Wear the right size.
Can we all just go ahead and admit that at some point in our lives, we've smooshed ourselves into ill-fitting clothing because the minuscule print on the itty-bitty tag that no one but us can see bears the number what we want or believe it ought to say? Come on, don't be shy, go ahead and raise your hand. Yeah, me too.
Can we also admit that there is almost nothing that destroys our self-confidence and positive body image faster than trying to zip up a pair of pants that's two sizes too small? There's an easy fix for this, gals, and in case you didn't see it the first time, the answer is:
Wear the right size.
Think about it. When you stand in front of the mirror wearing that pair of premium denim jeans that you can only just barely zip up, what do you see? Most likely, you see a giant muffin top. I used to work in a big box retail clothing store famous for its jeans, and the muffin top phenomenon was one I heard about a lot. And you know what was ridiculous about it? What I was hearing from the women staring in the mirror was that it was their bodies causing the muffin top. WRONG! Ladies, absolutely anyone will get that look by wearing pants that are too small. So why are we blaming ourselves? Here's the thing. The size on your clothing tag is there to help give you a rough idea of which of the 38 pairs of pants on the rack that all look exactly the same you might want to try on first. They are not there to dominate your life, to bring sadness into your heart or to make you judge your body. Really! The sooner you can move past the idea that those tiny little tags "ought to" bear a certain number, the better. So here's another tip:
If you don't like the number on that size tag, REMOVE THE FLIPPING SIZE TAG.
In my own closet, I have clothing that fits my body in sizes that range from a little girl's size 12 to a ladies' size 8. That's a span of roughly 7 sizes. Because the clothing industry has no enforceable sizing standards for ladies' clothing, sizes can vary greatly from one shop to another (and sometimes, even within the same store). Most likely, if you're shopping by fit and not by what's on the size tag, you'll wind up with a large span of sizes in your wardrobe, too. And if you FEEL like you "shouldn't" be that size 16 that looks great in the mirror, then just snip that little tag right out! In a few weeks, you'll have forgotten all about what the tiny little number used to say, and you'll have played a really useful trick on your brain to help you filter out allllll those negative body image things and focus on building a positive body image for yourself. Because really, you look amazing. ;)
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