By TINA WILSON
I want to pay tribute to women who are unapologetic: women who make no excuses for their size and shapes, no excuses for their curves, and no excuses for the weight, the height, and the color of their bodies. I remember when I used to watch entertainers on television or movies and a woman would appear who wasn’t a size 4 and I’d think to myself “she needs to lose a few pounds”. We all did it, and didn’t think twice about it, and this coming from a woman who has never been small.
Times have changed and so have we. I now see a woman proudly showing her curves, her weight, her cleavage and I think to myself more often than not, “she looks fabulous” or “I wish I had the skills and the nerve to pull that off”. It is an unconscious shift in how we view women, especially how women view women. Women have traditionally been harsher on other women’s bodies than men have, but no more. Women are encouraging and empowering women to embrace their bodies. Diets and exercise are more about being healthy first, and losing weight second. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to lose weight, I’m always trying and encourage friends who are trying but the reasons why have shifted.
Meet Lizzo, the inspiration for this blog, she is a classically trained hip hop flutist and her power is infectious. I saw her on Jimmy Fallon, read about her in NY Magazine and I now follow her flute Sasha on Instagram. She is magnetic, smart, talented and large, and she is absolute unapologetically beautiful. I love how she loves her body, and I hope to one day get to that place. She is wearing Playful Promises Gabri Fresh Draper Harness Bra.
Adele, what can I say, she has the voice of an angel and the body of Venus. She is one of the original “I don’t give a damn what you think of my body” chanteuses. I love her. I put her in Wacoal’s infamous timeless strapless, no explanation necessary.
Leslie Jones is very tall, very loud and very funny. She once complained that she could not get designers to dress her for events, that they had no interest in her. Shame on them for being so shortsighted, as she is the perfect canvass for wild prints, color and boldness, I dressed her in Elomi’s Sachi Print.
Christina Hendricks was my favorite character on Mad Men, she moved like a cat and behaved like a barracuda in that show and she was glorious in all her voluptuousness. She is wearing a bustier from the eponymous French brand Cadolle.
I love the way Amy Schumer’s weight fluctuates and how she doesn’t miss a beat. She is a different size in each of her movies and she is comfortable in each and every skin. I put Amy in Freya’s Fancies plunge bra with its lovely back view.
Every movie that Octavia Spencer stars in, she steals the show, even when she isn’t supposed to. She is feisty, she is giving, she is rebellious and she is proud, always proud. I put Octavia in a Savage Fenty chemise. The camera loves her and so do we.
Speaking of Savage Fenty, no words about women with curves would be complete without Rihanna. Ohh to be pear shaped like her. Ohh to sing like her. Ohhh to have a billion dollar makeup line like her…….gotta face it, I just want to be her. I thought a soft demure lace bra and panty by Cosabella would complement the sizzle that is Rihanna.
The Grammys aired last week and they belonged to Cardi B, and rightly so. The list of her talents will not fit in this paragraph. The way she manipulates the English language in a way that leaves us awestruck and jealous, the way she rolls that tongue, the sound she makes with that tongue, the way she trolls her detractors, the way she wears anything and everything…..I love Cardi B.
This is just a fraction of the new wave of unapologetic women, and the numbers are growing and that makes me very happy. This is just the beginning of me illustrating real women in the intimate apparel of my choice, it was fun and I look forward to doing it again.
Peace, optimism and resistance in the New Year.
