Daily Outfit: Cropped

This past weekend, I went to Rooster Teeth Expo for my third year in a row! I don't usually cosplay at this convention - I don't have anything that would fit the genre - so instead I photographed other cosplayers and cute street style. I wanted to wear something cute that would still allow me to roam around the con floor and photograph things easily.

I want to be totally honest with you - wearing an outfit with a crop top, with shorts, as a chubby woman, is totally intimidating. It's not because I'm not confident in my body (even though it's a struggle sometimes) - it's because everyone else assumes that I'm not happy with the body I have. Let me explain...

Almost every time I refer to myself as "chubby," people think it means I think my body is unsatisfactory, but to me, it's just a description. Part of the issue, I think, is that our culture attaches a value to these words. Fitting the ideal is good, existing outside of it is bad. Words like "chubby" or "fat" usually include the connotation of that person having less worth (or self-control, or attractiveness)... but when you believe every body is a good body, then these words lose that connotation.

People always say, "You're not chubby!" But that's just not true. I'm firmly in the "overweight" category of BMI (even though BMI is outdated and incorrect) and I'm definitely not "skinny" or "curvy." I'm on the edge of straight sizing and plus sizing. It's not a debatable fact - chubby is an apt description for my body.

What people really mean when they object to my usage of the word "chubby" is that I'm a valuable person, and that realization is a little heartbreaking. Being chubby and having value as a person are not mutually exclusive, but the way bodies are presented in our culture, it can often seem like the two are at odds with each other.

No, the intimidating part is not my confidence level. It's not that others might see my not-flat stomach, or my rockin' thunder thighs, but rather that they assume I should be embarrassed by my body. I've been told, to my face, that my legs are too pale to wear skirts, that I'm too chubby to wear dresses, that I should never wear shorts.

But at my core, I believe that anyone should wear whatever they want. I believe that dressing in a "flattering" way means concealing parts of your body that others deem less than perfect - and that sometimes, that's not the way you want to dress. And when it comes down to it, I dress for me, not for other people - so I'm going to wear what I want.

Outfit Details

Cardigan: ModCloth | Crop Top: Forever 21 | Shorts: ModCloth

Boots: ModCloth | Necklace: Gift from Peony | Purse: Ebay (Similar)

Do you ever wear clothing you're not "supposed" to wear?

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