It’s suddenly got hot in England. Really hot. From having a week’s worth of rain and a cool breeze to suddenly being in a full-blown heatwave. It’s safe to say that many of us haven’t known what to wear with this sudden influx of heat. What’s worse is that it has coincided with the country opening up from a third lockdown.
This time last year, nobody really saw a lot of our bodies. We could lounge around in our houses and gardens in our underwear or bikinis and not have a care in the world. But now, we have to think harder as the world sees more of us — quite literally.
The heat is something I have a love-hate relationship with. But I’ve always struggled with summer fashion. I have always struggled with an eating disorder, so finding any shorts that made me feel good was near impossible. This year I’ve been actively trying to not give a shit about what my body looks like. I’ve had ups and downs with this, but I am writing this to give myself — and anyone else — a crucial reminder.
As it gets hotter, don’t be afraid to show your skin to the world. Also, you shouldn’t feel the need to cover up or hide the way your body looks like when you sit down, as that’s just how it moves and sits.
☆Summer clothes are naturally more restrictive and expose more skin☆
Think high-waisted shorts, tighter tops, shorter skirts, and dresses. Everything that summer fashion is associated with is designed to usually show more skin. It can be a difficult transition to make when you’ve been used to wearing baggy jumpers and jeans for half the year. Or like me, having lived in loungewear for the best part of a year.
As the weather changes, suddenly, you’re wearing less, and more of the world is seeing you. Sometimes, you don’t know how to sit or compose yourself. When wearing a skirt, you have to remember not to flash someone, or if you have bigger legs, you have to endure the pain of chaffing with pretty much anything you wear.
It can be difficult to find what is comfortable to wear — let alone what our bodies decide to look like when we sit down. That’s a whole other thing in itself. If I’m having a bad day, I’ll spend hours deliberating by trying on outfits and sitting down in them to see how my body looks from certain angles. The truth is, I’m never happy with what it looks like, so it’s a pointless exercise. Don’t do what I do.
Wear clothes that make you feel happy, comfortable, and confident and go with what works for you and nobody else. That’s when you’ll find true happiness.
☆Don’t hide your rolls — they’re a natural part of your body☆
last month, I had a friends visiting from up north, and it was also a sweltering week. I knew I would be spending most of the day outside in the hot weather, with hot air being blown on my head, so I wanted to wear something cool. I went out of my comfort zone and immediately regretted it when I saw what I looked like as I sat down and faced myself in a large mirror.
All I could see in front of me, as I was trying to focus on what my friends were saying, was a shapeless lump. That day I had chosen to wear a tight-fitting cropped top with loose mom jeans. But when I sat down, you couldn’t see my shape at all. All you could see was rolls and a stomach. Now the moment has passed, I have realised how stupid this line of thought really is.
The truth is, nobody else was looking at me or giving a second thought to the shape of my body. As a result, nobody was thinking the same thoughts as I was, and I shouldn’t have worried or tried to adjust the way I was sitting to hide anything. It was such a stupid thing to think because the rolls and shape I saw in the mirror were just how my body had chosen to sit. It was beyond my control.
Posting a photo of my rolls is a bold move on my part. It shows I have somewhat come to peace with what I looked like that day and my insecurities.
Fundamentally — why should we have to hide our bodies and contort them into uncomfortable positions just for the sake of preventing someone from seeing how our body sits in its natural position? The short answer is — we shouldn’t.
☆It’s hard, but we should all embrace the skin we are in☆
Rolls are literally folds of skin. Most people have them regardless of what size they are. Although it’s still not socially acceptable to show them off, we all have them depending on what we wear and how we sit. Summer clothes can be more restrictive; therefore, we naturally increase our chances of putting our bodies in this position.
But you have nothing to hide. If you see your stomach rolling in the mirror, don’t recoil in disgust or try to change your position but accept it. I say this as a person who struggles and is still struggling. However, I know it’s a mindset I need to adopt.
When I was in that moment, I even found myself considering the idea of re-assessing my wardrobe to wear more ‘roll friendly’ clothes. How crazy is that?
Like most things we are insecure about, rolls are completely normal. We’re not exposed to them on social media, through advertising campaigns or anything else. Diet culture tells us we have to have perfectly flat and toned stomachs to wear revealing clothes and bikinis. We’re conditioned to want to be summer body ready and have to lose several pounds to be deserving of wearing a bikini.
These false expectations and the need to contort our bodies into unnatural positions, all for the sake of saving a few folds of skin when we sit down, is ludicrous when you start to think of it as what it is.
Body positivity isn’t easy. Loving your own skin is a journey towards self-acceptance. Every day isn’t necessarily a bright one. But it’s about changing your mindset and putting your worries and insecurities into perspective.
☆Final thoughts☆
We have no control over the way our skin decides to sit. Whether it glides across our bodies smoothly or decides to fold on top of each other. One thing we do have control of is our attitude.
Rolls are just a sign of your body being free to sit how it wants to. We can try to contort it into various forms at the cost of our own discomfort, but the truth is, we should just let them be.
Wear what you want this summer, whatever form that takes. Try not to worry about what your body decides to do when it sits down because chances are; you’ll be the only person who notices anyway.
