For as far as I can remember, I've almost never walked into a clothes shop feeling confident that I would find clothes that fit me. Yup, not even at my thinnest. Looking back, I realized that it was a simple matter of the clothes not being suitable for my body type. I didn't know that then of course, I just thought that I was fat.
The clothes sold in my hometown were mostly from China, where people had small body frames. I could always fit clothes at the waist but not the bust area. Button-up shirts were a joke. If I took a smaller size I'd have unsightly gaping holes between the buttons. If I took a size bigger to accommodate my boobs, I end up looking like 'Ah Soh's grandmother'.
Jeans were no better. My waist was 25" and my hips were 36". Big difference. There were no Low-rise jeans back then and the only style available (at least at the stores in my hometown) were semi-high waist.Whatever that could fit my booty would leave a huge gape on my lower back which just looked plain fugly to say the least.
Unsurprisingly I disliked clothes shopping. When I actually gained weight, I HATED clothes shopping. I avoided buying clothes like the Plague. When I absolutely have to like for Christmas, I would usually be reduced to tears because I couldn't find anything to that fits me without making me look like a 40 year-old.
When I was working in Putrajaya I had access to Nichii, a hip clothing store. I LOOOVVVEEE Nichii to bits. They had a lot of styles that flatter plus-sized ladies, the material of their garments are comfortable and durable, it's not too pricey and they always have XL sizes of a particular style on the racks. They also seem to have something new every week! I kid you not! That was the time when I actually dressed up, the 10% from my whole lifetime that I knew I would walk out of a clothes store with a purchase every.single.time.
I came back to Sabah in 2010. DISASTER. The Nichii in KK is hopeless, carrying limited (not to mention unflattering) styles which stops at L size AND I swear some of the items stay on the rack for nearly a full year. Other shops that carry plus size are mostly horrendously expensive while impressively managing to look cheap at the same time. Me starting to gain more weight didn't help matters either.
Then I moved back to my hometown 2 1/2 years ago. DOUBLE DISASTER. Although we have lots of new buildings and clothing stores now, the clothes are STILL mostly from China *face palm*. After one too many frustrating episodes in the changing room, insecurity reared it's ugly head again. I decided not to care anymore because if I do, it would hurt too much. I just viewed clothing as something I put on in order not to walk around naked.
After discovering plus-sized fashion and style blogs recently however, my views on my body and clothes as well as fashion has changed a little. Seeing these women push the boundaries of fashion with fabulosity and sass is very inspiring. I especially love it when they show the clothes they tried on in the fitting rooms and give their impressions on them. It really helped me to realize that clothes should fit ME and not the other way around. If something doesn't fit, it's okay. Just move on to the next one.
With this in mind I have started to take more care and consideration with the way I dress instead of just pulling things from hangers randomly (preferably, something that does not need to be ironed). Since I haven't been giving two hoot about the way I dressed the past few years, I have very limited amount of clothes and even lesser amount of shoes. Hence, I started to play with accessories to (hopefully) change the look and feel of the outfits each time.
Here are some Outfit Of The Day (OOTD) photos from the past week:
My baju kurung top has a bright and busy pattern on it so I kept it simple with just adding bangles and pinning a brooch in my hair bun to keep it classy.
I chose a wooden bead necklace to go with my Batik print top. I also stringed a pearl bracelet in my hair bun. By the way, just how cute is my owl ring?
One of my fave tops from Nichii. I did my hair in a braided bun and added a thin mint green headband for a fun twist while anchoring the whole look with a black blazer.
Pretty laid back in this ensemble. Wore a red camera necklace with it for a 'cool' vibe.
I ain't no fashionista by far but I just feel the need to dress up more than usual. In a way, I think that by doing so, I am giving my body the attention and acknowledgement that it deserves. It's funny because now I already have a few outfits planned for next week and it's only Saturday. For someone who almost never plans her outfits, that's pretty extreme. Lol..
By the way, if you are in need of some inspiration, check the videos out below.
Dressing Room Confidential - Fall Fashion
Dressing Room Confidential - Workwear
What is your style? Is it Romantic or Bohemian? Punk or Classic? Whatever it is, do share in the comments section below. Toodles!
Love,
Phy
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