A New Year’s Resolution – Love Yourself!

We have come to that point in time when we all make a resolution for the new year. Losing weight, working out, and trying new things are just a few of the most common. This year we want to suggest a resolution for everyone to try. Love yourself.
Why are we making this suggestion?
We have written blogs before covering similar topics. Being a lingerie store, we are often playing counselor, cheerleader, and teacher. Women, we are hard on ourselves. We are all different shapes and sizes; each and every one of them is beautiful. You may not be a size two, or may not have a 36D bustline like Marilyn Monroe, but like the song says…every inch of you is beautiful.

Speaking of Marilyn…
One of the most common sources of distress we notice is that women are often surprised by their bra size. Over the years we have heard stories of the famed actress Marilyn Monroe and how her measurements were perfect. What we don’t often hear is that Monroe’s measurements were perfect for HER. They are not necessarily perfect for every woman. In fact, Marilyn Monroe was an extreme hourglass shape. Only nine percent of the population of women worldwide can ever claim to be an hourglass. Throughout the last century the “ideal” woman’s shape has changed from the Gibson Girls’ curves with extremely thin waists, to the waif-like Kate Moss of the 1990s. But the measurements of Monroe persist as the ideal bust size. One online source probably put it best when they said that the fashion industry’s ideal woman today has size 4 hips, a size 2 waist and a size 10 bust line. This is their ideal, but it isn’t real.

So why bring size and shape into this discussion? Well, it’s because what fit Marilyn Monroe’s body would never look good on Kate Moss and vice versa. However, each of these women’s name is synonymous with fashion. Why? Because they looked great in the attire that fit their shape.

It’s a hard resolution…
Have you ever found yourself critiquing your body, hair or anything while standing in front of a mirror? We all have. It doesn’t matter your gender, men and women alike do it. It is hard sometimes to hear “LOVE YOURSELF” from outsiders. It is also completely normal to feel self-conscious at times. It is ok to struggle. Don’t feel discouraged by everyone telling you to love yourself. The person you need to listen to most is you.

Loving yourself a little more…
What does it mean to love yourself you may be asking. Well, we don’t mean be narcissistic, or conceited. We mean be in love with yourself. Start taking note of all the wonderful things that make you, well, you. Having someone tell you (kind of like we are now)  to love yourself can be hard. But we hope you can take away some small tips that will help you to start looking at yourself in a new light.

No one person in the world is perfect. And to make matters a little harder, the idea of perfect changes. It can change through the years, it can change as a result of culture, it can change because of a movie star. It is hard to keep up with an ever evolving ideal. So how do we all start loving ourselves a little more?

• Look at yourself objectively: There is no one on Earth like you. You are perfectly imperfect, and that is a wonderful thing!
• Don’t compare yourself to others: Like we mentioned above, what is good for one person isn’t always the best for another. Kate Moss really would look odd in Marilyn Monroe’s clothes!
• Don’t let setbacks keep you from moving forward: Some might say this as define yourself by your effort not accomplishments. (e.g. I tried to run a marathon once. I finished 18.5 miles due to an injury. I didn’t finish the full 26.2 miles, but I ran the farthest I had ever run before and farther than most will ever run!) Continue to give effort and love the journey!
• Learn to receive gifts: This doesn’t mean only physical gifts. If someone pays you a compliment take it with grace. Even if you don’t believe it, acknowledge that the other person does and the complement is being given from the heart.

Sure there are other ways that you can help improve your self-love. But these are just a few tips to start you out. Remember that a bra size doesn’t define you. YOU define you. A small, medium or large on a tag in a piece of clothing is nothing more than a letter or word. Most of the time they are going to be different in each brand of clothing. Don’t let a brand’s definition of size reflect how you feel about yourself.

So, in the end…it isn’t easy. But we hope that you all will try to make a resolution to love yourselves. Take a step each day to see how the world sees you. You are perfectly imperfect and it is wonderful!