Fashion: Is It The Body … Or The Clothes?

By: Gordon Black

Published : Dec 2006

By: Gordon Black

If you have read any of my articles on fitness and weight management, you may be asking yourself, "What is this guy doing writing about fashion, in fact what does he know about fashion?".

Well, here are a couple of thoughts for you to ponder. Is it the clothes that make fashion hot, or is it the body the clothes are hanging on? And if it's just about the clothes and the cut and the style, why are so many designers hooked on having the hottest models showing these clothes?

Come on let's admit it, fashion is about making you look great and that's about flattering your body, and that's where I come in because however good your clothes or your style, it can all be made even better with a better body.

But let's talk about fashion; I think that there are some really fabulous clothes out there, never mind about accessories, the clothes are the main event and if you choose a designer that you feel in synch with, you can very economically create a personal style if you stay with the one designer and buy selected items that match your particular style.

What I'm getting at here is the fact that you don't have to have hundreds of outfits, just a few disciplined selections of very good quality. For example, something like a Missoni trouser suit in a terrific fabric can be so versatile and yet looks perfect in almost any setting. And, of course, with the one carefully chosen item you can throw on a shirt or tee-shirt underneath and that's all you need. Let the stand-out item, stand out. Don't clutter it up with all kinds of extras or accessories. Simplicity is chic.

Now, my part: the body and that glow you have when you're in shape. It really enhances anything you wear when the body underneath is toned and tanned and flexes with a sinewy tightness, and you can start on that path, if you're not already there, with just a little bit of routine working out. But, before you groan and look skywards, with the "yeah we've heard this one before" feeling, let me tell you that probably no one is more lazy about working out than me. So what I do is just focus on turning up at the pool, I don't have any workout written down or pre-arranged, I just SHOW UP, that's all!

Now, when I get in there, I feel a little better after the pre-swim shower and then when I do get in the water, I loosen up easy and then swim a little and if I feel like it, a few efforts, but nothing drastic and so on and so on until I seem to have swum for about forty minutes and that's it. Just showing up is the deal, and I'm pretty sure that with swimming being so good for flexibility and the joints, you may find that you kind of like the whole thing and that you are slimming those ankles and thighs.

So for me fashion is about making you look great and the first step towards that is getting YOU to look great BEFORE the clothes go on.

About the Author:

Gordon Black is a world-ranked Master swimmer and Canadian national record holder. A member of the British swim team in the late '60s, after thirty years out of the pool, last year Gordon returned to competitive swimming in the Masters forum. He offers an online weight loss, fitness and motivational coaching service through his web site www.gordonblack.com where his competitive comeback is chronicled. He is currently working on a book based on his own weight management and fitness system.