Body Positivity

This incident happened a while back at the store. There is this old customer of mine and she has been shopping with Pari’s for over 12 years. I have personally seen this lady go from a size M to 2XL. This is always a difficult journey, spurred on by the stresses of life and I personally know and recognize this struggle and how hard a pill weight gain is to swallow.

She very badly wanted a change of look as she was feeling bad about how her clothes were looking on her. I was explaining the concept behind IMSWANK to her, and giving her strength as she was very low in self-confidence. At this time her husband snickered, “Bhais ke jaise tumhari size hain, bhaise ke tera he lago gi” translating to, “You are built like a buffalo, you will look like one only”.

This poor thing has struggled with a thyroid problem and to hear this coming from her husband, whose second child she had recently borne, caused her to tear up. My heart went out to her. Luckily at this point, he got a call and stepped out. With tears she confided in me that this was a regular feature in their home. So much so that her older child, a six year old, would tell her to not come to school to pick her up, as she gets teased by her friends and is embarrassed by the mother.

I was completely shocked and angered but could not say much as she proceeded to try a few garments. The husband returned with his snarky comments. Now mind you, he was more obese than her but the stereotypical expectation is that the women must be slim and trim always. She walked out with a sad face without buying anything. Few days later she came back alone and bought many garments for herself and at that time I was able to give her confidence and strength.

I ask this of all those who keep names - who has given you the right to hurt another in this way, so what if you are related, be it a husband, wife, in-laws, friends or just people on the streets and on social media? When you look at yourself in the mirror, do you see Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie staring back at you? No, right? So just zip it and STOP HURTING OTHERS!

I feel the pain of my customers as I myself am a big-built woman. This and many other instances have inspired me to design cuts, fits, and styles which give our customers confidence. We design and produce garments which lets our customers appreciate her size and not fear it. Embrace your body, embrace yourself. Our IMSWANK Motto says it all…

Size Doesn’t Matter

I Matter, IMSWANK

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