Shape Shifter
Shape Shifter
One of the reasons I started Becky's Wardrobe was to help women find pieces they truly love, that they can wear in their own way, and feel completely like themselves in, always. How we feel in ourselves, and how we feel about our bodies, can have such an effect on how we dress and how we behave. When our bodies change, this can throw a spanner in the works.
Our bodies shift for all kinds of reasons. Pregnancy, the months after it, unexplained weight gain, medication, hormones, the list goes on. There's no single story, but putting an item of clothing on that used to fit and feel comfortable, then finding it doesn't fit anymore is hard, this is another reason I say wear it and wear it again while you can.
At the start of this year my body began playing tricks on me, my tummy was bloating more than usual, I thought it was my "flying tummy," the back and forth trips to LA LA Land used to give me a 24-hour bloat, 48 hours max, then it started to hang around.
For me it's peri menopause, damn you, oestrogen, where did you go?
My body has taken a different turn once or twice before, the most memorable was during one of my later rounds of IVF, I gained ten kilos from the steroids I was taking. Nothing about that was in my control, and nothing about my wardrobe made sense anymore either. That's stayed with me. I had to adapt what I could wear and feel comfortable in. I'd started a new job as a Creative Director and my outfit for the day was what made me feel like me. I learnt to adapt quickly and I created a uniform of outfits to get me through while I lost the steroid weight.
It's not just what I wear that's changed, how I exercise has shifted too. I used to run most days, I still enjoy it but it doesn't feel quite the same. I started to swim again but that made me dizzy. I've adapted and I've rebuilt my routine rather than defaulting to what I've always done. These days it's walking, Pilates with my amazing friend and teacher Sam Brown, and I've gone back to strength training.
That's the real thread running through all of this, no pun intended, or maybe entirely intended given how much I used to run. My body is changing on any given day, and I'm having to listen to it and work with it in how I dress and how I move.
Dressing for a changing body isn't something anyone really prepares you for. I've worked with clients who want advice and support when they feel like this, and there have been lots of reasons why.
If any of this sounds familiar, you're not alone. You need clothes that work with you, not against you, and you need to know how to approach the way you dress. I've written a few bits of advice below.
Standout Details
Once you've found your reliable go-tos, don't feel like you have to reinvent them every day. Update them instead. Add a piece of standout jewellery, throw on a scarf, change your shoes. Let those pieces do the talking.
Fabric Flex
A fabric with a little natural give, a good crepe, a heavier weight jersey, will move with whatever your body's doing that day. I'm a firm believer that it's less about the size on the label and more about what the style, fabric and proportions will do for you on that day.
Alternative Approach
If jeans are your thing, and your favourite pair doesn't always work the way it used to, look at how you might adapt what you reach for depending on how you feel. Sometimes that means finding an alternative. My recent purchase of vintage Levi's 550s are just that, the kind of buy where you find yourself asking what was I wearing before these.
Embrace The Shift
I've learnt to embrace this current shift, and take the days when I feel like the old me and bounce around a little more, taking the win. On the days it's not like that, I know it will be back, and I reach for my jump-into-action pieces.
If your body's shifting and you're not sure where to start, I'm here to listen. Get in touch, let's figure it out together, pun very much intended.