What Do I Wear? I Have an Occasion, but My Body Feels Different

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Sis, Just wear a Boubou or kaftan.

Don’t overthink it or give yourself any cause to worry.

Jejerly shop for the most beautiful fabric you can find. It could be Brocade, Mikado, Satin, Silk is superb - and make yourself a super stylish Boubou.

Some days I wake up and wonder if someone exchanged my stomach while I was asleep.

For us women, as long as it's our bodies, there's always one drama or the other. If it’s not bloating or that time of the month, it could be menopause doing its thing. You could have simply put on weight after having children or from hormone therapy. Or that belly pouch, despite exercise and diet, is refusing to go anywhere.

There will always be that time when we are not particularly happy with our bodies. Sometimes the weight comes off. Sometimes the bloating disappears in a few days. Sometimes the body has genuinely changed, and it takes a while to get used to it.

Meanwhile, you have an occasion to attend.

Believe me, this is not the time to start putting yourself through the additional punishment of a corset or one of those styles that require everything to be held in and strapped down. You are already conscious of your body. Why wear something that will make you even more uncomfortable?

Just Wear a Boubou.

A beautiful Boubou or Kaftan is one of those outfits that can give you all the glamour you want without demanding anything from your body in return. You don’t have to suck your stomach in when someone brings out a camera. You don’t have to strategically position your handbag in front of your belly. And you certainly don’t have to start avoiding people you haven’t seen in a while because you are imagining them looking at you and thinking, Ah ah, she has added weight.

Let them look. At least give them a fabulous Boubou to look at while they are at it.

And you can actually enjoy the party.

Because what exactly is the point of dieting all week, exercising, denying yourself all sorts of things and then finally getting to a party where there is good food and small chops, and you still can’t eat because your outfit won’t let you?

A Boubou will let you look rich and still be comfortable. You can sit down without adjusting yourself every two minutes. Eat your jollof rice or pounded yam without wondering whether your zip will survive it.

Find yourself a beautiful fabric, make a fabulous Boubou and go.