Clothes Shopping When You Love Your Body, And When You Don’t

[caption id="attachment_833933" align="alignleft" width="1068"] Bigstockphoto.com/Two African American women shopping for clothes[/caption] For women who love their bodies, shopping can be one of their favorite activities. When they’re brainstorming things to do with their girlfriends on a Saturday, shopping is a natural choice. In fact, most women who feel great in their skin usually need to restrict themselves to only shopping so often, and try not to walk down the street with the cute boutiques on their way to work. So it can be hard for women with body confidence to understand how any woman on the planet could hate the act of trying on clothes. But for women who don’t love their bodies, clothing shopping is a nuisance, full of struggles and awkward moments. If you have that one friend who never joins in on the trip to the mall, it could be because she doesn’t feel happy in her skin. Here’s what clothing shopping is like when you love your body versus when you don’t. [caption id="attachment_707609" align="alignleft" width="495"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Love it: shopping is social!

For women who love their bodies, shopping is a social activity. They go with friends, want their friends opinions on the items they pick out, come out of the changing room to show their buddies each thing they try on and discuss all the ways they could wear it. No item of clothing comes home without extensive discussion. [caption id="attachment_617901" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Don’t love it: shopping is private

For women who don’t love their bodies, shopping tends to be a private event. They even do most of it online. They do not want some friend standing outside the dressing room, urging them to come out and show them what they have on. Nobody gets to see them in something until they have decided, privately, that it covers up all their insecurities. [caption id="attachment_693324" align="alignleft" width="420"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Love it: the body is your canvas

Ladies who love to shop can see clothing shopping like their visual art. Their bodies are their canvases, and the clothes are the paint. They love the endless possibilities of what might show up on the canvas today! What flirty little top will surprisingly go with a more urban, rugged looking pair of jeans. Shopping lets them creatively play.       [caption id="attachment_702584" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Don’t love it: the body is a problem and clothes are the solutions

Women who don’t love their bodies don’t see their bodies as canvases; they see them as problems, and they see clothes as things that can semi-fix them. Rather than using clothes to highlight their body and show it off in unique ways, clothes are more like tools used to patch this up, tighten that up, and seal this away.     [caption id="attachment_701068" align="alignleft" width="420"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Love it: every style is an option

When you feel great about your figure, you can get adventurous in what you try on. Halter top? V-neck? Babydoll shape? Empire waist? Backless? No problem! Each style just shows off a different feature of the body that the woman loves.         [caption id="attachment_677822" align="alignleft" width="461"] YouTube[/caption]

Don’t love it: styles are limited

For the females who aren’t nuts about their figure, style options are limited. They won’t even consider strapless, baby doll, halter or some of the more playful styles. They’ve widdled clothing down to about three types of tops and three types of bottoms that they feel cover up their flaws and they b-line it for those racks. If the salesperson so much as hints they try on the mini frock, they give her a sharp don’t-talk-to-the-hand.     [caption id="attachment_619449" align="alignleft" width="420"] Corbis[/caption]

Love it: positive words

Women who love to shop describe the clothes they pick out with fun, positive, vibrant words. If you ever listen to two women who love their bodies chat about the clothes they’re trying on, you’d think they were writing a novel. You’ll hear things like, “You look like you’re ready for a yacht party in that!” and “Palm Springs, here we come!” and “That is so retro chic.” Their imaginations run wild.       [caption id="attachment_611719" align="alignleft" width="406"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Don’t love it: negative words

Women who don’t love their bodies don’t look for clothes they can go to a yacht party in. They look for clothes they, in their opinions, “Don’t look too bad in.” They’ll say things like, “I don’t hate it,” “It’ll do” or “Whatever. I have to wear something.”         [caption id="attachment_620632" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Love it: every store is an option

When you love your body, every store is an option! Even if some stores have clothes that run small, you don’t mind wearing the size large there—you know your body is tight. As for clothes with larger sizes, you’ll throw a waist belt on a kaftan and think it’s gorgeous. [caption id="attachment_609505" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Don’t love it: stores are limited

When you aren’t nuts about your body, there are some stores that are just out of the question. You know—stores where the size small is clearly a size XXXS by universal standards and where the material is so cheap that if you stretch it at all it will break. When your friends want to pop into those stores, you wait on the bench outside with an Orange Julius. [caption id="attachment_699926" align="alignleft" width="468"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Love it: you can buy the cheap stuff

You don’t mind buying the little rag tops that seem like they were sewn together in a hurry and that you’ll only wear once or twice to go clubbing before they fall apart. You actually don’t spend that much money per piece. In fact, you don’t want to, because you love to diversify your wardrobe. You’d rather have 100 cute, unique tops (that aren’t the best quality) than just a couple of expensive tops. Your wardrobe is your playground!     [caption id="attachment_697920" align="alignleft" width="468"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Don’t love it: shopping is expensive

First and foremost, if you are a plus size woman, then you know that well-made plus size clothing is expensive. Second, you hate to shop, so you want to do whatever you can to limit your shopping trips this year. That includes not purchasing cheap things that you can only wear twice—that just means you need to shop again. So your clothes cost a pretty penny.       [caption id="attachment_713605" align="alignleft" width="415"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Love it: you’re addicted to shopping

Okay admit it; if you love your body, you’re a little bit addicted to shopping. You find yourself making excuses for doing it, like any other type of addict: “It’s just one top” and “I really did need it I swear!”           [caption id="attachment_611081" align="alignleft" width="423"] Corbis Images[/caption]

Don’t love it: people have to drag you

You know you need a dress for the wedding. You’ve known for months. But you have found every way in the world to procrastinate. You have filled your weekends with pointless tasks, just to have a reason to get away from the mall. Your friends need to bate you into shopping with some reward, like buying you a cocktail after or visiting the pet adoptions.       [caption id="attachment_618197" align="alignleft" width="426"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Love it: you have too many clothes

When you love your body, you feel like you look good in everything! So it’s very hard for you to walk away from things. That’s why the things hanging in your closet can barely budge an inch—they have no room! That’s why you’ve purchased every type or organizer and compressed storage bag on the market—you have clothes hiding around every corner and under every piece of furniture in your house.     [caption id="attachment_704373" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Don’t love it: your closet could be a guest room

Your closet is so cavernous you’re thinking you should rent it out to someone who needs a place to live. The dresser you bought for tops and sweaters has turned into DVD and book storage. You’ve ended up using most of your clothing hangers for DIY art projects around the home. Maybe you should actually rent out some of your closet space to someone who loves their body and love to shop!

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