A Good Dress, These Days, is Hard to Find

Who - I ask you - is buying the clothes in the shops? And who - tell me honestly - is genuinely happy with a) the styles, b) their purchases and c) the experience? Not me!

I completely understand that there are people in the world who can walk in to a shop, see something they like, find it in their size, try it on and be thrilled enough to buy it. Both of my sisters come to mind here. What I think the designers, manufacturers, and researchers fail to understand is that my sisters do not comprise the entire population.

Let's imagine for a moment that the women in my family represent the women of the world. That's 4 of us (it makes for easy maths). 2 of us can easily buy clothes (funds and preference notwithstanding. If they wanted to they could walk into any shop and buy clothes that fit and look nice. The other 2 of us have to hunt. And hunt. And fight back tears as item after item is too tight, too short, too plunging, too revealing, too inappropriate and just plain awful on someone with the 'wrong' shape.

That's half the women in the world (my family) who are frustrated with the mainstream clothing industry. How mainstream is it really if half the women can't ride the fashion current? Half the women can't even get in the boat!

I want something pretty to wear to Joel's Ordination. Heck - I'd just like something pretty to wear - anywhere. And instead of it being a pleasant experience of celebrating my healthy, womanly shape I have to do battle with myself and with with the messages that I am presented with - the 'you are normal if you are tiny and abnormal if you're not' message.

It makes me mad.

It's not true.

Women come in all shapes and sizes. Maybe some women should, for health reasons, be a bit smaller. And maybe for the same reasons some could be a bit bigger. But why oh why should women have to carve and shape and beat their bodies to fit into piece of fabric that was shaped by someone who clearly hasn't seen an actual women in years. Clothes should be made to fit more than one body type/size/shape.

Hear me, oh mighty clothing manufactuer, you are going to go bust and bum up you if don't start thinking about the former and the latter in a realistic way. Women are smarter and have more selfrespect than to put themselves through shopping for things that will never look good. We're all going to learn to sew and make our own things. Or we'll find someone who can do it for us - and you - giant, mass producing, thoughtless machine, will lose.

I can only hope.

Anyone know where I can get a good dress?

Note: Both Jes and Han have problems with the LENGTH of clothes. Too long for Jes and too short for Han.