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I went to church a few weeks ago, wearing an outfit that made me feel, well…frumpy. Matronly. I couldn’t wait to get home and change. It reminds me of what my friend Rochelle says about how a bad outfit makes her feel grumpy. Bad outfits make me feel grumpy too.

And not only that, bad outfits are bad for my weightloss journey. When I’m wearing an outfit that “follows the rules,” I feel better about myself, my confidence is higher, and my desire to make healthy choices increases.

I know it seems superficial compared to the spiritual truths God is leading me through. And I apologize for that. But I do think there’s some merit in learning to dress appropriately.

So…here are my top-3 rules for What Not to Wear.

1. Avoid Snug Clothing.

   Sometimes we long to wear the stylish clothes that thinner women can wear, so we pour ourselves into outfits we never should. And the bulges and rolls and curves make their appearance for all to see. Ladies, say it isn’t so!

   It reminds me of the scene from Steel Magnolias where Clairee Belcher comments on the mayor’s wife, who’s dancing in a tight skirt. “Looks like two pigs fightin’ under a blanket,” she observes. Girls, it really shouldn’t be.

    

   Let’s take a look at some of the styles we should just say no to. To be kind, I’m not commenting.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Avoid Too Baggy Clothes.

It’s all too easy to go to the other extreme to avoid snug clothes. And, believe me, I’ve done it and still do it sometimes. My mom reminded me just the other day about how I used to try to hide my body in big baggy clothes during college. I responded with a weak, “but I liked them!”

While I’m all for loose-fitting clothes (and I’ll deal with what to wear in my next blog), we can go too far. There are some wonderful loose looks that complement instead of camouflage our bodies. These images are not them!

Again, to be kind–no comments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Avoid Too Short Clothing.

Some of these looks below are so close to being right. Imagine more length on them, and they’re probably just right. In fact, place your fingers over these gals’ thighs to see where their legs start to look less thick–and you’ll know how long is just right.

 

 

 

 

 

Now let’s get personal…here are three examples of me breaking the rules. Hold on…it’s not pretty.

 

Too Tight!

Look how my friend is wearing a flowing outfit that makes her look so much better!

Too Baggy!

That’s me in the middle with the black top and wide-legged jeans.

They actually make my legs look bigger!

Too Short!

Oh my! What was I thinking? This polka-dot top needed 8 more inches to be right for my body. And, to think, I was onstage at our conference. Yikes!

God calls us to so much more.

“And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.”

1 Timothy 2:9