So we all know I witter on about body image, clothes sizing and all that jazz a fair bit.

If you don’t know that, then you can read some of my ranting here, here and here.

I think that no-ones body is “flawed”, I hate the concept of wrapping your self-worth up in the number on a clothing label and judging other people based on their body shape or size, but I also think we have such a warped relationship with our bodies that we’ve forgotten they are not a fashion item or a tool to be used in political battles, we focus too much on the aesthetics and not enough on what they can do.

My own relationship with my body is better than it’s been my whole life. I’m really aware of what my body is capable of, and I want it to be better and stronger. It doesn’t mean we don’t have our ups and downs, me and my body, sometimes I wish its arms would fit a little easier into the sleeves of High Street tops, and sometimes my love of food is in direct conflict with the fact that I’d like to lose a little weight, not a lot, just a little. I think I’d be faster and stronger and have less issues with injury, and I also love my shape, but I think it looks at it’s best just a little below where I am now. You can still be Body Confident and have things that you would change.

Recently I’ve seen “Body Confident” blogs promoted, and some of them are among my favourite reads, but often the domain of body confidence seems to be shown as reserved for plus sized women. I’m pretty sure there’s stick thin model types all  over the world who could do with an injection of that sort of confidence. I also find myself baffled as to why we need to label ranges plus sized at all, can’t there just be clothes, with a broader range of sizes and shapes, encompassing everyone. Or are those clothes I will only be buying when I am riding my unicorn to work?

Myself, I wear a UK size 12-14 generally. I’m not plus size, but I’m not your size 8, super tall, uber blogger type, you know, the ones where you’d be hard pressed to tell their outfit photos from a Vogue shoot. Sometimes my email inbox is a confusing mix of emails from plus size brands, who have presumably looked at my photos, seen someone who doesn’t fit the fashion model/blogger mode and therefore deemed me plus size, who have nothing that will fit me as their smallest size is a 14 (but a large one), and emails from fashion brands, who presumably haven’t even looked at my photos, just found me on a list entitled “fashion bloggers” whose largest size is a 12 and also sell nothing that will fit me (genuinely, I have a $50 credit with a company at the moment who have very few items with a waist larger than 26″, I won’t be using that!).

But anyway, today isn’t another body image/clothes sizing rant from me. There’s plenty of other people writing about it, so I decided it was time to share some of my favourite posts on the subject, some are recent, and some are years old, but all are very worth a read (oh, and one of them might also be by me, sorry!).

Rarely Wears Lipstick – Feminism Friday: Your Body, Your Happiness

Do you struggle with your own body image, and being positive about your appearance? Lori has some great tips on how to start working on developing your own body confidence

Fuller Figure Fuller Bust – Being Plus Size and Body Positive

I love Georginas blog, and here she talks about her stance on Body Positivity

Gerties New Blog for Better Sewing – Vintage Sewing and Body Image

An old post, but an interesting one, but how using vintage sewing patterns can impact your body image in a modern world

Lipstick, Lettuce & Lycra – Exercise, My Body & Me

Ok, this ones from me. About how I finally got positive about my own body through exercise.

Cakes & Cakes Vintage – Body Image and Vintage Clothing

A personal blog about how shopping for vintage and being involved in the “vintage” world can affect your body image

Tuppence Ha’Penny – Vintage vs Body Image

Another older post about the perception that Womens curves were somehow more celebrated in the past.

Spikes & Heels – Dear Body

I love this post. Muireann writes a thank you letter to her own body, focusing not on its aesthetics, but on how it works.

Happy Reading!