was strange. Looking back, I know that it is not. Many women wear mid-size clothing and that’s part of the reason why finding size mediums and larges can be hard when shopping. Even so, trends aren’t being modeled to this group to show what new styles will look like on a girl who falls in the middle.
One thing that has really helped me with realizing mid-size is perfectly normal is TikTok. The algorithm has given me videos of girls with a similar figure as me showing off new trends on their bodies. I’m learning what looks good on my type of figure, what doesn’t really work, and most importantly, to wear whatever I want to wear.
Fashion is unique to everyone. It is part of what makes you who you are. That is what is so fun about it. I am sick of having to feel limited to wearing bulky sweatshirts and leggings everyday strictly because I don’t feel comfortable going to the store to try on the latest jeans or blouse trend.
What we really need to embrace is all sorts of body types. Everyone needs to be represented in the fashion industry. Not only this, but the fashion industry could do a much better job of creating trends that don’t just look good on one specific body type.
There is so much work to be done on this, and frankly I don’t know enough about fashion to say how to solve the problem. But when it comes down to it, I think you should just wear what you like. If you like a certain trend, there is no need to let someone else’s standard of beauty dictate if you try it or not.
Life’s too short to care what other people think. We literally lost a year of the ability to go out and show off cute clothes to the world because of COVID-19. Wear what you want and have fun doing it. I know it’s easier said than done, but even just trying is a good step to take.
Every body type is beautiful. Every figure is valid. The idea that someone is more attractive than another person because of their weight is man-made.
