During this time of year I find myself often conflicted. Not conflicted by anything heavy or earth shattering, but still conflicted. I am conflicted by the fashions of summer that I notice some ladies donning. I’m no prude and to a certain degree believe the saying, “If you got it, flaunt it”. But there needs to be some acceptable scale of flaunting. And before anyone jumps on me about being all judgy (although perhaps slightly correct), through all the ups and downs my own personal weight scale has taken me on, my feelings on this topic have never changed. So this goes out to my fellow big gals as well as those petite ladies. Over the years as the weather has reached its summer peaks, I’ve always had to resist the urge to tell some woman, “Girl! Put those away!”
Susan Bennett
Let’s start with shirts, blouses and other barely there tops. Now if you are at the beach or the swimming pool in your barely there garment and you are confident and comfortable, no matter what your size, then I say, “You do you Boo Boo! Girl Power! Rage on!” and all that jazz. But if you are at the mall, the store, walking down the street or in any other public place, I guarantee that I will bite my tongue til it bleeds to resist suggesting, “Girl! Put those away!” And to clarify, it doesn’t matter if you are “blessed” or a “board” ain’t nobody wanna see that. And if they do want to see that, then they aren’t the kind of people you want looking your direction either.
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Shifting down, we go to the mid-section. Ladies, I know it is hot. Believe me, we fluffy people are well aware of the temps. But a little modesty goes a long way. Now, I have to be honest. Here is where the petite ladies can probably get away with this better than us big boned girls. Their little washboard tummies and belly button rings are easier to look at than if I was to walk through Walmart with my generous love handle belly exposed. But just because you can wear it, doesn’t always mean you should. So please, “Girl! Put that away!”
Then we shift to lower half garments, especially shorts. Now there are all ranges of shorts from Bermuda shorts to Daisy Dukes. And if you are comfortable in them, they are often all generally acceptable. But, no matter what you call it, if your bum, booty, buns, derriere or even buttocks are hanging out of them, “Girl! Put those away!” It’s not cute and nobody wants to see it.
Now in saying all this, I am referring to summer fashion in public places other than a beach or swimming pool. There is some fashion there that I don’t understand as well such as thongs. Not the thongs like we used to call what are now known as flip flops, but the swimsuit bottom thongs. And this goes to both women and men who wear them. Those are not apparel folks. It’s floss. “Girl or Dude, put those away!”
Maybe I’m just old fashioned, but I’ve really felt his way for a long time. As a young teenager I probably could have worn a two piece swim suit or summer fashions that exposed more of my body, but I was just never really comfortable that way. I’ve always preferred to be more modest. Years ago I lost a lot of weight and the idea of wearing a more bikini-like swimsuit did cross my mind. But I had a teenage and preteen son at the time. And at the time the old, “I could, but should I?” was at the forefront of my mind. So I choose not to.
As I started off saying, there is a conflict inside me when it comes to this topic. Part of me looks at these girls and women and wishes that I could have had that confidence at their age or even now. They just go out into the world with all their confidence in what they are (or are not) wearing. None of them seem to look embarrassed. So the independent woman part of me cheers them on, “Good for you girl! Strut that confidence!” But then the other side of me says, “Sis, does your momma know you left the house like that?” It is a tough mind battle with no clear cut winning side. Truthfully, what others wear does not affect my daily life at all. I can avert my eyes if it bothers me and keep my mouth shut. I’ll just do my best to endure these summer temps with the least amount of clothes that I can still wear modestly. I guess if a stranger yells at me, “My eyes! My eyes!” I’ll know I’ve gone too far. Till then my fluffy self will just sweat it out remaining quiet, as cool as possible modestly and sunny side up.