Following Mid-Size Fashion Bloggers Helped Me Embrace My Body — & A New Sense Of Style
Many people experience pivotal moments of realization in the shower, but for me, lighting often strikes mid-pedicure (Not literally, or I’d be screwed). In this particular instance, I was meeting a work friend for pedis and girl talk when our conversation turned to her very stylish Instagram. My friend, Gisele, has style, y’all, and as I praised her chic clothes, great lighting, and fire captions, I let her know that my real favorite part about her feed was seeing someone who looked like myself. Someone not model-thin, but not plus-size, either. For the first time, I wondered why I wasn’t following more mid-size fashion bloggers.
It hadn’t hit me before that nail salon date, but so many of the people I followed on social media (fashion influencers, especially) fell neatly into either straight-size or plus-size categories. As a mid-size gal myself, it never occurred to me to seek out similar bodies when scouring the ‘Gram for fashion inspo, though I often found myself wishing I could fit into brands that stopped at a too-tight size Large, or having FOMO after finding myself unable to buy from a popular plus-size spot. Often, girls who fall somewhere in the middle – usually between sizes 10 and 14 – don’t have a perfect place in the fashion world, so I decided to seek out more mid-size content creators and discover the fashion inspiration I deserved. It wasn’t that I only wanted to follow people that looked like me; I just couldn’t help but admit how nice it felt to see myself represented in the content I consumed.
More from StyleCaster
With this goal in mind, I set out to fill my feed with as many mid-size influencers as I could. Using hashtags like #midsizecollective and #averagegirlsize, I quickly found a bevy of beautiful accounts, ones with posts I instantly started bookmarking and screenshotting. Inspo, unlocked! Users like Holly of @thekittyluxe had me this close to moving to London to check out the British high street shopping scene, while others, like Karina of @styleidealist, convinced me to give tailored pants and statement-making dresses a second chance. And of course, my friend Gisele is a forever fave for fashion inspo.
It’s not that this mid-size content was any better or worse than that of the other influencers I already followed, but I was able to picture myself in these OOTDs with a tiny bit more ease. It was exciting to see women who looked like me killing it in looks I’d never dreamed I could ever pull off. With my new follows came a resurgence of confidence in my body, and an excitement to try out new looks based on my newfound inspiration.
Click here to read the full article.
It’s safe to say my shopping has been at an all-time high since following more mid-size fashionistas, but TBH, so has my self-esteem. In the end, that totally justifies a few extra online shopping binges.
Best of StyleCaster
