(Fatshion) Rules are made to be broken

{Found this in my drafts, written in 2011 where I've since put on at least another 2 stone but I still feel the same, even if I look even bigger}


Hello,

Bit of a random post but I've been meaning to write this for a while now.

It's about fashion and being fat. Fatshion.

I love clothes and for me it's a passion and a hobby. I like buying clothes, wearing clothes, talking and typing about clothes and all the rest of it. But for me, because of my size, it is not an easy passion to pursue. I'm like a blind man who enjoys silent films. Ok not quite, but you get my drift.

The fashion world is not meant to be inhabited by fatties. The high street doesn't want fatties either, especially young and short ones!

No matter what size (size 8 or 28) you are, there are fashion rules, but like any rules, some rules are meant to be broken.

A lot of rules are common sense, but rather then treat them as rules and letting them restrict you, you should treat them as guidelines and consider them when getting dressed but disregard them if you like what you see in the mirror.

I've been fat for a long time; I was a chubby kid, a fat teen, an obese adult. That is the truth. And a lot of people have a problem with it, I think I might be the only person who isn't really bothered. If I could wake up a size 8 then whoooppppeee I'd be happy, much happier then I am now I think (I could shop in Topshop!!!!) but in reality I am lazy and I am greedy and so I doubt I would ever lose enough weight to be even near a size 16 or under.

I have learned a long time ago to dress to embrace my shape and my size. I have to be a bit more generous and a cast a kinder eye over my reflection, I cannot afford to be too critical of myself as if I was, I'd probably never leave the house!!

It is true that I wear a lot (99.9% of my wardrobe) of black, but this is the way I was brought up. There is a school class picture of me from about 1994 and I'm wearing a black top, black skirt and a big fat black bow on my head. I haven't changed my wardrobe much since then!!!

The thing I hate most about fashion/fatshion rules is this notion that by wearing certain things other people will not notice your flaws. Let's use Beth Ditto as an example, she is a fatshionista who is known for breaking the rules - do you honestly think that if she wore black and avoid stripes and bold prints that we would be fooled and think she was a size 8? I don't think so somehow. And this is the mind set I use when I get dressed.

I hate my lardy lumps but I love my silhouette and so I wear leggings and skinny jeans and little skirts. I honestly don't think choosing bootcut jeans over skinny jeans is going to fool anyone. But saying that I hate my fatty arms and so I would not wear a spaghetti strap vest.

I hate Gok Wan's rhetoric- He often talks about "disguise", "create an illusion", "make you look slimmer" "you can't wear THAT because you don't have the right proportions" - I think he is extremely talented but I don't like the words he uses; the "who needs enemies when I have friends" approach.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I think that the only rule you have to follow and should never break is, love yourself.