I was never a fan of muscle tees while growing up. To be honest, I was never a fan of muscle tees ever. I think they’re slightly tacky and just weird! Why do you need to have almost all of your body showing? Is there a purpose to this? Now, after finally creating and sticking to a workout regime, I can understand why muscle tees are so comfortable when working out. The air flow, y’all. The air flow through your arm pits is glorious! Especially when you’re sweating because you’re working hard!
Muscle tees aren’t just for working out, however. If you can find the right one, they’re great paired with skinny jeans or boyfriend jeans. My favorite style is to wear a lace bralette underneath, and have it peeking out under your shirt. It’s a comfortable and casual look that gives the appearance of “I’m cute, and didn’t try too hard (but really, I’m just a little lazy today)“.
Growing Up “Imperfect”
A big reason why I never liked muscle tees were because I didn’t feel confident in my own body. Society, the media, and women in general, all have a perceived idea of what “beauty” is. In different countries, there are different perceptions of the “ideal beautiful woman”. When growing up, I had bad acne. This eventually led to acne scars, dark spots, and little holes on my face. Being a teenager with bad acne is probably one of the worst things you could deal with! I envied the other girls who had flawless skin, non-oily T-zones, and didn’t have to worry about hiding the blotchiness that I had to deal with.
This eventually led to my self consciousness with my entire body. I read in magazines that skinny was better, being fat meant you were ugly, being too hairy was disgusting, having stretch marks were horrible, and more! I started comparing myself to others, the curvy girls in middle school, when I was “flat-chested”. The girls who started shaving early, while I was left with hairy legs because my parents told me I was too young. I never felt confident enough in my body to wear what I wanted. I would hide behind sweaters and “easy” clothes because I thought my body wasn’t good enough.
It made me feel uncomfortable in everything that I wore. I picked items that would hide my body, besides being proud of what I looked like. Eventually, that trend started to change. When I was in high school, I think every girl wanted to have short skirts, tight clothes, and look sexy. So, that’s what I did! I wore the short skirts, short shorts, tight shirts and started showing a little more skin. It definitely wasn’t me, because I totally did not feel comfortable wearing all this “showy” clothes! Since I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin, I followed the trend and felt self conscious whenever I wore something that my classmates thought wasn’t “cool”. Y’all I was extremely unconfident growing up!
Finding Confidence
It wasn’t until college when I started experimenting with clothing and finding my personal style. I learned, short shorts, tight shirts, and showy clothes aren’t my style. I also wasn’t a baggy clothes kindof girl. So, I took what I liked from those short shorts and baggy sweater days and mix and matched them! I learned I love colors, patterns, and mixing things that people may not think go together. The more I experimented with my style and the type of clothes I wore, the more I started appreciating my body!
So, the short shorts came back, but I paired them with a loose fitting top. I learned to accentuate favorite features of my body! Yes, girl, those short shorts lifted the booty, the baggy sweaters helped me to feel more comfortable, and those crazy patterns continued to grow! What I found out was that the more comfortable I felt in my outfits, the more confident I acted. What’s the saying? When you look good, you FEEL good! Y’all, that’s exactly what was happening. I started loving my body, the weird stretch marks I had, the little moles that scattered my skin, and the acne as normal.
Your Body Confidence
A woman’s body ranges in numerous ways. No woman will ever look like another and that is the beauty of it! I want to help y’all find your body confidence through clothes and finding your personal style. Y’all, even if you’re lazy or feel like you don’t have the wardrobe you want, there are ways to work around it! You don’t need to dress like the other women, you don’t need to wear dresses if that’s not your thing, or if you’re not a pants girl, don’t! Here are a few of MY tips to finding your body confidence through one of my favorite things, CLOTHES!
(Watch: Fall Lookbook Vlog that features this outfit and three other Fall outfits. I also talk body confidence and how clothes can help!)
- Stop Comparing
Easier said than done, but it’s true. There are lots of women out there that I compare myself to physically and on other levels. I learned that “comparison is the thief of joy”, and have made the conscious effort to stop. It’s hard to do, especially if it’s something we do unconsciously. The next time you start feeling bad about yourself because of another woman’s success, use that instead, to fuel you to work harder. - Embrace YOUR Unique Style
I’ve had a lot of people tell me that they wish they could wear some of the crazy things I put together, but they just “can’t pull it off”. Girl, let me tell you, I think that exact thought every time I get dressed. That’s the truth. Sometimes, I look at myself in the mirror and wonder if people are going to think I’m nuts for wearing what I am. Then, I shrug and walk out the door anyways.
It took trial and error to find my style. A LOT of trail and error! I used to wear Baby Phat midriff sweaters, tucked into my flare jeans. I also used to wear a solid color from head to toe, and then even matched my eye shadow to my earrings. I’ve come a long way! Experimenting and finding what you like and don’t like is the fun of getting dressed in the morning! Even if you think you don’t have a stylish bone in your body, I’m sure your instinct when buying clothes is buying things that catch your eye. Next time you go clothes shopping, I dare y’all to buy that one item that you think you “can’t pull off”! Then, come home and search on Pinterest how to style it! Pinterest is a great resource for outfit inspiration! - Living Healthy
When you look good and are confident in your outfit, you WILL feel good. I believe another factor into feeling good is living a healthy lifestyle. This doesn’t mean completely cutting out carbs (because we all love carbs), sugar, salt, or a second helping of pie. Living healthy is a lifestyle that everyone can benefit from! When I first became a health and wellness coach, I started learning just how important it was to choose a healthy lifestyle.I started to exercise regularly, even on days where I felt lazy, changed my diet, and changed my mentality. With those three things, I started noticing a HUGE change in the way I viewed and carried myself. This also played a big role in the type of clothes I wanted to wear and buy. When I started to change my lifestyle, I wanted to portray it!
Building body confidence takes time. There are plenty of days when I am not happy with how my body looks. I continuously struggle with comparing myself to women who have the abs that I’ve always wanted, the toned arms, and the stamina! After starting a fitness regime, exercising regularly and being a lot more conscious with my health, I am learning slowly that accepting your body takes time. Loving yourself is something I work on everyday, but we deserve it!
Shop one of my favorite stores for some items that bring out YOUR body confidence!
*This post contains affiliate links, where if you click and buy something, I will receive a small profit. All opinions and ideas are my own. I appreciate all the support from you, dear reader, to help me keep this blog running!*
