HOW I CONQUERED MY FASHION FEAR OF BUYING JEANS
High waisted, boot cut, boyfriend, high-rise, skinny, super skinny, mid-rise, baby boot, flare and the list goes on. Are you overwhelmed yet? Because I usually was when I walked into a clothing store to a wall full of pantalones of different shades, styles and names.
And let me be real: shopping has always been one of my favorite activities—except when it came to buying pants. It's been a journey to find the "perfect" fit.
It all started when I was a kid. I went to Catholic school my whole life, so my wardrobe consisted mainly of uniforms. To break it down: all I ever worried about was my skirt length and rotating three pairs of jeans over the weekend. Keep in mind, these were the days when the hottest brands were Pepe, Enyce and Baby Phat, and you only had to choose between baggy and tight AF.
When I got to college, things changed. I remember going shopping for fall looks as a freshman. I grabbed about ten pairs of jeans and zoomed to the dressing room. I tried on the first five and NONE of them worked. There were tears in my eyes because some made my muffin top pop out, while others were too long or too short. It was just a hot mess.
I remember sitting in the dressing room wondering if my hips were a failure or if my curves were a problem in the fashion world, because, in that moment, it really felt like they were. That night, I went home and expressed my anger to my mother, telling her I wish I had a “model” body, like I often saw on most of the ads. She let me vent and ultimately reminded me to keep my head up. I was very stubborn, and, instead of heeding her advice, I decided I'd never buy jeans again. And I didn't for an entire year.
During my time denim-free, I wore skirts, shorts with stockings and lots of dresses, and I got a lot of beautiful compliments about my legs and body. Soon, I started to see what others did: I was beautiful in the body I was already in.
So, after some self-love and polling my primas and amigas on where they shopped, I decided to go for the gold and give this jean thing another try. It was autumn, and I walked into a department store and scoped out the staff for a woman with a body type like mine. I found her – thank God, because she lifted me back up. She gave me four different pairs with different styles and fits. I went into the dressing room and knew that my Jean Fairy Godmother was sent to me just in time because I left with all four pairs.
Fashion Lesson Alert: Practice body positivity the next time you go jean shopping, and don't wait a year to revisit a style no matter what. Embrace your curves, and rock the illest denim. Being BoPo can be one of the hardest habits to instill in your life, but it is totally possible. You can practice body positivity with these three keys: embracing your body, not letting the media tell you how to look and wearing clothes that make you feel fly.
Happy shopping, chicas!
BY ASHLEY JIMENEZ