Makeovers | By Aisha Naomi

In the last few days the media has gone into a frenzy because the most iconic woman in the world has gone through a monumental change. If your wondering who’s the bombshell keep in mind that she established the beauty standards of our younger generation of girls and women around the world over 50 years ago. If you still have no idea who I’m talking about, I’m referring to the one and only Barbie doll. It may sound silly and possibly frivolous, but this doll creates a huge impact on what beauty standards we imply to our daughters, sisters, nieces and children in general.

For the last 57 years Barbie hasn’t really had any major significant changes, but Mattel has been under fire for a few years for its anatomically inaccurate portrayal of a woman’s body. Lets be realistic, if these body standards were realistic all women would be standing at 6 feet tall, weigh 100 pounds with a 32 inch bust, 16 inch waist and 29 inch hips. Basically she would be falling over and completely unhealthy. Don’t get me wrong, every woman has a different constitution so whats healthy for one girl, varies to the next. But why should we subject our girls to only this standard of ‘beauty’. Why can’t we have her look like the curvy girl with the tattoos and colored hair or the petite girl with the glasses and beautiful smile?

Since the times are changing, Mattel released various new models of what they are calling the ‘Fashionista Line’. These at the moment are only available online, but actually made me very curious of what were the different options they have to offer and if in reality they had the diversity, they said they would. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that the had beautiful Tall, Curvy, Petite and of course original models. They’ve added a wider array of skin tones, greater variety of ethnicities, 18 additional eye colors, 18 hairstyles and colors. The initiative of aiming for progress and not perfection is a wonderful step in the right direction for the acceptance of diversity and of positive body image. Let’s make all our girls feel beautiful, in reality they are with all of their exquisite imperfections.

Most of us tend to be very self-conscious when purchasing that trendy piece to add to your wardrobe. There are days that we feel on top of our game and can envision how the whole outfit will look. But lets face it, most of us don’t have the budget to have the Cher Horowitz closet and app to create the look that we want. Some of us become a bit more self-aware of what we wear, because we don’t have that magazine/runway perfect body. As a plus woman myself, I know the feeling. But I learned at a very early age that shape wear is the essence to every outfit.

Think back to all the vintage pictures you may have seen of your relatives, ever think: “How did they have those amazing bodies back in the day?”. The answer is: Foundation garments a.k.a Shape Wear. Some were blessed with the perfect hourglass figure, others train like maniacs with waist cinchers, but foundation wear is the key to achieving the perfect look.These are constantly used in the television and film industry; so if people exposed to media can use them why can’t we?. Plus it has the added benefit of helping your posture and make you look even more amazing.

In the beginning you may seem a bit uncomfortable, but once you get the hang of it you’ll be wearing it on a daily basis without hesitation and feel fabulous while doing so. Not all shape wear is made equally and all of them are made to target what you believe to be your “problem area”.

BEWARE, these are not your grandma’s foundation garments, now they have a wide variety of sexy corsets, body suits, camisoles and even pin-up style to fulfill your styling needs. These tend to run tight and true to size, so make sure you have your correct measurements when purchasing. But most importantly fashion is supposed to be fun, so remember to always embrace and love yourself and your curves. Because the most indispensable curve is your smile and that is the soul of every outfit.

For more information on plus size foundation garments and lingerie, check out my favorite site: Hips and Curves

By Aisha Naomi

The world of a freelance Makeup Artist + Wardrobe Stylist.

Category Archives: Makeovers

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