Now, I am not slim… I err towards fat…. Okay, FINE….  I more than err towards fat, alrighty….

I am big.  But the funny thing is, I don’t stop and think about my size during the day.  Yes, I do get surprised in photographs at the strange rotund woman with a silly face on… but I don’t worry about any of it.  I don’t obsess about hair, make-up or what I look like.

But recently something has been getting on my nerves.

This whole, “Dress for your body shape” movement…. the “Dress for the body you have not the body you want…” 

It bugs me, and I think it sends the wrong message to girls and women in general.  I have no intention of dressing for my body shape with floaty layers, non-form-hugging clothing, muted colours, and essentially blending in with a beige wall in a modern, suburban home.  Not for me.  I get annoyed that once you reach a certain size- which by the way is anything from like size 10 up, finding clothing with actual colour is almost impossible.  I admit to buying anything in orange I find.  And I am okay with that.

I think more people should be.

Dress in what makes you feel good.  There are days when I feel like the world is against me, and I have a mammoth fight on my hands…. these are the days I dress in Star Trek, Star Wars or Doctor Who tee shirts.  (Nerd alert)  Then there are days when I feel like I should act like I know what I am doing…. then I wear a short black dress with loud tights.  Then there are my “My Little Pony” days…. when I feel like being covered in stars and glitter and rainbows…. and so I do.

Do people like this?  Well…. no.  My sister once said I have the fashion sense of a four year old.  She may be correct.

I like to be colourful and approach the world with optimism.  I don’t want to blend in.  I don’t want to be one of the crowd.  I don’t want to be a sheep.

What I want to be is the inner person.  The me I see in my mind. 

When the next person tells me I should dress in something more flattering, they really should take a deep breath and be prepared.  I am no shrinking violet, and I am not ashamed of who or what I am.  I am indeed making sheep and dinosaur costumes for my dogs to wear when I dress in onesies to take them walkies.

That’s my message.  Wear what makes you happy.  If it is the hat nana made you, or that dress with the cute print, or the pants that just make you want to dance, wear them, without worrying if your bum looks big, or if people will judge you.  Worry about whether the outfit makes your personality look big.  That is the most important thing.

Other than, wear what makes you smile.

Here’s a typical outfit for me…. Lord of the Rings tights…. a nephew…. and trying to pick the nose of an ogre.