"Dress your best week"

[brdgt]

One of my favorite blogs is Academic Chic ("Three feminist PhD candidates at a Midwest university, on a crusade against the ill-fitting polyester suit of academic yore.") and they came up with "Dress Your Best Week". Well, I couldn't participate at the time because it was hectic end of the semester time, but I want to do so for next week.

"So often, our focus when getting dressed in the morning is how to minimize or downplay aspects of our bodies that we’re just not crazy about. Does this skirt smooth my hips? Does this top hide my tummy? Do these pants make my thighs look slimmer?

But what would happen if you inverted that thought process? What if, instead of dressing to mitigate your so-so, you dressed to highlight the parts of your body that you love most? What if, for a whole week, you committed to self-consciously dressing your best bits?"

The idea is to start by listing at least 5 things you like about your body (ie: great legs, shiny hair, adorable toes, piercing eyes) and dress to compliment those features for a week (and, of course, blog about it). My Birthday Week^TM seems like a great week to do this, so I'm going to start with the list today, so I have the rest of the week to think about what I'll wear next week :)

1. Fingernails (for some reason - genetics, diet, alien implantation - my fingernails seem to always look like I already have a french manicure - white tips, strong, shiny)
   
2. Legs (I put this on here as a challenge to myself because I always thought I didn't have nice legs because I am short, but after getting a lot of compliments on them I am starting to change my mind)
   
3. Eyes (probably my most complimented feature)
   
4. My curves (I've got some nice D's and a pretty tight little ass if I do say so myself - others agree)
   
5. My skin (I'm a pale Irish lass and I try to keep it that way with sunscreen and coverups. The freckles are pretty cute too)

So, who's with me?

Comments

[dlightful.livejournal.com]

I'm in! I've been thinking a lot lately about my style and how I need to dress more professionally at work. This would be the perfect way to rethink things. And you're right - no better time than Our Birthday Week (tm) do do it!

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

I know! I can do "barbecue best" and "bike ride best" :)

[antarcticlust.livejournal.com]

This is a great idea! I love the body-positivism aspect of it. I'm really short on clothes at the moment, but I'd like to give it a try, too.

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

I need to go through my closet so I thought this would also help make me see what I haven't worn in a while and what I can get rid of - sometimes I realize something goes together that I never thought of that way before when I do that :)

[spellercopter.livejournal.com]

What a great idea! I'm not sure which week I'll do this, as lately I'm lounging around my apartment in shortie shorts and dirty tees and feel glamorous (I'm not even being sarcastic). But when I leave the house, I'll plan accordingly. Can't wait!

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to see your pictures of it :)

[astronautical.livejournal.com]

CONFIDENTIAL TO SPELLERCOPTER: I was just saying to mike that this should be the summer of the hot pants. I formally invite you to share this dream with me!

[spellercopter.livejournal.com]

LET'S. DO. THIS.

[raynorgrace.livejournal.com]

I love your list- I still struggle with being body-confident, even with a black belt in women's studies. I don't think I've completely recovered from my awkward tween years, and am never comfortable with compliments on my physical appearance. Bah! Anyway, I think I look pretty cute today so maybe I'll try to keep it up, even if "librarian chic" is either a cliche or an oxymoron.

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

Ditto - I still have tons of body image issues and have such a hard time taking compliments (and real ones, not the street harassment kind). I think it's a neat idea to flip that thinking on it's head and show something off instead of hiding something else.

[astronautical.livejournal.com]

this is such a great idea - I am so dissatisfied with so much of my wardrobe, this would be a really great way to retarget what I DO have, and what I DO love, and maybe hopefully I can better develop a style.

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I think I will see my wardrobe in a whole new light :)