I love getting dressed. I do. If you don’t think about what you put on your body each day you are missing out. Missing out on the chance to feel fantastic. Missing out on the opportunity to present the version of yourself you want to be that day. Missing out on the feelings that come from harnessing the power clothing can generate.
This is also a form of privilege. It is a privilege to have infinite choice in what you put on your body and as a white, conventionally sized, able bodied woman I have always had access to this well of power. I have only recently come to truly appreciate everything this privilege entails.
Several of my interviews in the latest season of the podcast FashionTalks reveal the experiences and consequences of those who grew up without that access. These are fearless individuals who manoeuvred through the world finding their own solutions (Chantal Carter painted her bras to match her dark skin tone, Mahrzad Lari’s mother helped create clothing that was his preference instead of limiting him only to what was in his size) and then went on to start brands and platforms to create space in the fashion industry where none previously existed.
Meredith Shaw uses her IG account to consistently share messages of curve confidence. She recently posted about how, especially as women, we often feel like something is wrong with us when the clothes don’t fit properly. What is wrong with our body we ask? That is a trauma that runs deep. What is wrong with me such that clothes don’t fit my shape or match my skin colour?
Of course there is nothing wrong with us. We have just been socialised to believe that we should fit the clothes, that we should accommodate, change or be satisfied without. No. More.
Access to clothing that speaks to you; that allows you to express yourself in a way that feels just right is something we all deserve and are worthy of.
