Monday, October 26, 2015

It's All a Bunch of Voodoo! (Along With Some Thoughts on Body Image)


At first, I didn't know what I'd write to complement this kickass Voodoo Vixen dress that I scored off Zulily recently. I usually like to tie in a story or an activity in my style posts or at least keep a theme going for the post. I am not one to post photos and outfit details and leave it at that. Nah, I talk too much for that!

Then, as I was brushing my teeth this morning, I knew exactly what I'd discuss and highlight in this post.

My chubby. flabby, arms.


Woah - she's gonna highlight her flaws? Make everyone zero in on the parts of her body she hates?

Yep!

Why?


Because when I was getting dressed this morning, I loved how this dress looked and felt. It zipped up in such a satisfying way (it fits like a glove - a really nice glove that kind of just formed to my shape) and it's super flattering at the waist and bust (hello, cleavage I don't usually have!), but every time I looked in the mirror, one thing stopped my positivity train.

My arms.


I kept grimacing at how chubby they looked compared to everything else and kept frowning at them. The adorable collar is my favorite part of this dress but it kind of accentuates the arms and this ticked me off as I stood in front of my mirror.


I walked away to have breakfast and feed the children (reptilian children, that is!) and tried to forget about it. But then I went to brush my teeth before leaving for work and caught myself grimacing at my arms again! What the hell, arms!?

This time, I put myself in check.


Yeah, self, yes, you have chubby arms. You do, okay? It's just a fact. They run in the family (the famous Order arms, we call them since they come from my mother's side - Order is her maiden name) and every one in your family struggles with their arms.

So what?


You've got beefy upper arms that make it kinda hard to fit into cute winter dresses that have sleeves on them and sure, you've gotta size up sometimes when you buy a short sleeve top to ensure the arms will fit. Oh and actually finding a dress or shirt with elastic sleeves nearly makes you orgasm with happiness.

So what?


Am I going to let my chubby arms change how awesome I feel in this dress? This dress that only cost me $30 (ka-ching!) and will be so cozy and cute throughout the winter?

HELL NO!


Yeah, I've got chubby arms. But it's just how it is. It's something I don't like about myself but at the same time, now want to accept about myself. I get stuck in the mind set of "should I be trying harder to lose weight I've recently put on?" and when that happens I get so guilty and distracted by my weight and changing body - I'm just not myself. That's when I have to put myself in check.


Am I saying I don't care about what I put into my body and how it affects it? Gosh, no, but I am certainly not killing myself (along with my self esteem) over a thing like chubby arms.

I am more than the size of my chubby arms! I am more than the size of my belly when I sit down (we all know what I'm talking about there!).


Perhaps it was a recent blog post by the fabulous Miss Amy May that sparked this post. She wrote honestly about how a particular style of dress made her nervous because of her "chubby uppers" but it didn't stop her from getting it and rocking the heck out of it, which I so loved! She even gave them a cute little name! Either way, I am trying to follow Amy's foot steps from now on.


So I've got chubby arms! YEAH! I DO!

...but I look freakin' AWESOME in this Voodoo Vixen dress and my "chubby uppers" aren't going to hold me back from that!