OFM Style: Body-Positive Fashion Tips
Get the look that makes you feel body-positive!
During the season of love, it can be hard to find the confidence for you or your loved one. Trust me when I say not every day can be as fabulous as the next, and that is totally OK. Finding the body confidence you need to wear what you want and flaunt what you got isn’t easy. Here are a few tips to get you started.
First and foremost, finding a style you want to align yourself with is important, be it grunge, Y2K cyberpunk, athleisure, or even cool and collected silhouettes; having a good idea of what you yearn to wear is crucial. An easy way to understand the look you are going for is through these simple questions.
1. What elements of the outfit do you already have to work into your look?
2. What layers and textures are you working with?
3. What can you add to make it your own?
These questions may seem simple at first, but will allow you to
understand an outfit’s composition and how it will look on you.
Let’s start small with the first question: what elements of the outfits you want to emulate do you currently have? This is a great segway of transforming clothes you have now into the look you are going for. Sure, you can visit a store to buy something similar, but due to micro-seasons in fast fashion, what you have can go out of date quickly or is not made with as much quality as you deserve.
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When you incorporate clothes you know fit you well with new pieces, the contrast makes the fit work for you. That oversized, comfy sweatshirt with a dress shirt under, chinos or a tartan skirt, and your favorite pair of Doc Martens boots, can give you the grungy, E-boy/girl look you see trending.
The second question: what layers and textures do you see are being worked with? The best part of the outfit (other than wearing it) is the texture of the fabric. I know for bigger bodies sometimes you are more inclined to draw less attention to certain areas, but adding patterns and layers can take you from invisible to seen. For example, wearing a twill-knit sweater with dressy slacks and a Chelsea boot give you a put-together look with a relaxed feel. Easy to move around in, and it’s effortless style. Look for things you want to copy, and think, how can I make this my own?
Finally, the third element is important for all body types: what makes an outfit yours? Is it a color switch? Is it long, flowing, draped cloth? Or that brooch you have been dying to wear with something/anything? Adding a flair of you is what brings your outfit together. If you aren’t feeling good in what you are wearing, you aren’t going to look good, plain and simple.
Related article: From Gowns to Masks- Fashion Designer Christian Siriano
A pair of statement boots in a monochrome outfit can give you that color pop you are looking for. Even wearing a blanket, scarf, or a shawl over your normal, office outfit in place of a cardigan or blazer gives your silhouette that oomph it is looking for. Palette swaps for grunge outfits or wearing a solid-color jean with no tears can transform an outfit from Kurt Cobain to Tyler, the Creator. It’s all about feel; small alterations on an emulated look can make it your own.
Even when you aren’t feeling your best, putting on something you may normally not wear in public and walking around the house can help you gain the confidence you are looking for to wear it out and about. Most importantly, being comfortable in your own skin and radiating unapologetic “youness” is what brings your outfits together. You have the power to wear your clothes the way Naomi Campbell does, and that is amazing.
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