Sunday, March 21, 2010

Curvy Women's Dilemma

Draft:


Composition:

Green Tank Top (Old Navy)
Jeans (JCPenney)
Blue Flats (Payless)
Pink Scarf (gift from friend in Italy)


Usage:

My first outfit is actually a spring break outfit worn on one of the first warm days of spring.  On this particular day, I had a few things on my agenda: shopping trip (a fruitful one that you will see the spoils of soon), coffee shop for research and writing, and watching March Madness games with my boyfriend at our favorite local watering hole.  I wanted an outfit that was cute, casual, and comfortable.  I also wanted something that could transition from day to night.

I own a couple of these basic Old Navy tank tops, which are great for layering.  It was too warm for a cardigan, but a little too cool for just the tank top.  So I put on this scarf, which warmed me up just enough and gave it a little extra something.

I love these flats.


They're my favorite color - a deep, cerulean blue - and the faux jewel details give them a sparkly kick.  They're also super comfortable, perfect for long days.

Thinking about the great points that Liz made in her last post about rejecting the notion that women should always look "narrower" by doing things like deemphasizing our hips, I wonder what people think about the way certain clothing is designed with "hanger" women in mind.  For example, in this post, I'm wearing a pair of skinny jeans, which I recently bought.  I resisted this style for a long time because I had trouble finding ones that fit my hips properly.  Some types of clothing, like big ruffly tops or the bandage dresses that were extremely popular in the celeb world about 6 months ago, are certainly meant to be worn by very slender women.  I think that there are ways that curvier women like myself can style clothing designed for slimmer bodies -- belting tent dresses so they don't hang limply off our bodies, for example -- but sometimes I feel that my body is simply incompatible with certain styles.


Prompts:
  • For my fellow curvy ladies, how do you deal with the difficulties of having a womanly shape in world where designers cater to smaller frames?
  • And, because I love my figure* despite my occasional frustrations, what items do you wear when you want to flaunt your curves?

*As a Christina Hendricks wannabe, I really wanted one of the Joan Harris (Holloway) dolls until I found out that they were modeled on Barbie's figure, not Christina Hendricks.

3 comments:

Scholar Style Guide said...

I've noticed that tailored dresses are great for flattering curvier body types. Many women seem to wear larger clothes in hopes of disguising their frame, but in my opinion, clothes that are close to the body (but not tight) really flatter a "womanly" figure.

It's funny you should mention bandage dresses (the very idea of squeezing myself into one of these is horrifying) but I actually think they look better on curvier girls (like Kim Kardashian, who seems to live in them) than they do on rail-thin women.

-Liz

Scholar Style Guide said...

Weighing in on the bandage dress: I concur with Liz! Curvier bodies make those Herve Leger dresses work. On a different note, you seem to choose colors that suit you tonally. This cerulean shade is perfect for you, as is the emerald shade of the trench you wear in a more recent post. I struggle to choose colors which suit my natural coloring. What's your secret?

-Anne-Marie

Scholar Style Guide said...

I thought about the bandage dress thing, and I eventually decided that I'm with you guys. When I wrote it, I was thinking particularly of smushing myself into one of them and having things pop out inappropriately. Yikes!

Thanks, Anne-Marie! I actually just wrote a really long comment in response to dressing for my coloring, but I think I'll make it a post later in the week. :)

-Katie