This was my first Summer on Instagram. Each time I logged on, a photo of someone showing off their butt cheeks or perfect bikini bodies, popped up. It was enough to give me a complex if I had happened to wake up on the wrong side of the bed that day. Many years ago, each summer I would find myself wishing I had one of those bodies that would look amazing at the beach but came to learn soon enough that it was not going to happen because my legs where short and my boobs too small to ever form a cleavage. While some might argue that in this day and age we can get anything fixed or enlarged (ok perhaps not my height), I had found other ways of feeling good about my body simply by learning what suits me and what doesn’t.

It starts with choosing your clothes and style with care. I have quite a few styles I adopt because of my work. But be it a casual aviation look, classic attire or evening wear, I stick to the below as best I can.

I choose the right size; not too tight around areas of my body that are not properly shaped. In my case, a Small T-shirt could make my upper body look bigger while a Medium size would make me look smaller.

I choose the right material & colours; materials like silk does wonder for my body if cut in the right shape and flow whilst ribbed wool would double me in size!

I choose the cuts that suit my body shape; everyone close to me knows that I hate to bare my arms so I opt to cover them and bear my decollate instead.

Not too low but low enough; In anything just above knee length my legs look skinny but any shorter skirts/shorts will emphasize my bulkier inner thighs.

And finally, FIND THE BEST ANGLE TO TAKE YOUR PHOTO. I know a lot of us take 100’s of photos before choosing the best pose and colour correct it to look the best but I still come across ones that would have looked much better if a bit of attention was given.

My affair with instagram continues and while some bodies and photos I can’t help but admire, some others are a bit sore to the eye. Truth be told, all women want a *perfect body but if you don’t and let’s face it, most of us don’t, there is no reason why we should feel any less sexy and flattering. We just learn what suits us and then focus on the other areas of our personality that can carry us off. That’s what I tell myself when I wake up on the wrong side of the bed and find a perfect body staring at me off instagram! 😉

*a perfect body is very subjective, just like art (is also something I tell myself when I want to feel good about mine) 😉