Speak to Your Body as You Would to a Friend

by Sally on July 25, 2020 in the category: body image

One of those little nuggets of body image wisdom that floats around a lot is this: When you find yourself berating your body for its shortcomings, mentally scolding it for its faults, shaking your head in disappointment at your own physical form, ask yourself if you’d say those same things out loud to any other living being. Your best friend? Your mom? How about a colleague? Or even a total stranger? If you’re being harsher and more judgmental toward yourself than you would be toward other people, it might be time to reconsider how you conceptualize your body. read more

Originally posted 2014-03-27 06:08:15.

Loving What You Hate

by Sally on July 21, 2020 in the category: body image

learning to love your belly stomach

For eons, my body image hang-ups have centered on my little belly-pooch. Why is it there? Why won’t it flatten? Will doing the “wrong” kind of sit-ups really make it MORE prominent? Were low-rise pants designed specifically to create a small, uncomfortable shelf for it? Do other women have similar bellies and just disguise them more effectively? Why, oh why, will I never look like Blake Lively in a Herve Leger bandage dress?

I fretted and stewed, moaned and groaned, cursed my lot and tried my damndest to change it. And yet, through weight fluctuations of more than 50 pounds, my tum has remained. I’ve been a size 6 and a size 16 and everything in between. The tum abides. read more

Originally posted 2014-05-06 06:17:29.

Body Knowledge, Body Acceptance

by Sally on July 13, 2020 in the category: body image, style

body love body acceptance

My clients teach me so much, friends. They show me how little I really know about style and body image, and reinforce my belief that having conversations about where those two topics overlap can be a truly healing process. Before I work with a client, I ask her to do some thinking and writing, answering a handful of questions and prompts that I provide. Recently, a client sent me a 10-page response to my questions. Which I loved, because the more info and background I have, the better. And because it was abundantly clear to me that this client was smarter, more articulate, and considerably more knowledgable about garment construction than I was. read more

Originally posted 2014-02-13 06:40:54.