by JASMINE GARNSWORTHY
As part of our Body Positive Project – an ongoing series of posts where we proudly feature a diverse mix of women of all shapes, sizes, ages, abilities and skin colours – we have curated this very stylish gallery of street style photos of DIFFERENT women to balance things out a little.
Because as much as we adore looking at street style galleries, sometimes it seems like “style” and “slim” are synonymous. Why are all the women in those street style photos slim? Just like in magazines. Enough.
So flick through this gallery to get fashion inspired by big, small, tall and short women – all of them super stylish and looking damn fabulous.
Camilla from rallph.com
Send a photo of your yourself in your favourite outfit this week to jasmine@mamamia.com.au and be featured in our Wardrobe Week gallery.
This is another Body Positive Project post where we will regularly be featuring YOU, our Mamamia readers – and your friends. Remember to let us know where you (or they) got each garment. Sharing is caring.
Be part of portraying a more diverse and INTERESTING mix of women in the media. It starts here.
Comments
71 Comments so far
I want to email a photo in as I love fashion – who can I email this to? What subject can I put? Love these articles. So much inspiration from people on the street!
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Hey Cat – email to me at jasmine@mamamia.com.au xx
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Dear all: Ladies please participate in my study on eating behaviours & disordered eating. You must be 18 years and over. Research is for a great cause! You DONT need to have suffered from an eating disorder to participate in this study.
http://opinio.online.swin.edu.au/s?s=12733
If you think you know anyone else who may be interested please pass the above link on. The survey is brief and all done online and you may just find it a bit interesting! Many thanks
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Style is so much about attitude more than size/shape. I look at these pics and see confidence and that is what makes these women beautiful.
I normally hate taking photos of myself. I now use a cane, or wheelchair on a bad day, so never feel very stylish. But recently I had a big ‘screw it’ moment and posted some ‘ fashion’ pictures on my blog of me complete with my hideous Holly Hobby walking stick (I really need to find a more fashionable one), medical compression stockings and pasty skin, and surprisingly I loved it. Even more surprisingly no one told me I looked ridiculous (despite a lot of Blue Steel going on) and I had loads of support and encouragement. Seems not giving a crap about what other’s think is quite freeing (Here’s the link if you want a laugh
http://bobisdysautonomia.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/fashion-blogging-is-not-for-faint-of.html )
I’d love to see pictures not just of short/tall, large/skinny fashionistas but also some of those with disabilities, mobility aides etc. There is little in the media that shows disabilities in that light. Just because you’re ill/disabled doesn’t mean you can’t rock some style.
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You look fantastic in those shots. I especially loved the tights not realising they were actually compression stockings. Never knew they came in all of those funky colours.
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Love this! Such a big advocate of body diversity – not just shapes and sizes, but skin colour, abilities and race. Thank you
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Gabi is so va va voom!!! love her
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I think ideally self esteem and physical size should be two separate things. Having said that, some of those women are dangerously overweight and I am getting tired of the normalisation on obesity as though it is merely a question of having a less than mainstream physical appearance. I am not trying to insult anyone but cardiovascular disease, cancer and DIABETES are set to be increasingly big killers in this country and obesity is a prominent risk factor for all three. I think any woman deserves to feel beautiful and it is nice to see women feeling good with all the body image crap out there, but I have to wonder if some of the notions expressed in this article are even all that helpful to some of the women featured.
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I already posted the findings of a study conducted on the prevalence and dangers of internal fat surrounding and entering the vital organs of slim people in the obesity ad thread so I won’t bore anyone by repeating it here but maybe don’t be so quick to judge a stranger’s health based on what they look like? I appear the epitome of health if we go by the scale, BMI and my dress size. But I can sadly guarantee there are many people who wear much larger clothing than I do who would kick my ass not only in the gym or in any other measure of fitness (other than flexibility maybe… I’ve always been quite bendy
) but also if we did a comparison of our daily eating habits. Never mind if we did medical tests to determine our health. Cripes… I’m packing it just thinking of those results. And I used to play basketball at an international level so how bad is that??? Health and in turn being at risk of disease due to obesity related conditions affects people of all shapes and sizes and has been scientifically proven that it’s not often who we suspect to be the most at risk so hopefully that stereotype finally vanishes some day and we properly address the problem for everyone. Not just those who we naively assume to be at risk.
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Could we also do this for men too? Women’s body issues take a majority of media already – not saying enough, but definitely more than men – and I’m certain guys have their own skewed images of the ‘perfect’ body thrust at them.
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Great idea! Totally agree. Body image is an increasing issue for boys and young men.
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Wow!! I probably relate to Sara the most as she’s physically the most similar to me and I could see myself buying each piece she’s wearing. But… I LOVE GABI full stop! She is exactly who I’d want as a wing woman if I were out on the prowl. It’s like you can feel her confidence through the screen. I hope these galleries keep coming Mamamia
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Can I please have Gabi’s wardrobe and style and hair and live where she does? Please?
Love this post MM.
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Good grief, I LOVE this!
All those women are beautiful, stylish and amazing!
I am a size 14 and have always loved fashion and am finding that this season there is so much more available for voluptuous women.
I finally found a pair of fabulous red skinny jeans that hide the bumps.
I am really starting to try to dress stylishly (which those with little kids will attest is an effort at times) and have been getting compliments from strangers on the street which has been fab as I turned 30 a few weeks ago and had a bit of a body image crisis. It’s amazing how a great outfit and some compliments will boost your self esteem!
I would love to be a part of this, what is the cut off for sending photos in?
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Please tell me where you got those jeans! I’d love red jeans but coloured jeans on my not so toned anymore legs show all the pumps and bumps …
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Sure thing! I actually got them from Target!! They were only $45 and they are brilliant! I think they are in the hot options section, they are fire engine red and have zips for front pockets that go up instead of across (if that makes sense). They are also more of a pant material but look like jeans and they have a seam which runs diagonally across the thigh which seems to help with the bumps issue.
I have tried on so many pairs of colored jeans and they all scream “look at my cellulite!!!!!” but not these, I am thrilled with them and they were so effing cheap!!
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Gorgeous! Beautiful! Spunky! Confident!
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I have a blog but avoid putting pictures of myself on there and feeling uncomfortable as I am not a size 8 but looking at these pics I see fashion not size so thank you now I must go a starting finding someone to take pics of me .
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Send them our way too Katerina! We’d love to have you in wardrobe week you stylish woman, you!
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I love this gallery. i especially love that some of the lovely ladies are wearing those floral pants. i have been admiring them in shops and kept thinking you would have to be skinny mini to wear those. but they looked fab. i am going to the shops tomorrow to try those floral pants on!
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I definitely recommend checking out Asos – they have heaps. Would LOVE to feature a shot of you in your new florals in our Wardrobe Week gallery!
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hmm im struggling a little with this.
it seems that there are either tiny skinny-minnies like elin king or (and apologies if this offends anyone) overweight women like those from ‘gabifresh’.
im not saying these women dont look gorgeous, because they truly do, but where are all the in-betweens?!
‘camilla’ seems to be the only one somewhere around size 12, which represents a much higher percentage of women in this country, compared to the other, somewhat more extreme sizes.
just my interpretation of the gallery, of course you can never truly tell someones real size from one photo, but personally i was disappointed that there were so few representing a more moderate dress size.
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Hey sailormoon,
Interesting point. I personally think there’s a great mix of diverse women in this gallery. And I could have clicked and clicked and clicked….
The thing is, with this post and with lots of the posts we do we’re limited by what’s available on the internet. And sometimes that’s not a lot. And that’s why we’ve created wardrobe week (you’ll see a link above) – to showcase a really diverse group of women whether they’re size 8, 16, 12…. whatever! I’m really hoping lots and lots of Mamamia readers will send us a photo (it only has to be one!) and show us their awesome style.
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Great gallery but I can’t help but think ‘derrrr’…to most of us in the real world this is obvious. of course normal women can be stylish…shock horror so can people older than 25!
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My favourite part of this gallery is it’s not just “bigger” girls. It is an actual mix of shapes and sizes, unlike most things you see labeled under “positive body image”. All of these girls are just as stylish as each other. Love it!
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It’s nice to see real bodies represented.. But, why does it have to be done under the flag of “body positivity”? Why can’t you just post pics of stylish, normal people as a style post without having to point it out? to me it just reinforces that white, thin and ‘able-bodied’ is the preference.
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Hey Sophie,
I am SO with you. I can’t wait until we get to the point when a gallery like this is just normal and we don’t have to remark on it. Like when we get to the point that having a female PM is no longer remarkable – it’s just the norm!
But the reality is that we aren’t there yet. As much as I wish we were, there is a long way to go for people to start accepting that healthy is what’s beautiful and that healthy comes in many shapes and sizes.
This is just one of our body positive project posts – we’ll be having more and more of them. Over time I home we build up to the point where seeing a mix of shapes and sizes is totally NOT noteworthy…. at least it won’t be here on MM
Jamila x
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Thanks for your reply, Jamila.
I reckon you could be the ones to start normalising it. The less you point it out, the more natural it will seem. Then you’ll be real trailblazers. Don’t let the big media world’s hesitation stop you from going forward!
Looking forward to more!
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Is the girl wearing fur in image 27?
Hope it’s faux!
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Could Gabi be any frikken cooler??!! Love her in pic 23 & 25 !!
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She’s awesome!!!
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Great to see some rockin bodies!! But where are the older women?
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try advancedstyle.com – but i’m loving gabi’s looks – i don’t see size, just total confidence and panache – what a role model!
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Terrific gallery! It’s all about confidence isn’t it? All those girls ooze it.
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Best Style-gallery. EVER.
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FANTASTIC!! This gallery is so positive for body image, those girls all look beautiful!
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I love this gallery. I’m hopeless with fashion (as compared to the rest of the MM team) but I feel really inspired when I see these galleries of real people putting together great looks.
Makes me want to put my trackie-daks in the bin. Almost.
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No! Never get rid of those trackies, Bec. Style staple.
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If you’re comfortable at a larger weight, of course you can look stylish. There are plenty of clothes out there for all shapes and sizes. And I know some ladies who wear them extremely well.
But I have to admit that when I’m carrying a few extra kilos, I don’t want to shop. I want to get back into shape and then shop. Unfortunately, you can’t style away your weight. I just don’t look as good when I’m a size 12-14 vs. size 10. It’s literally men looking at me (10) vs men not looking at me (12 & above). When you’re single, you want to look your best and have the pick of the bunch! Just being honest.
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I have a feeling that the men who judge you based on your clothing size alone (rather than you know, your personality or who you are as an individual) aren’t exactly the type of men you should be wasting your time with. They are NOT the pick of the bunch – they should be at the very bottom of your list.
I don’t have issues with people preferring to be one size over another – I do take issue with people justifying that preference by saying that someone else prefers it that way. Do it for yourself.
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I hear ya… but it’s a first impressions thing.
It’s no different the other way around – a man who is out of shape is not going to catch my eye. But if I already know him and like him, a few extra kilos isn’t going to matter. (Although, having said that, in a relationship, I’d like my partner and I to do our best to look nice for each other. I don’t think letting oneself go does much for a relationship.)
I think the ‘doing it for yourself’ thing is a bit of a farce. Most people want to be in better shape because when they look better, they feel better/sexier/more confident. So, is that doing it for yourself or others? Bit of both, perhaps.
I tell you what I WON’T do – starve myself. I don’t want to spend my life in a constant state of hunger. I just want to eat well and exercise every day and be in better shape as a result of that.
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It’s not about men judging you based on what size you wear, it’s about first impressions. How do you notice someone in the first place? It will often be because you find them physically attractive, it’s just human nature. And then you get to know the person, and of course, if they are a tool, you are not going to stick around even if they have supermodel looks.
And I agree completely with Hmmm, going from size 10 to size 12 made a huge difference for me as well. All of a sudden, no one looked at me or noticed me.
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Totally depressing and unfair… but true.
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Really? I have no trouble attracting male attention as a size 12! And I am not a snappy dresser by anyone’s standards. Maybe not so much about the size but the confidence you have.
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I’ve had the opposite problem. I’ve always been slim and confident and didn’t notice I’d put on any weight. Then I started wondering why heads had stopped turning. I realised I was looking pretty chunky. Ouch!
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There is DEFINITELY a fine line (for me at least) between size 14 and 16 where the head-turning absolutely stops. It is so ridiculous – a matter of a few kilos and my whole world changes – as in, FEELING and catching people staring at you in public, vs. suddenly nobody looking at you.
I am 6ft tall and when I was a blonde & size 12 in my early 20′s, there were some days where I couldn’t leave the house due to anxiety over men looking at me. It became like silent harassment. One day I even dressed in a tracksuit with oily hair to try and get it to stop but it still didn’t. It wasn’t just in my mind either, it was stressful for my mother to go out in public with me.
I am glad that part of my life is over as I am now in my mid 30s, but I am sad that I am overweight at a size 16, because I am literally uncomfortable in my clothes, get unattractive stomach rolls when I sit and I’m inconvenienced that I cannot wear the same retailers I used to.
First world problems I guess…and ones I will conquer. Just wanted to agree with your comments about size relevant to attention.
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I am with on not wanting to shop for clothes when I’m a few kilos heavier than usual. But it’s not just when people are single that they want to look their best. I’ve been with my husband for 11 years and I still want to feel fit and look good. Maybe even more so now that I am a mum and getting older.
I don’t want to blob around the house just because I’ve got my bloke and kids. No way jose!
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Totally agree! I mentioned that above.
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Rot! I’m a size 16 and get non stop looks from men.. PERHAPS it’s just that the men you want to be looking at you aren’t. Which may say more about your preferences than for all men as in your sweeping generalisation.
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I actually prefer to be bigger and have less male attention.
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I totally get where you’re coming from – there are days when I leave the house looking like a complete slob because I’m just not in the mood to be looked at. But if you’re hiding behind your weight all the time because you don’t want to be noticed, I think that’s a little heart-breaking. Don’t you?
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Yeah you’re right it is. But I seriously hate dealing with it.
I have been assaulted in the past and the thought of going back to feeling constantly self conscious and on guard makes me feel like it’s not worth it.
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Looking less attractive won’t prevent you from being assaulted. You shouldn’t be living your life in fear like that – it will do more harm than good. I’d highly recommend a course of counselling. You can get six sessions covered by Medicare.
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stylist stylish
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MM Team, are your techies aware that the captions for the iPhone gallery appear to be one photo behind the picture they’re intended for? I had to read the comments to work out Gabi was the gorgeous, curvy brunette and not the slender blonde captioned as Gabi in the gallery.
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We’ll have a look into it. Our new and improved mobile site is coming soon so hopefully you’ll stop having these little kinks! Bare with us. Thanks so much for the heads up jess88.
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I feel like a broken record here, but the galleries are still not wornking for me on Firefox 14.0.1 (despite clearing caches, hard refreshing, reinstalling firefox, flash and java…)
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Please keep telling us Goose! We don’t know if we don’t hear it. Sorry you’re still having issues, I have given our tech team those details and they’re working on it.
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You’re a sweetie, Jamila, but I’d rather “bear” with you than “bare” with you (I’m not the lass I used to be…). x
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Nailed it!
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These ladies look lovely
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These are gorgeous! I’ve got to say though, so much of it is about confidence, and owning it, yes? Gabi and Gazel are very similar body types, but Gazel does look a little self conscious in her pics. Gabi OWNS it big time – her style is to die for and she looks a million bucks in every pic. Shoulders back, standing tall and loving her outfit…makes all the difference.
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I love it – Gabi definitely brings it!
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love this!!! Stylish all shapes and sizes
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Gawd Gabi is absolutely gorgeous! I loved this gallery; no skinny bashing, just stylish women of all shapes and sizes. Thank you so much.
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love!
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In addition to having a great sense of style Gabi also has just about the best hair I have EVER SEEN. Loving this gallery.
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They all look great! It will be interesting to see the gallery of readers in their fave outfits!
I like the IDEA of looking stylish, but I have no idea how to accomplish it on a really limited budget and in a market geared to the young. I’m hoping there will be another 47yo, 5 foot tall, built like Gabi out there who can give me ideas!
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ASOS.com click on Curve. Stylish clothes and cheap
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Yay! This has made my day. Thanks mamamia.
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You’re so welcome!
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