Darlin' don't you go and cut your hair...

Cutting my hair is something I've thought about extensively, exhaustingly, obsessively for months now. I just couldn't seem to let go though! It took me years to grow it out, first of all. But thanks to my affinity for weird hair, I had fried it to a crisp via lots of bleaching and every jewel toned haircolor I could think of. Secondly, my hair is such a huge part of my gender presentation, and to cut it felt like I was betraying my inherent femme-ness. Thirdly, round faced girls are supposed to have long, face-framing hair right? That was the one thing I just couldn't get past. My honest thought was, "But if I cut my hair, what's going to hide the width of my face?"

Here's the thing though: I'm fat. And the width of my face isn't changing any time soon. This epiphany got me thinking about how sometimes we treat being fat as a transient stage. Could this be a reason why more designers don't cater to plus size women, even though we are the fastest growing market in fashion? Speaking from personal experience, I NEVER LEARNED TO SPEND MONEY ON MYSELF! I never learned that it's okay to! I was programmed to think that I shouldn't invest in certain kinds of pieces because, hey, I won't be this size forever, right? I'm just going to buy cheap, ill-fitting crap because who knows what size I'll be tomorrow! Seriously! Take a few seconds to think about why you, especially if you are a plus size person, REALLY have so many 'fast fashion' items in your closet. Do you think your hot bod is worth investing in? Because trust me, it is!

I have a tiny budget myself, so I understand the financial aspect. But in my case, if I focus on developing my personal style and save up for key investment pieces here and there instead of trendy pieces on sale, I won't want to barf every time I open my closet. So, while I long ago accepted the fact that my body isn't just going to up and suddenly radically change one way or the other on me, I finally decided I was going to start putting my money where my mouth is. Starting by getting whatever the hell haircut I want, face shape be damned. (More on this in a future post.) I'm going to start buying less in favor of buying better. I'm going to allow myself to have quality items that will last me for years to come! No longer will I recoil at the sight of my closet!

I'm interested in hearing what you guys have to say about this. Have you let "fashion rules" get in the way of something you really wanted to do with your look?

In closing,