If you’ve been hanging with me over on Instagram lately, you’ll know that we’ve really started to dig deep into the conversation surrounding body positivity, plus size beauties and why there aren’t more options in mainstream clothing for us curvy girls. I really wanted to share some tips about feeling more confident in your body, and I knew there was only one person I could ask to help me out — Rivky Itskowitz, the founder of Impact Fashion, created her brand on the basis of size inclusivity and beautiful fashion options for all bodies, and she is generously sharing some of her body confidence tips with us today.
For the longest time it was accepted that women were just going to obsess about how they
looked and pursue any means to a ‘more ideal’ body- whatever that means. And while the
world around us is certainly still filled with that mindset there’s a growing movement of women
rejecting the notion that they are imperfect and instead working on loving themselves exactly
as they are.
Regardless of how you feel about Body Positivity, Health At Every Size, or the anti-diet culture
ethos I think we can all agree that there’s no better feeling than being at peace with your body.
Here are some methods I’ve used to become more comfortable in my own skin and that have
helped my clients gain new confidence as well:
- Acknowledge that body image waxes and wanes. Even the most confident people
among us have their bad days. Give yourself the grace to recognize that even if you’re
not feeling fantastic at this very moment, that doesn’t mean you need to be miserable
for the rest of the week. This too shall pass. - Even (especially!) on the bad days, your body deserves respect. That means that even
on the days you’re not feeling great about yourself, you still deserve to take care of
yourself. You still deserve to eat, you still deserve to move a bit, you still deserve to do
whatever it is that makes you feel good in your skin. - Recognize that how you feel about your body has nothing to do with your body. We’ve
all had the experience of looking back on an old photo and thinking ‘Wow, I looked
amazing then! If only I looked that good now!’ Take a minute and think about how you
felt at the time that photo was taken. Where you super confident? Did you feel great in
your skin? I’d venture a guess and say the answer is no. That’s because how we feel in
our bodies has nothing to do with how our bodies look. This work is entirely internal. - Accept the truth that bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Some of us are born with Kim
Kardashian’s butt, others have flat bellies. Some of us carry most of our weight in our
chest and arms, others carry it in their thighs. There is no right or wrong way to have a
body. - Get comfortable with your body. Lock the door, get into your birthday suit and observe
yourself in a full length mirror. Say ‘Damn I look goooood.’ (even if you don’t believe it).
Note where your body goes in and out, what your overall shape is and how that makes
you feel. If you come across a negative thought like “I’m so flabby” follow it with ‘and
that’s ok’. Think about what you and your body have been able to accomplish. Give
your body credit for all the amazing work it does for you on a daily basis. - Buy clothes that fit. We are done waiting until we lose the baby weight or those last ten
pounds or whatever arbitrary line you’ve drawn in the sand for when you deserve
clothes that fit. You deserve clothes that fit right now, even if you don’t love your
current size. (I say this with the acknowledgement that finding clothing if you wear
above a size 24 is really difficult. That’s a problem with fashion, not with your body.)
I hope these tricks help you to feel better in your body. Remember the goal here is not to
constantly feel fantastic about every part of yourself, it is to give yourself grace for the times
when you don’t.
Rivky Itzkowitz is the founder and designer at Impact Fashion, a modest clothing line available in
sizes 2-24. See her designs at impactfashionnyc.com or on Instagram @impact.fashion.nyc.
Leave a Reply