No Pinched Skin!
Always on the search for clothes that make me look slimmer—heck…why should I put all the effort into the diet/exercise-thing to accomplish this—I found what I thought was a good solution for my sometimes bulging stomach. I traded in front-zippered pants for those with a side zipper.
These new-found pants give my stomach a smooth line. (You know how the flap of a front zipper can pop out when you have too much food in your belly! A side zipper solves this problem.) My belief in the wonders of the side zipper led me to purchase not one, but six pairs of these pants in various colors. They looked good on me and I felt like I was ready to conquer the world in these pants. Ahhh! But…!
I learned the hard way that everything isn’t always as wonderful as you think it is. These side-zippered pants do slim my front, but only when my stomach isn’t filled “to the gills.” (Now where the heck did this rather unusual expression come from…I’ll have to do some research!) When my tummy is full it protrudes, side zipper or not. And, when my stomach protrudes, I have problems getting the side zipper down and up, but especially up! With a little extra padding in front, it is hard to reach to the side and zip my pants up. Inevitably I catch my skin in the zipper. Ouch!!! The left side of my torso in marked with numerous bruises, an indication of not being able to master a side zipper.
I’ll continue to wear these pants—I spent too much money on them to discard them—but I’m now doing the diet/exercise-thing for my tummy. As a result, I’ve lost weight and my stomach is flatter and side zippers go up easier. (No pinched skin!) And I’m also wearing my pants that have front zippers. (No longer are there bulging front flaps.) Shedding the pounds has made all my pants look better on me…and skirts…and dresses…all wardrobe pieces.
What I learned is that clothes don’t always make a person. A person, through their own good and healthy efforts, however, can make themselves look better in their clothes. There may be clothes out there that make you look slimmer, but being slimmer is so much better.