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| Summer 2011 |
No body’s perfect. Despite perpetually repeating this mantra over and over again in my head, there are days when I'm really not the biggest fan of my body. I have one too many stretch marks or one too many dimples in my booty. I’ve had times when I’ve tried on everything in my closet and I’ve hated the way I’ve looked in everything I’ve owned. Luckily, those days are far and few between and it's all because of a bikini.
Prior to the summer I turned twenty-one, I hadn’t worn a bikini since I’d acquired boobs. I hit puberty around the age of twelve. When you think about it, it’s a very cruel time, dealing with bodily changes and functions and having to attend middle school. It was certainly a rough time for me and as I developed, I was uncomfortable with my new body. Throughout middle school and into high school I covered my thick thighs and legs with jeans; wearing skirts and shorts were a rarity for me. When I did go to the beach, I wore a tankini and a cover up. I was sure that it was only appropriate for very slim women and girls to let it all hang out in bikinis.
This all changed the summer I turned twenty-one. After showing a couple of my friends a new tankini I was hoping to purchase, they looked at me in disbelief. They were so alarmed that at twenty-one I was planning on wearing such a thing to the beach. Apparently, I had committed an egregious fashion faux pas. I was annoyed at the time because both of my friends were a lot smaller than me, fitting into more “acceptable” (by society’s standards) body types.
A few weeks later as I meandered around H&M I stumbled upon the swimsuit section. I considered my friends appalled reaction to my tankini, and I remembered my mother telling me than I better where whatever it is that I want while I was still young enough to do so. I purchased the bikini (size 10. I'm a solid size 8 now three years later.) and threw it in the back of my drawer when I returned home.
I pulled the bikini out for my first trip to the beach that summer. I’ll admit that I kept my shorts on at first, but I gradually got more comfortable as the summer wore on.
I really don’t enjoy when my body is ogled so it’s very rare that I wear what can be deemed as provocative clothing. However, taking off my cover up and letting my body be what it is really boosted my self-confidence. I became more comfortable in my own skin, despite my imperfections. I began running and being more conscious about what I ate (most of the time).
Bikinis don’t allow you to hide, and surprisingly they are rather flattering. I haven’t ventured into wearing string bikinis but I have regular bikinis as well as high waist 1950’s style bikinis, which are flattering to most body types.
When you are comfortable with your body, no matter what size or shape it is, you become more comfortable with yourself in general. Nothing is sexier than confidence. I know it seems far-fetched but a bikini really changed how I feel about myself, I’m comfortable with my bumps and ridges and with the scar that was left behind after my failed belly piercing. My outfits are bolder, I’m more flirty and though I may not be perfect my confidence is at an all time high.
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| 2014, hopefully it'll soon be warm enough to be at somebody's beach or pool |
So my advice to all women is, "Wear that bikini girl, because if not now, then when?"
xoxoxox Chocolate Girl In the City xoxoxoxox