Why I use words like 'wide' 'short' round' to describe women's bodies

I caused outrage this week calling Florence Pugh 'wide short round'. Let's chat about why I use blunt terms like this to describe women's bodies, why I think there was such a negative reaction to it

In today’s newsletter…

👗 why I use blunt terms to describe women’s bodies

❓ your questions answered

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I caused outrage this week calling Florence Pugh ‘wide short round’. Comments included things like “wide short round would make me cry for years and years”, “if someone called me wide short round I’d kms”, “these body type analysis videos give me the ick so bad. It’s so backhanded. Florence is gorgeous”

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As you can imagine, these comments can be pretty disheartening for me. I try hard to make my videos inclusive, positive and open - to allow for talking about our bodies in relation to the clothes we put on them without the rhetoric of ‘this is how your body is wrong’. Because I don’t believe there is anything wrong with different body shapes, I don’t believe there is one perfect body shape and we must manipulate clothes to create that illusion - I think that’s all rubbish.

However, I do understand how people come to these conclusions when they first hear these words. It’s one of the reasons I went with them for the body matrix; there are no words you can use to describe a woman’s body which don’t feel negative - tall, large, short, round, fat, skinny, sinewy, broad. It all feels icky - because we have been made to feel that these words are bad by the way they have been thrown at us. We are told again and again that what we look like is wrong and that there is something better - but it’s not true.

These reactions like, “I would cry if someone called me that” are really interesting - I think many of us have ideas about what we are supposed to look like and when its shown to you that you look different it can feel like an attack. I want to show these people that there’s nothing wrong with having width in your frame, round shapes to your body and looking short - many other beautiful women have similar features to you. I find these terms freeing. For some of my viewers I know that it looks something like this: “I used to feel bad when I wore the same clothes as my friends and I felt bulky in them - but the term ‘width’ made me realise I simply have a different bone structure and can look fabulous in my own way“.

Let’s address the backhanded comment: I think my videos are confusing to people when they first see them because we are so used to people talking about women’s bodies being negative that me being positive and open about it feels strange. My perfect example of this is that time when Sabrina Carpenter (!!) reacted to one my videos (3:03-4:00). You can see how she can’t decide if she should be offended, or if she’s enjoying the analysis. Also Sabrina doing my accent makes me die!

I think the conversation is always worth having. If I thought my work was bringing net-negative to the world I would be gutted, and it would definitely need a change. However, I think the people in my community - the people that stick around - can see how I genuinely just want to share this information that I have learned, make dressing for your body fun, and show that there is somewhere between “wear this to look more skinny” and “don’t think about your body at all when you get dressed”

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✨ With all that said, you might like to check out the Features Analysis Handbook, a handy little guide I put together to show you how to define your features and find your body matrix type, essences and colour season. ✨

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What’s new:

💭 YouTube - 15 casual items every woman with romantic essence needs

💈 NEW Narrow Body Matrix Page | I have started putting together guides for each of the main body matrix categories over on the website

🕶️ New logo | My friend Ophelia helped us to design a very cool new logo! You can view it over on the website

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If you would like to curate a wardrobe which makes you feel more confident, here are some ways I can help:

📚 Preorder my book: How to Dress Your Best is the ultimate guide to finding your personal style from finding what you love to what looks good on you and putting it all together

👗 Features Analysis Handbook: Learn your body type, essences and colour season. In this guide, I walk you through the process of finding your types and defining your features

👙 Body Matrix Styling Companions: Discover the best lines for your body type. Understand the clothes which best flatter your figure to dress better and stand out in every room

🎨 Colour Season Companions: Learn the best colours for your unique features. Discover the palettes which best complement your colours

✨ Essence Blend Styling Companions: Find the best aesthetics for the shapes in your facial features. Learn the details which work best for you, including patterns, colour types and fabrics.

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