How to stop body shaming yourself with your clothes

With the new year cultural “body stuff” kicks into high gear. That can be hard. Here’s a transcript of one of the daily meditations in 5 Days of Style, intended to help you stop body shaming yourself. 

Body shaming can come from all sorts of places, I said in this post about buffer phrases “a surprising number of body and weight comments (especially the more “subtle” ones) can also come in the form of commenting on our clothes.”

And that’s true. In this post, however, we’re tackling the messages we send ourselves through the clothes we wear. 

From 5 Days of Style Day Four:

Welcome to the fourth day. I’m so glad you’re here.

We’ve more or less come to accept that we are what we eat. What we ingest, our body metabolizes and uses to rebuild the cells that make up our body. We are quite literally built from what we eat. 

I’m so excited that we’re beginning to understand that we are also what we surround ourselves with. When we surround ourselves with clutter and mess (whatever that looks like for us) our minds feel more cluttered and messier. When we have things in our environment that are peaceful, we are more likely to feel at peace. When the objects in our lives spark joy, we are more likely to feel joy.

But what about the place where our bodies and the items in our lives meet? What about our skin? 

What are we wrapping around the largest organ of our body? 

We tell stories through touch just as much as through words. A handshake tells a different story than a hug and both have a whole variety of stories they can tell. 

So what is the story our clothes tell our skin? Is it a story of comfort, of support, or of constriction? Is the story itchy or scratchy or stuck? Can your lungs expand in this story? Can your belly digest? Can your skin breathe? Does this story leave you clammy? Can you trace the outline of the garment once it’s gone? 

What is the story your clothes tell you? Do you like it? Is it supportive? Could it be even more supportive?

This story is with you for the rest of the day, so is this the narrative backdrop you want? 

If not, you can always change.

Stop body shaming yourself with the clothes you wear

If you’re looking to stop body shaming yourself, try starting by changing the messages you send yourself through your clothes each morning. 

This is a transcript of one of the daily meditations in 5 Days of Style. Click here to find out more and start transforming your personal style.