Progress In Fashion Benefits Everyone – Including Those Who Fit In

It has been clear for a long time that the fashion industry has some archaic standards. The type of body that most fashion is made for is not the standard body type. In fact, there are many body types and few people who actually fit the mould. However, the narrative has been that the struggle is between people who want more accessible plus size fashion and the status quo who want clothing to remain geared towards them.

Even in Meghan Trainor’s song All About That Bass, she positions the “skinny b*****s” as the enemy. This is a convenient narrative for an industry that does not want to change. They pretend that the consumers are the issue. The reality is vastly different.

You will meet few people who fit the current standard that would feel hard done by if fashion became more egalitarian. Rather, they have plenty to benefit from progress in fashion too.

Here’s how.

Less pressure

There are some people who naturally have fast metabolisms and stay slim without trying. But for most adults, that is not the case. People who are slim have to do some work to maintain their slimness. A constant marker that they are “failing” at this is the waistband of their favorite pair of jeans. Their own clothing is telling them that they are not good enough.

Fashion that is no longer geared primarily towards an imagined ideal body type takes the pressure off people who have something approximating that body type. This is not a matter of people no longer having to try. It is, rather, a recognition that a good life is about balance and not about extremes.

Comfort (both inside and out)

Progress in fashion has led to some changes in how people approach different items of clothing. Instead of a bikini being the gold standard of what looks good on the beach, a swim dress gives people a certain type of freedom. Those who want to cover their bodies for whatever reason can look great in a new type of outfit.

This is not just about those who don’t have fashion’s ideal body type. Even those who fit the mould do not always want to wear bikinis. They may want to avoid too much sun exposure, or simply not want to show that much of their bodies all the time.

This is just one example of how progressive fashion gives people the opportunity to be comfortable inside and out. Instead of wearing what the fashion industry has sold to us as ideal, we can all wear items we like and be comfortable.

Better body image

Finally, many people see those who fit the mould and assume they have good body images. This is often not the case. In fact, many people feel that they need to maintain those exacting standards because they would otherwise be “ugly.” They imagine that without the slimness or the muscles or the clothes, people would see something terrible in them.

Only in beginning to let go of those standards can a person work on improving their body image. This refers to learning to embrace one’s body no matter how it looks. The changing tides of fashion benefit everyone for this reason. Instead of changing our bodies to fit the clothing, we can work on changing how we see ourselves.