Waiting for a script at my pharmacy, I scanned the shelves of magazines for something to read on the subway ride home. Boring – All of them featured a diet as the focus. Be Like Katharine McPhee in Smash! Try Her Diet! (Photo of said McPhee wearing a bandage dress.) Look At This Model in Her Late Teens – How She Got Rid of Cellulite! (Model. Late Teens. Photoshopped.) Simple Diet to Get Bikini Ready in Three Weeks! (Please.)
A friend walked by. I pointed out the theme. He said “What about Esquire? I like their articles.” I pointed at the cover: Diet Tips So You Men Don’t Go Bald.
Of course, weight is a huge focus in our country. Of course, the right words on magazine covers sell those magazines. Obviously it’s a huge revenue maker – One month it’s how to take the weight off, the next it’s How Great This Celeb Looks With Another Few Pounds On. Then back again. Here’s the deal: I take medications that have weight gain as a side-effect. I swing. That’s why I have those five wardrobes and two halves. It’s more important to me that I work with my doctor and the others who help me manage my health and exercise (I walk a lot, living in a city, and my building has cross access only on the ground and fourth floors – I work on the 2nd). I still gain and lose weight. I’m not going to buy those magazines because they’re not talking to me.
What does help me look good is having a specific set of clothes for each size. Here’s mine (my chosen color is black). And when I look good I feel good:
- Two pair black slacks, different styles;
- A black dress;
- Two black short-sleeved sweaters;
- Two sleeveless shirts;
- Three pair black tights;
- One black sweater with long sleeves;
- One black sweater with 3/4 sleeves (usually open, like a cardigan);
- A pair of jeans that can be dressed up if necessary;
- Undergarments that fit; and
- A blazer that can double as a coat in warmer weather.
- Add color at will with additional items that can be added as you can afford it. Don’t forget that accessories always fit!
I tend to buy the following when I am larger, because I can also wear them when I am a smaller size:
- A trench that’s lightweight and packable, ideally with a zipped-in vest;
- A winter coat;
- A drapey black sweater/jacket thing that’s popular now. Always drapes flatteringly. Can be dressed up or down.
When I follow the guidelines in Survival Kit: Wardrobe, pt. 1, I have ways to buy a pair of slacks that will fit for two sizes. There’s ways of doing it without spending too much.
I know that I need to eat healthily, exercise, and follow the regimen I’ve worked out with my doctors and family. It’s more important that I be ME, and the ME I want to be takes medication and has five and two (half) wardrobes and has learned to be fine with that. Reading magazines that talk about the same issue of easy weight loss, over and over again, that doesn’t affect me, is dull. Writing about how I do other things with my time is awesome.
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