Pantless in the Mall

I write about maintaining positive body images, how natural figures and curves are sexy, being comfortable in your own skin, and embracing that inner sexy Goddess.  I finally, in my mid-30s, pride myself in being comfortable in my skin, in being able to look at myself in the mirror and smiling at what I see. I don’t have the body of a model, but I don’t want that body.  For the most part, I am happy with me just the way I am!

And then I go pant shopping.

That was yesterday for me. And somewhat of a disaster on the whole ‘positive body image campaign’. Yes, at the age 35, I may have had a temper tantrum or two in the store and I may have been on the brink of tears.  My companions, sillily suggested mall stores at one point, that quickly spiraled the experience out of control.  Why our main fashion outlets, like Esprit, Banana Republic …etc, can’t make clothes for a gal with curves and hips is beyond me.  I have a small waist and big hips and can’t for the life of me find flattering pants that fit correctly in such stores. And I know my figure is not abnormal.

It's Winter - Dress for the Weather

My body (Photographer: Lola May)

At the end of the day, I ended up in a store carrying expensive European fashions and I found some pants that made me feel exquisite and are exceptionally flattering to my figure.  Will I still need to battle the trauma of the other stores and feeling fat?  Yep, and this is likely why I avoid pant shopping until my clothes start looking tatty. But I was lucky, I had someone that wanted to splurge a little on me and buy me the pants that made me feel exquisite. Not everybody is as lucky.  Not everybody can afford to shop in the fancy stores, and then I think about the teenagers.  The shops in the malls are designed with the teenage shopper in mind.  What does it do to the impressionable teen, whose body is changing drastically, when all the clothes in the trendy stores in the mall are designed for women without curves?  Should these stores not have something for all shapes and sizes as opposed to hipless women?

At what point is the mainstream fashion industry going to join campaigns, like that of Dove’s, and celebrate real women’s bodies and help women to feel like the sexy devils they are? Fashion should make us feel good about ourselves, not horribly insecure.

New Topic to Trend on Twitter: #curvesaresexy

In the last few minutes, I have been both disgusted and elated.

Elated by Brigitte, a popular Germany women’s magazine, that has decided to finally ban the use of emaciated models that set-up unhealthy body images in women’s mind.  Love this comment by the editor-in-chief,  Andreas Lebert, editor-in-chief, who is “fed up” with having to retouch pictures of underweight models who bore no resemblance to ordinary women, “For years we’ve had to use Photoshop to fatten the girls up,” he said. “Especially their thighs, and decolletage. But this is disturbing and perverse and what has it got to do with our real reader?” Now what I want to know, is where in Canada I can get my hot little paws on a copy of Brigitte, as I want to start reading?

Photo by Sandra Nahdi

Photo by Sandra Nahdi

The Disgust (and yes, I know I capitalized it) on the flip side came from Karl Lagerfeld, creative director and head designer at Chanel.  He is quoted as saying, “No one wants to see a curvy woman?” on Focus Magazine’s website.  Rather curious to know then, if Karl, if he fancies women, likes his women unhealthy, because biologically speaking, us women were designed to have curves.  Also curious, to know if this is the image that Chanel wants portrayed out there? I mean, Karl after all is in-charge of design and your creative vision.  Chanel, are you disgusted by us curvy gals?

Photo by Rene

Photo by Rene

I thank Now Public for bringing this to my attention and in response to their query of What Do I Think?:

As a self proclaimed expert of all that is sexy in this fine country of ours (or at the very least Vancouver), I am now a HUGE fan of Brigitte and think that Karl Lagerfeld should be taken out and shot for injustices to woman kind. While there are a few women, who naturally have no curves without starving themselves, they do not represent the majority of women.

Women were meant to be curvaceous.  Our bodies are built for child bearing, after all. And I for one find curves to be DAMN SEXY and DAMN HOT! And if a fashion designer could properly design a pair of pants to fit a woman’s shapely figure – ie small on the waist and big on the hips – I for one would be eternally grateful. I am not a fan of giving everyone a plumber’s view of my ass everywhere I go, which is what most current women’s pants are designed to do.

Oh and one final note:  Can we also PLEASE let models smile????  Smiling is irresistible. Whomever decided that non-smiling models, that look as though they’ve spent their entire lives without delight, was sexy is clearly a dumb ass.

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

Me and My Curves

Me and My Curves

So what to do?  Join the Loyal Order of Knights of the Curve and spread the word, #curvesaresexy on twitter.  It’s time we all started embracing a healthy body image as sexy.  There’s nothing sexy about starving ourselves.