If You’ve Ever Been Told Not To Wear Something Because It’s Not Flattering, This Campaign Is For You

Most of us have at least a few fashion hangups based on supposed rules (that are complete BS, by the way) for how to dress for our body type, and a pretty good sense of what is and isn’t flattering on it. But, body positive clothing brand Smart Glamour has turned these ‘so-called rules’ on their ugly head, and created a new project (and hashtag) #ImFlattered, that aims to reclaim the word ‘flattering’.

The brand’s designer, Mallorie Dunn, asked NYC-area women with all sorts of body types (her clothing line comes in sizes XXS to 6X, FYI) and backgrounds to share what they’ve been told is unflattering.

The misguided bits of advice include, “put the girls away,” and, “hide your arms; they’re a problem.” Nothing startling there you say. Well, loaded with this info, Mallorie decided to have these women photographed holding signs featuring the limiting, confidence-squelching pieces of fashion advice they’d heard about their bodies, in the very clothes they were told were not flattering on them.

The most common fashion neuroses among these women involved “being too large, having too much of a belly, or having large arms,” according to Mallorie, who says she wanted to feature plus-size women in particular, as well as women of color, with the same rationale for both: “They need more mainstream representation.”

And we couldn’t agree more! Trying to shop for, or wear, solely flattering clothes kind of sucks; it limits what you’ll dare to bring into the dressing room, and even more what actually makes it home from a shopping trip. Plus, it’s boring.

On that note, we’re off to buy all the cap sleeves, crop tops, hip-hugging pencil skirts, and things that aren’t inherently slimming that we’ve been depriving ourselves of all these years. See ya.

• body confidence
• Body Shaming
• Fashion