Curvy Girls of the World, Unite!

The Plight Of The Curvy Girl

First off, I'd like to say a big thank you to Kim Kardashian and Sofia Vergara for making their famous figures so well, in style. Crazy, right?! Crazy that a body part or type is en vogue. Not that I'm complaining. I, too was overly blessed in certain areas and although I am not comparing myself to them because they are really incredibly gorgeous women, I can relate.

By the way, boys...curvy does not mean fat! It means curvy, which means voluptuous and feminine. In my dreams I have the legs of a 12 year-old Asian boy so I can fit into every piece of clothing I try on but alas, my legs are built to press 200 lbs. so, I ask, whom would you rather be with in a dark alley? Yeah, I thought so! 

I am a late bloomer and always have been. Heck, I only started my career at age 37. When I was in college, no matter how hard I tried to get A's, I was given a big C+; actually, two of them. Right on my chest, that is. I weighed 115 lbs and I'm 5'3" tall. Most of that was in the back and in the front. Suddenly, no matter what clothing I wore, I seemed to either look cheap or pregnant.

You see, curvy girls can't wear baggy clothing, empire waist or skinny jeans with a man-tailored shirt (thank god that is out of style!!). 

Sure, runway models look awesome in potato sacks but put one on me and you might want to call a marine rescue group and roll me into the ocean. Protrusions in the front and the back seem to act like Velcro and clothing just gets "stuck." And you can bet that potato sack is a bunch shorter in the back! 

Please don't get me started on jeans.

Everyone always asks me, "Why do you always dress up?" I've worn skirts or dresses most of my life. The answer is, they don't make jeans that fit me, so unless I have clothes custom made, I'm stuck wearing a ball gown to Six Flags. 

After the birth of my daughter, I gained a lot of weight. When I first started my business, I was more than chunky. Profoundly plump would be a nice way of putting it. The thing that I realized is I became nonthreatening. People were nicer to me. Men and women alike. I suddenly became very approachable. This is something I had never experienced in my lifetime and I loved it! It has been difficult for me to lose weight because of this.

When I'm thin, my proportions are almost identical to Marilyn Monroe's (I just read an article quoting her dressmaker- she was a size 4!). Chicks don't dig that very much and men get the wrong impression. It's crazy how people judge you by how you look. In high school, people thought I was easy. I wasn't at all and if you ask anyone who dated me then, they will tell you the truth. Right, Todd? Like, as if the way your body naturally looks defines your personality or behavior. That's just silly! 

In junior high and high school, when everyone was wearing baggy champion sweatshirts and Keds with gigundo sweat socks forming "cankles", I was wearing miniskirts and tighter shirts. I wasn't trying to show off. I was just trying to not look heavy. I often feel like I'm playing dress-up; like I'm a little girl raiding mom's closet when I wear loose-fitting clothing. It just doesn't work for us ladies with ahem, "dimension."

Being a Mediterranean woman, I've always loved food. i've heard Sophia Loren being quoted as saying, "I owe my body to spaghetti." I get it, Sophia. I really do. My love affair with food has sometimes turned to hatred. I found myself at times struggling with bulimia and anorexia, and sometimes simultaneously. I just wanted to be flatter, thinner. I wanted to fit in with the ideal beauty standards I was seeing in magazines and on TV. My curves always brought me unwanted attention. 

The first time in my life I became at peace with my curves was when I was in my early 30's. I met a few people during that time who told me that I was the most amazing person on the inside. I heard it so often that it made me think that there might be some truth to it. I suddenly felt powerful and larger than life because when I looked at myself on the inside, I realized that my true beauty was there. It was the first time in my life that I felt confident because of who I am and not what I look like and I reprogrammed my brain. 

I started doing charity work and started focusing so much on the things in life that are truly most important like relationships with friends and family and caring for others. And I no longer cared about what people thought about me. I still don't, twelve years later. Inner peace is the biggest gift I ever gave to myself. 

My weight may go up and down, my curves may get larger and smaller, my face is sagging my eyelids are falling, but at age 42, I've never felt more beautiful because I finally feel comfortable inside my voluptuous outer shell. It's a part of me and I am a part of it. And there ain't no escaping. Happiness comes from the inside and that is what we should focus on.

I'm still waiting for large, strong thighs to be in style, but I digress...ha! 

If you are a little bit rounder and softer than you would like, please know that you are beautiful; inside and out. Curvy girls of the world unite!