Plus Size with Style - Enjoy What You Have

Have you ever tried on something in your size but it just didn’t look right? Even though it fits great it just doesn't feel like "it's you." I watch women go through it all the time in department store dressing rooms. She goes in with an armload of goodies and walks out with tears in her eyes. She then launches into a tirade of everything that is wrong with her body and if only she were some other size or shape then everything that she tried on would look just right. This can cause enough heartache that a woman resorts to buying something on impulse that doesn’t look great.

It is my opinion that finding your style has less to do with your body type, your hair color, or whether your skin tone is a Winter or a Summer and everything to do with how you feel about yourself when you look in the mirror. So today let’s discuss how to find your very own style in terms of enjoying what you have.

Plus Size Style

The good news is that the best plus size fashion designers are now using plus size models. As plus size women are insisting on size positive images we are seeing more and more fashionable images of full figured women in media. At This Lush Life, in our plus size women's clothes department, we exclusively represent companies using plus size models. If they sell plus size women's clothes but they don't show those clothes on plus size models then we won't post what they have to offer.

There are many places on the web where you can read about the right hem lengths, the right necklines, how to coordinate patterns and colors and how to tie a scarf. Personally, I watch What Not to Wear on TLC with religious fervor. So rather than worry about what they are wearing on the runways this season -- in this article, let’s focus on what’s going on in your head.

Dressing Room Depression

You bought a dress in a department store. You loved it in the dressing room. It hugs your hips in the best way possible, shows the right amount of cleavage and drapes perfectly over your bottom. You were happy in the store because you found something that fit so well but why does it just not seem right the first time you put it on at home?

You bought a dress online. You did everything right. You measured yourself, you measured the dress, you saw it on a model with a similar shape as yours and it looked great on her. You try it on and it fits perfectly so why does it just not feel right when you put it on in your bedroom?

Curing the Dressing Room Blues

Remember that dressing rooms lie! Dressing rooms lie. They do. They are sneaky and they will lie to you. Some are perfectly lit and highlight your beautiful checkbones and make you forget that a v-neck is better for you than a boat neck. There really is such a thing as a slenderizing mirror and chances are they have one at the store but you don't have one at home.

The photographs in catalogs and magazines lie! Photographs lie. They do. Not only are those models surrounded by a team of people fussing with their makeup, hair and clothes between each and every shot but even the models don't really look like the photographs after all the re-touching.

So how do I enjoy what I have and feel good about Plus Size Style?

1. Create a place where royalty would want to dress. Choose a corner of your bedroom and make it a sacred place for self adoration. Use Feng Shui, toss a coin or throw a dart but you must have a spot that is just for you to gaze lovingly at your perfect body in a full length mirror.

2. Did she say full length mirror? Yes, she did say full length mirror! You know in your heart that I’m right so go out there and invest in a good one. After all, you are going to be spending a lot of time in front of it admiring your luscious curves so you want something beautiful to frame your image.

3. Take a deep breath. Take a shower. Do your hair. Get ready like you’ve got a date with George Clooney…or Ellen Degeneres…whomever you are into. Light candles. Have a glass of champagne and put some fresh strawberries and chocolates in a bowl within easy reach. Play a Diana Krall CD. Remember that you are a goddess.

4. Take good look. God did not make any mistakes with you. You are beautiful. Now - pull your shoulders back and say three nice things about what you see. I mean it. Three...but feel free to say more. I like my eyes. I like the shape of my shoulders. I like the curve from the small of my back down to my right hip. This is really important. I do this every day. Sometimes I love what I see in the mirror and sometimes I don't but I won't leave the house without saying at least three nice things about my body.

Presenting the Stylish Plus Size Woman

I guarantee that whatever you try on now will feel differently than it did before. Can you guess why? It’s because you will stand differently. You will hold your head up, pull your shoulders back and be ready to toss out anything from your closet that doesn’t flatter your perfect frame. You don’t have to settle for something you don’t really love just because it hides a body you don't love. And when you go out, even wearing something from the back of your closet, it might feel new and you might feel like the most stylish woman you know.

There is no reason to wait to like yourself more. Start today and then share this with a friend.