MUSE MAGAZINE
For most of my life, I loathed shopping. I tried to avoid it at all costs. Since I can remember, I would always cover myself in my dad’s baggy t-shirts, hiding my body. Growing up in the 2000’s era, where all the ‘cool’ kids were wearing brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and American Eagle, to name a few, I did not fit that ‘type’ of clothing they produced. I was even told by sales associates at these stores that I couldn’t shop there or that they didn’t have anything for my ‘body type.’ As a young and impressionable child, being told I couldn’t wear specific clothing was extremely discouraging. I don’t think I truly understood what I was being told at the time. What I did understand was that I was not being welcomed in
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By Denise Nicolaou PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEXIS FIORANTE
When Size Is No Limit
these stores and had unconsciously developed a fear of going shopping. It took a lot of courage to go into these stores because it became extremely intimidating. Not only was shopping an issue, but I also felt everyone’s eyes on me when going to the fitting room to try on the one or two pieces of clothing that would maybe fit me. Realizing the clothes didn’t look how I wanted them to, becoming discouraged, and crying on the fitting room floor, wondering why I couldn’t look like the models on the posters became my norm. As I matured, my frustration grew—the clothes I wanted to wear were not available in my size.
