To think you don’t have to be thin to look great.

[PerfectPeony2]

Following on from the thread about looking polished- I noticed a lot of people said that it’s about being slim, toned, a size 10.

No it’s not!! I hope that all the thousands of people reading Mumsnet won’t agree and feel bad about themselves. I used to be one of those people who would put off wearing nice clothes, going out and getting my hair done until I was ‘thin’. I’ve now accepted how I am. Bought clothes that fit, wear the makeup I like, get my hair/ nails done.

I would like to lose a bit of weight in the long term but it’s not a priority. Life is too short and I think you can look great and ‘polished’ whatever your size or shape.

That first sentence should've been bold!

In general I do think thin people look better.

But there are exceptions : I am working with a woman at the moment who is bigger and she always looks great. She is beautiful though, which helps hugely.

Only a epidemiologist, kennehora? You know nowt

Hmm, I have a bmi of 25 and it’s a constant struggle to get it down to a healthier 22/23. About 12 - 18 pounds less. I have boobs and a bum though, unfortunately I also have a bit of a stomach to go with it. I feel as though I look more polished when I loose the tummy (about 10 pounds will do that) as clothes seem to hang better on me and I’m not as tempted to wear baggy tops.

Fit of clothes is important to get right. Being plus size makes that more of a challenge than it is for size 10-12s as a lot of clothes aren't scaled up well. Groomed, attractive plus sized women will be in well cut clothes.

Confidence is critical.

Plus size models tend to be hour glass shaped with definition between their hips, waist and hips. Other body shapes such as apple tend to be at a disadvantage.

Scruffy chic is probably harder to pull off, rather than a better groomed approach.

Not all slim figures were created equally either.

I disagree as someone that spent most of their life as a size 8-10 and am now a 14. It's harder to look and feel good when you're overweight. I find it hard to associate being unhealthy with looking good.

As a fatty, I think it's difficult to look really well, especially polished, in the summer. I get hot and sticky and red faced as I puff around in the sun. I wear too much clothing in a bid to hide the fat, which exacerbates the issue. I am 10 days into a new eating regime and it's going well so hoping to be slimmer for the better weather. if it ever gets better

I think anyone can look beautiful in the right clothes (ones that actually fit are so important) and make up. Of course being over weight is bad for your health but that doesn’t mean that person can’t look beautiful given the right clothing/hair/make up.

Also you don’t have to be a 8/10 to look good and be healthy. I’m a size 14, BMI is fine, I buy clothes that actually fit, nice hair, red lippy and mascara and I feel good and people say I look it.

I think up to about size 18/20 you can look really good. Above that I don't really think clothes look nice and comfortable, I think the bigger size detracts from any grooming tbh.

Hmm, I think it depends on body shape rather than strictly size. I have a friend who I guess is a 14-16 but her weight is largely boobs, bum, clearly visible waist and hair to die for, she looks gorgeous and knows how to dress for her body. I think it's harder to dress well when your weight is around your middle, especially when younger. I guess we know middle fat is the unhealthy kind. But the key as always is confidence.

I think it's harder to dress well when your weight is around your middle, especially when younger.

Why especially when younger? I agree though, apple shapes have it worst in terms of the frump-risk factor - as a PP said the temptation to drown your upper half is strong, which tends to look sloppier than a structured / tailored / form-fitting upper half.

@QuimReaper I added younger because I think it's more common to see older women with a tummy, I presume as a result of childbearing and/or menopause (though not everyone of course) so I think there are perhaps more clothing choices for this age group and can look more natural, perhaps it's harder to hide with younger fashions. But I guess what I'm picturing is there's a difference between someone who is healthily curvaceous (like the friend I described) and someone who is eating unhealthily and adding weight to the wrong places (as we know bad fat sits around organs). I say this as someone who gets oversized love handles when I put on a few pounds!!

Dead ringer , same here. I love autumn and winter as I cover up. Sandals and dresses and anything ' summery' looks awful on me!
Even when I was a bit thinner!
I am actually dreading summertime.

I am an apple shape unfortunately, even at my slimmest I have a wide waist proportionally so I am naturally inclined to dumpiness. I think I need to make more of an effort generally, a bit of lippy and mascara might be a good start. I am glad I opened this thread, it's good to know that not everyone writes you off as unattractive if you are overweight.

I do thin being slim and toned does help, of course you can still be slim and toned and look like you got dressed in the dark, but there are far greater options in fashion for slim people to choose from which automatically makes it easier to dress well.

It's all about how you carry yourself. I don't feel comfortable in myself bigger or smaller than an 8-10 so I stay in that medium. I've known many women at 16+ sizes that looked phenomenally chic - as it was all how they carried themselves and constantly looked polished.