You’re perfect… But your wardrobe may tell a different story.
Has this happened to you? You go to the mall or worse your own closet and NOTHING looks good on you. The pants are too tight in the thighs and loose at the waist or butt; the dresses hug your hips but bunch up at your tummy. You look frumpy and feel fat. You tell yourself, you need to work out more, diet. All things you have told yourself before. Maybe for years.
If you can relate to this, you are not alone. Many women feel exactly like you do. Some feel too curvy, others too flat, too skinny, short or fat. The one thing I know is very few women are happy with the body they have. They struggle to find clothes that look good, buy clothes they never wear, waste time looking for something that looks great and leaving their closet frustrated and deflated. Believe me, this was my story before I got trained as an image consultant.
Guess what? It’s not us, it’s the clothes.
You are perfect just the way you are. Look around, women come in endless shapes and sizes. There are just over 3.5 billion women in the world and no one looks just like you. How can we expect the mass clothing designers to make clothes that fit all of us. Including plus sizes, there are fewer than 20 sizes of clothing available for billions of sizes of women.
Clothes are designed for the mass market. They are not made for you as an individual, to fit and flatter. They are made to sell to as many people as possible. They are made to make money, not to make you look and feel great. Just because a piece of clothing looks good on a mannequin, your friend, the salesclerk, doesn’t mean it will look good on you. Your job is to find a garment that is as close as possible to your size and have it altered. Yes, you should plan to alter all of your clothes; consider it lucky if you find a garment that fits you perfectly off the rack.
I recommend allocating a portion of your clothing budget to making sure clothes fit you properly. Before you wash them or wear them, take them to a great seamstress or tailor to make sure they can make the needed changes so all items fit you perfectly. If not return them. If the fabric may shrink with washing be sure to wash them before they are altered.
My top tips for altering your clothes:
- Don’t cut costs when it comes to alterations. I’ve had pants come back hemmed to different lengths and one was too short which left me no recourse. Your seamstress will permanently alter your clothing for the better if you find someone with the right skills.
- Stay away from the dry cleaners, instead find a dressmaker or tailor. If they know how to make clothes from scratch, they will know what it takes to precisely alter your clothes to your specifications.
- Don’t worry about the size of the clothes you buy. I know we all hate it when we find that great new item and it is in a size larger than we want. There is no standardization in the fashion industry. One designer’s size 4 is another designer’s size 10. If you find the perfect item that will help complete your wardrobe, it looks great on you and it fits you (with simple alterations), buy it and ignore that number.
- Make sure all of your garments fit you nicely at your widest parts and have the garment tucked, hemmed, taken in as needed.
My clients have found that it is better to have fewer items of clothing that fit perfectly and meet their personal style rules so the color, shape, scale and proportion are right for their personal brand and image. You really can have a closet full of clothes that you love. You can leave your house every day knowing you look your personal best. You are beautiful just the way you are, you just need to find clothes that fit.
