How You Can Learn To Love Your Body!

Hey everyone! Since my last post was about how I learned to love my body, I thought I’d re-post the second article in that series today. I wrote these in the beginning of the blog, when I only had a handful of readers, but think they’re important enough to be re-posted. I hope you agree!

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This is second in a series of posts I started when I was asked by a reader to explain how I’ve come to accept and love my body. First post here.

Hey all you beautiful apple shapes! By the way, apples are delicious and nutritious. Apple a day keeps the doctor away, so it’s actually healthier to be around us apples. Plus, I suspect, we’re more fun!
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Anyway, if you’ve stumbled around on the internet looking for ways to dress an apple shape or looked for clothing that would work for your shape you’ve come across the description of the apple shape: large stomach, large midsection, carries weight around the middle, blah, blah, blah. Then, like all the other shapes, it tries to come up with the positive parts of your body to highlight and for apple shapes they say it’s slender arms and legs. If you scoffed at that, like I did, you know often arms and legs are just as chubby as the middle. Or perhaps they have visible veins, cellulite, stretch marks or scars. Either way, you’re not in a hurry to show off those parts of your body either. If you’re like me, those body parts went south way before the mid-life middle came into play.

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Actually, I feel whomever wrote those descriptions about apple shapes just threw in the “lean arms and legs” to give us something to work with even though they know we have the most challenging body shape to dress in the current forms of clothing that are made. So, again, reading “advice” for my shape, I felt that I wasn’t getting realistic advice and it was not written by someone who has my shape or any experience dressing my shape.

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So, let’s take it from a real apple-shaped body perspective:

Learn to love your wrists. They are graceful. Put pretty bracelets on them. Admire the slender way they attach your arm to your hands. They’re so graceful when you hold something or turn a doorknob. Play up your wrists by showing them off with shorter sleeves.

Love your feet. They are muscular and shapely. They probably are bigger than when you were a lithe teenager but they’re still strong and curvaceous. Find some cute, comfy shoes. Make them a bright color or get a fun pattern. Get a pedicure to celebrate bare feet. A stylish (but always comfortable) pair of shoes can elevate any outfit and they’re starting to make shoes that are cute and aren’t painful to wear. You can be a fashionista just by the power of shoes!

Love your collar bone. Even if you are carrying weight in your bust and midsection you probably have some collar bone definition. Especially with gravity pulling your bust downward. Wear a necklace to draw attention to that area. It’s very flattering to have a necklace length hitting at the collar bone. Choose shirts that showcase your collar bone and look for pretty necklines.

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Now, I challenge you to find one other area to love if you are the apple shape without the slender arms and legs (or even if you are). Perhaps your earlobes? You can find very fun earrings. Or your cleavage? Necklaces and interesting collars could play up that area. Perhaps your fingers or toes? Rings, toe rings, manicures and pedicures can all be ways to show off those areas.

For me, I’ve come to love my ankles. Though they are not slim they look slim compared to my man-calves and they are shapely. I don’t mind showing them off. I showcase them with ankle length pants and cute shoes and while writing this I’ve decided to give an ankle bracelet a try!

How about it? What parts of your body can you love and show off? I guarantee you will have, at the minimum, one part to highlight. I’d love to hear which you choose.

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12 Comments

  1. I do think it’s much better for our overall thinking if we start by concentrating on the aspects we like instead of dissing our bodies!!
    Because when it comes right down to it—it’s the body we’ve been given and being thankful for it is much easier!!
    I used to hate my pale skin….and it’s taken me many years. But now I just figure it’s me, and I gave up the tanning (sunless or otherwise).
    I’m still working on the curly hair—-it’s taking a little longer…ha ha!
    Jodie
    http://www.jtouchofstyle.com

    1. Yes! Funny! I used to hate that I couldn’t tan too, only burn, and thought it was another unattractive part of me. Oh, the wasted years thinking that! And I had/have curly hair too, but it has changed recently and is straighter. I still don’t miss the curly hair!

  2. Always amazed how body parts judged individually do not get positive reviews but as a cohesive group they form a balanced body that goes together well.

  3. You look Fabulous in all your outfits and the girls are well kept BTW. I love my feet and have a pedicure often and Shooze. I love shooze. On a serious note, our bodies have been vessels for all that we are now and at my age, I am looking forward to much more.

    1. I agree with your wisdom Neti. They have carried us this far, they’re allowed to not be perfect. I also agree with pedicures and shoes. I had a friend who hated her feet (for some dumb reason from childhood) and would never wear sandals. As soon as we went and got a pedicure she realized her feet weren’t that bad. She just hadn’t given them any reason to be pretty. Thanks for your insight!

  4. I am lucky to have inherited my mother’s good legs,so I still have slender calves and ankles. (Thighs…not so much!). I would have loved to have gotten her beautiful olive skin as well, but instead have fair, freakishly sensitive skin. I excuse my addiction with shoes with this statement. “My body may not be the size I would like, but I still have cute little feet!”

  5. This; Actually, I feel whomever wrote those descriptions about apple shapes just threw in the “lean arms and legs” to give us something to work with even though they know we have the most challenging body shape to dress in the current forms of clothing that are made.

    I need to acknowledge part of the problem is the clothes. I was at the store yesterday and the woman told me this is a big year for navy. Good, I am trying to switch from black to navy a little. But she said brown wasn’t an in color. Espresso brown actually looks good on me. I understand that trends and colors exist and change but it shows the limitations of retailers. When will brown be in? Should I stock up or will be be out year later? I am not good with trends and have a hard time with out and in. That’s why I am here.

    1. I totally agree with you Jane. If we found more clothing items that fit, we would be happier with our bodies. It’s just one of those stupid clothing design old-fashioned ideas that we have one body type. And as for color, wear what you like. Yes, colors come and go, and it’s an easy way to freshen up your wardrobe, but if it doesn’t look good on you, don’t buy it. I look terrible in yellow and there is a ton of it right now. Feel free to ignore what you don’t like!

  6. Julia, I love the article. Great advice about how to love your body. It is a journey and I’m glad I’ve learned how to dress my apple. I love my face, my smile, my eyes, my ears, my chest, my legs, my feet and my wrist. My wrist is not dainty, but I still love it because I can wear bold pieces 🙂 I play all these parts of me up with jewelry and scarves. On a separate note, I love your spring long vest. Very flattering.

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