Styling Outfits When You Struggle With Body Image & Confidence
Often when I think or talk about style sometimes I forget that so many of us struggle with body image and confidence. Putting together outfits that your happy with when you're worrying about how you look can be incredibly hard to deal with on a daily basis. It's something that I've really struggled with over my teenage years and adult life so today I wanted to talk about styling outfits when you're lacking confidence and a few important things to remember.
wear what you feel good in
I'm not a person who believes in chasing trends or only wearing outfits that are considered 'in' at the time. I wear the clothes that make me feel good and make me feel as confident as I possibly can. So what if it's not the most fashionable thing in the world? That's not what should come before your own happiness. When you don't have much confidence wearing items that make you feel uncomfortable and self-conscious is only going to knock your confidence more.
EMPHASISE YOUR FAVOURITE AREAS
Even if you're not brimming with confidence. There is probably still something that you like about yourself so why not draw more attention to the areas that you do feel awesome about? This doesn't mean that if you're happy with your upper body that you need to walk around in a bikini, it can be something more subtle like wearing a statement piece of jewellery or t-shirt to draw more attention to that part of your body.
DRESS FOR YOURSELF
When I was younger I was terrible for changing my style to fit in with those around me or what was considered cool at the time. It took me years to learn that the only person you need to dress for is yourself. Once your happy with what you're wearing your insecurities tend to melt away and suddenly you're more focused on your awesome outfit than what other people are thinking. Of course, it's lovely when others do think that you look like nice and that you've put together a beautiful ensemble but it's not the be-all and end-all if they don't. The most important person you need to impress and keep happy is yourself.
FORGET THE RULES OF FASHION
We've all heard those silly rules of style like black and blue should never be worn together. I happen to think navy and black looks absolutely stunning personally. No matter what size or shape you are there really are no rules of what you can wear, regardless of what society might think. Although it's all too easy to let the media get into your mind a little too much, the standards that they expect are totally unrealistic and not something that ever need dwelling on.
WE ALL HAVE DEMONS
It's all too easy to think that people don't have their own body hang ups but we all do. Even if you deem somebody to have the "perfect" body they will have their own issues. For me, my issues are rooted in my legs and hips and even though I think dressing for your shape is total rubbish. Dressing to help yourself feel more confident in those areas is incredibly important. As hard as it can be to believe the things that you think about yourself are things that others would probably never think about.
FAKE IT
It's something that is said so often when you're struggling with confidence but faking it initially can work wonders. Once you pretend that you're brimming with confidence it slowly starts to feel more natural and before you know it you actually feel more confident, for real. Of course, this sounds completely bizarre but it really does work.
Do you have any tips for styling outfits when you struggle with confidence?
R x
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