One of the best things you can do for your sense of self-worth is stop reading “women’s” magazines. They have to sell you figuratively on your own “imperfections” in order to literally sell you the beauty products that are their raison d’etre. Throwing those magazines away — or canceling your subscription, or reading Newsweek instead of Glamour in the waiting room — cuts off one source of the fat hatred and misogyny that pervade so much of our culture.
Once you’ve broken off ties to the mainstream beauty machine, you might find yourself looking around for other sources of style inspiration. Here, as in so many aspects of life, the internets come through for us. There’s Fatshionista on LJ, of course, which can be a little unruly now that it’s got so many members but which is a great place to see fabulous fatties rock their own styles (and to get cheap duds on Friday sales posts). Fatshionista.com’s impeccably stylish Lesley has been doing “outfitblogging” posts, which feature pictures of recent outfits and thoughtful musings on her own style sources. And to complete the trifecta, there’s a Fatshionista Flickr group, which has over 2,000 photos to inspire your wardrobe (and where you can see Lesley, Joy Nash, stitchtowhere, and other friends of SP!).
If you’re okay with style resources that aren’t fat-focused, there are a ton of street style blogs out there. The Sartorialist is the grandaddy of all street fashion blogs, but if you want a more radical take on fashion, check out Hel Looks, which brings us street fashion from Helsinki, Finland. There’s also the new Advanced Looks, which features street fashion, oldster-style. My personal favorite style stop, though, is Flickr’s Wardrobe Remix — I love it because anyone can post to it, and there are so many creative dressers out there. You see a lot of glamorous thin people, true, but you also see fatties and inbetweenies and nerds and weirdos. If you feel overwhelmed by the sheer hugeness of the Flickr pool, check out Bits & Bobbins‘ Wardrobe Remixers of the Week (currently on maternity hiatus, but check out the great archive).
And, of course, let’s not forget Catorialist, for the discerning feline.
Where do you get your style inspiration?
