Are You Honoring Your Body?
This week I had the honor of hosting a guest blog with Diane Bean, co-owner of This One Dress. Their work is based the idea that women crave dresses that have all of the features we want yet finding it is challenging, let alone in a comfortable fabric. Now, you can find a dress with the shape and personal options that you want. I purchased one of the dresses last year and have to say, it’s been a go-to for when I need a comfortable yet stylish dress! Be sure to check out their website at This One Dress.
Honor Your Body by Diane Bean
Can we all agree that aging is a blessing and not a curse, because not everyone gets to live a long, full life? Especially during this pandemic and time of unrest, we can all think of people who have had their lives tragically cut short. And if we can agree on life is a blessing, do we really need extreme beauty treatments to make us look like we did when we were 25 even though we are well past that age? Do we really need to lie about our ages or silently shame ourselves for having some sagging skin, wrinkles, a few extra pounds or graying hair?
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with wanting to look our best and taking advantage of the wonderful beauty treatments out there. I have my hair colored and I love it! I work out most days of the week to do my best to keep myself in good shape.
But the pressure to look young and be “ageless” seems to grow stronger every year in our culture. The message is that youth is to be idolized and age is to be hidden and denied. With this message comes more and more beauty treatments that can be painful if not dangerous.
Let’s remind ourselves to celebrate that we have lived our lives to the best of our abilities. We have learned about love, birthed and raised children, gone to school, held down jobs and paid our bills. That is amazing stuff! Ask a woman older than you a question about life…she may the know the answer since she has lived it for a long time. She’s likely been there; she’s likely done that. If you are that older woman, be grateful for that fact, and don’t hide it. Own it!
The same goes for the clothes we wear.
Honor your body the way that it is in the present time. (Have you ever looked back at an old picture and sighed “I wish I were as “fat” as I thought I was back then!”) Love yourself now! Wear the dress silhouette that looks good on your body now and accentuates the features you want highlighted, while minimizing the ones that you don’t. Have great legs? Then a short style may be the way to go. Not loving the tops of your arms? A three-quarter sleeve gives you the coverage that you need and is also very slimming. Wider hips but a slim waist? A fit and flare style dress is the perfect shape for that!
With three classic dress silhouettes, we at This One Dress can help you find your best dress shape and fit, and YOU get to customize your dress by making the choices of color, sleeves, neckline and length. That puts the power of how you wear the look in your hands. Made in the USA from a washable, comfortable ponte knit (with pockets!), the easy stretch of the fabric will also accommodate weight fluctuations. So I encourage you now more than ever to reverse the thinking.
Rather than looking back and wishing for our youth or the way we “used to be,” let’s all strive to be women who show the next generation how to age gracefully and proudly! Can you imagine a world where the younger women look at the older women and think, “I want to be just like her when I am her age.” Now that is a compliment!
Wishing you the best, Diane Bean
Co-Founder This One Dress
Diane, thank you for your guest blog today! If you would like to learn more about This One Dress and the style and color of dress that is right for you, check out their website at This One Dress.
