Fat Fashion

This is your semi-regular thread in which fat women can share pix, make recommendations for clothes they love, ask questions of other fat women about where to locate certain plus-size items, share info about sales, talk about what jeans cut at what retailer best fits their body shapes, discuss how to accessorize neutral colored suits, share stories of going bare-armed for the first time, brag about a cool fashion moment, whatever.

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I'm sorry I haven't done a Fat Fashion post in forever! I just haven't bought anything new to share for quite some time―or, for that matter, had the free time to dress up and go out somewhere in an outfit worth talking about.

But one of the things I did over my holiday was visit Deeky, who recently bought a new house (yay!) with a pool (double yay!)―which, by the way, I'm sharing with his permission.

He was really dubious about the pool, but I was of course POOL! POOL! POOL! and now he lives in the thing, so I am doing a victory lap (IN THE POOL) about that one.

Anyway!

In celebration of going to visit Deeks and his fancy new pool, I bought myself a new bathing suit. And because I am 42 years old and determined to let go of every last shred of body consciousness, I bought myself a high-waisted bikini. This one, in fact:

This is not me.
I have never even owned a bikini, no less worn one in (sort of) public. And I was just really tired of living a life where I didn't think it was okay for me to wear a bikini. So I bought one. And I wore the fuck out of it!

And you know what happened? I enjoyed myself! A lot! I felt damn good in my bikini!

Truth be told, I felt so good in it that I would've taken a picture of myself wearing it and shared it here without a trace of shame, were it not for the fact that I don't want the usual suspects to steal that picture and use it to harass me.

I felt the breeze, my friends, and it was splendid.

And, listen, I am sharing this with y'all not because I want anyone to feel bad if they are on a journey toward body acceptance not entirely unlike my own and haven't reached this point yet. Everyone's journey happens at their own pace and toward different endpoints.

In a time when people are fighting for the right to wear burkinis, I certainly don't want to inadvertently suggest that wearing a bikini is some sort of universal goal that everyone should have. I'm sharing this as a continuation of my own journey, which has included talking a lot about how I love to swim, and how I disallowed myself from enjoying the water for so many years.

And because I have a few friends who are currently wondering if it's even possible to get to a point where they can wear a swimsuit in public, even though they want to very much. I was right there myself once. So if this helps someone feeling stuck, so much the better.

On a final note: Thanks to Deeky for making a safe space for me where I knew I would not be judged. I love you, friend.

Anyway! As always, all subjects related to fat fashion are on topic, but if you want a topic for discussion: Summerwear! How's it going for you finding things in which you feel comfortable?

Have at it in comments! Please remember to make fat women of all sizes, especially women who find themselves regularly sizing out of standard plus-size lines, welcome in this conversation, and pass no judgment on fat women who want to and/or feel obliged, for any reason, to conform to beauty standards. And please make sure if you're soliciting advice, you make it clear you're seeking suggestions—and please be considerate not to offer unsolicited advice. Sometimes people just need to complain and want solidarity, not solutions.