New Year, New Notions.

The other day I watched as a woman (probably a size zero maybe a size two) tried on a double breasted peacoat, size medium. She turned over to look at me...my mouth was at the floor. She was smiling. "How's it look?!" What I wanted to say was, "really?" REALLY? I wanted to tell her that I wear a medium (I am a size 8/10/12 depending on how gutsy i'm feeling that day) and there was no way she and I wore the same size. But then I realized her pants were easily 3 sizes too big, her shirt was nothing but a flood at her hips and wrists, she literally looked as if she was a child wearing her mother's clothes. I couldn't understand it. How does someone walk around in clothes that are so incredibly big? Does she not look in the mirror in the morning and think it odd that even her belt can't keep the jeans on?

So, when she turned to me, smiling, I nodded. I complimented her on the choice of coat, saying that wearing it belted really defined her waist well. I then picked out the XS and suggested that she try it on--just for kicks. She kind of shrugged as if asking "are you sure?" In my head I was screaming "yes, YES!" But I just smiled and gave it to her. Her arms went gently into the coat, she pulled it on, and the shoulders were no longer drooping off the sides. She buttoned it, belted it, and then turned to the mirror. I smiled. Finally you could see the beautiful little figure she keeps hidden under all those clothes. And when she saw herself it was if something had clicked. She saw how it looked, how it felt, and understood.

So whether it's you buy clothes that are too big for you, or too small, or even if you think your derierre can't carry a print, everyone has preconceived notions about clothes: what they can wear, what they can't, and what they do--when they shouldn't. I recently bought my first pair of "skinny" jeans (the trick is...if you're blessed with hips and thighs, get the "straight" leg fit--they'll fit like skinny jeans without the super uncomfortable fit). I now sport leggings (sometimes!) under dresses to make them appropriate for the winter chill. Branch out. If you need to, bring a new friend shopping with you to help open your horizons to different cuts, and different styles. Don't just go by what you read in magazines: adverse to popular opinion, there are more body shapes then just apples, pears, and bananas. And, if you find floods at your hips, wrists, and lots of extra fabric at the thighs, please take off your mother's clothing and walk into a new year, with new notions.