Yes it's a pretty bold statement to say that my wardrobe changed my life, but in many ways it really did.
As a plus size female, I have always been larger than my peers - my big body affecting many of the decisions that I made in my life. Growing up in the 90s as a chubby teenager wasn't always easy - we certainly didn't have access to the range of body positive sources that we have now.
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I wish I could tell that little girl how much she'd love fashion in the future,
she'd have loved to have known!
I can't say that I was every unhappy, I had a lovely up-bringing and have always been confident in my body and the way I look however I can say that I wasn't ever in love with my body. It was always something that didn't really matter, I got on with being fat and didn't really let it affect the way I felt about life. This certainly worked for me, until I discovered a world of plus size fashion.
I am actually a late comer to the world of plus size fashion - probably as recently as 5 years ago I assumed that Evans was really the only place to shop, with perhaps the odd statement t-shirt from New Look Inspire. I wasn't unhappy about this because I accepted it as my lot and always assumed that this would be the way things were.
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I guess when you look at things realistically there is a much bigger picture of situations that changed my life, but hand on my heart I think that my wardrobe helped. I moved to London with a box of clothes that was filled with jeans and t shirts - with the odd leggings and tunic top combo. I left London 2 years later with over 50 new dresses in an array of colours, styles and fit; thanks to discovering that real plus size retailers do exist!
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Living in the capital city gave me access to new friends, new social scenes of course new shops. I quickly discovered the world of plus size bloggers and I had a light bulb moment. It was like a fantastic realisation that even though I am fat - I can and WILL look good. Reading blogs taught me how to dress, what I would wear and even simple information about where I can shop. All of it seems simple now but information wise it was and still is invaluable.
When I left London to move back up North I did so in a pretty dress with a wealth of information up my sleeve. Perhaps one dress didn't change my life, but discovering that I am entitled to a plus size wardrobe certainly did!