Jeans? Jackets? Dresses?!? BLOUSES?!? The anxiety settles deeper and deeper with each piece of clothing that does not contain at least 50% spandex, and any girl with an athletic build can understand why. As women, we are expected to have a smaller, slimmer frame. The fashion industry supports that stereotype by the construction of its clothing.
However, in this day and age of big and beautiful booties, strong and sexy arms, and general body positivity movements, women are breaking through the seems of the previously established fashion mold. While the female body is becoming a new icon for the combination of strength and beauty, shopping for clothes remains a source of stress. The fashion industry has yet to catch up with society's evolving perception of the female body and that has proved to be problematic for the more athletic woman.
Here are 5 common issues any athletically framed woman can relate to on an average shopping adventure.
1. Thighs or waist. Never both.
Pants shopping... Beads of sweat are proceeding to drip down my face as I type this because even the thought of buying any pants that are not leggings is stress-inducing. These beautifully thick thighs are a love-hate relationship. Pants are my worst enemy because my legs are about two sizes larger than my waist. If I want the pants to stay supported, my thighs suffocate, but if I want the blood in my legs to continue to circulate, the pants constantly sag off my hips. Athletic proportions are functional, but apparently not fashionable.
2. Jeans?
More like just no. Refer to the ever-unnerving waste-versus-thighs proportions spiel mentioned above.
3. Jackets?
Um, do designers even know what shoulder muscles are? The fight my shoulders have with the seams of jackets is the greatest plague of my existence. Well, not really, but it is definitely in the top 10. If I want to be able to raise my arms above horizontal, I have to buy a jacket that is about three sizes too big. Then the arms are too long and the bust is too wide. While the shoulders fit nice and snug, the rest of the garment swallows me whole, basically erasing me from society.
4. Dresses?
Flowy dresses are absolutely out of the question, and do not even get me started on maxi dresses. As an athletic woman, I have a slightly wider frame and dresses with no shape make me look like a lard. Also, I am on the shorter end of the spectrum so sack dresses and dresses with longer skirts just add to my lack of height. If it does not have a cinched waste and an a-line skirt you may as well call me a Cabbage Patch Kid.
5. Spandex is love. Spandex is life.
The only section I feel comfortable shopping in is the athletic section, go figure. The endless supply of spandex based clothing sings a hallelujah chorus as I stroll through the aisle. Any article of clothing that stretches over every curve without constricting movement and simultaneously showing off my toned muscles that I've worked so hard to build is a no-brainer. Leggings as pants; tanks as tops; sweat-shirts as jackets. The supply of substitutions is endless. No stress, just spandex.
Sadly, athletic gear is not appropriate for everyday professional attire. Dressing for adult society is a dance that I am still learning the steps to. I am waiting for the day that the one pair of pants that fits both my waste and my thighs or that one jacket that allows my shoulders to move yet still reveals that I have hands emerges from the abyss of the fashion landscape. (God bless the day leggings will be socially accepted as an appropriate version of pants.) Until then, ladies, I continue to sympathize with your clothing struggle. It is hard, but we are in this together.
