Mom Style Files Informant Brittany Gibbons: Mission Beach

It’s the finale of our month at Mission Beach with Mom Style Files, and I’m wondering how you all are doing. Did you find the confidence to sport a bikini after 40? Remember like Melissa says moms come in all shapes and sizes, and missing out on the fun isn’t sending the right message to our children. It’s about self acceptance NOT the scale.

 

I know many of you have your good days and bad when it comes to body confidence {myself included} especially during swimsuit season. However, it doesn’t always have to be that way. Last year I came across a blog post at the Curvy Girl Guide celebrating National Swimsuit Confidence Week, and it was refreshing and empowering to see so many women stand up tall and show off their swimsuits. These women wore bikinis and one pieces, they were all shapes and sizes, but the one thing they had in common was a SMILE! They were happy, they were having fun, and that is what it’s all about.

 

Today’s interview is with the mastermind behind the Curvy Girl Guide, Brittany Gibbons.

Hometown: NW Ohio

What You Do: I’m a New Media Personality. That’s a fancy way of saying I play on the internet for a living.

Blog: Brittany Herself

Style in One Word: GirlyBoho (if you say it fast, it’s one word.)

Style Icon: A mix between Zoey Deschanel and Bridget Bardot. Quirky sexy. That’s totally a thing, right?

 

What was your inspiration behind Curvy Girl Guide?

I was brushing my teeth one morning and was thinking about how hard it was to find a website showing women who looked like me, in fashion I actually wanted to wear. Like skinny jeans or wide calf boots. They always used skinny models and pinned fat girl clothes on them. I wanted to put something out there that was more representative of what curvy women looked like.

 

How do you address body image in your family?

It only took me thirty years to realize the person who had issues with my body in this equation, was me. I always worked to change the perception of others, when the fact was, I was the one who needed a serious come to Jesus talk. So I put a pin in caring what other people thought, and spent some serious time reevaluating how I viewed myself. I focused on the pieces I loved until they meant more than the pieces I didn’t. It changed my life, and the confidence and strength I found on a personal level spread to every aspect of my life. It’s contagious.

 

When buying swimwear I look for …

Style and boob support. My breasts laugh in the face of shelf bras. So it’s a a bit of a treasure hunt as I try and track down a youthful suit that also holds the girls up. It’s a hard combination.

 

What are your favorite brands?

I have the best luck at Lands’ End, but I recently bought a Body Glove top and I love it. It’s definitely sexier, and not functional for little kid chasing, but hey, a girl needs options.

 

Do you have advice for our readers who may be dreading swimsuit shopping?

Buying a swimsuit is a raw moment. Be prepared to not like 98% of what you take back in that dressing room. But don’t look at the “don’t works” as failures, but more like a learning experience. “Okay this shape doesn’t work for me because…” It’s a great opportunity, don’t beat yourself up. In total, I tried on around 40 swimsuits. 40 swimsuits to get 1. Did I cry a lot? Yes. Did I drink a lot? Yes. Was it worth it for just one swimsuit? Absolutely.

 

Can a woman wear a bikini after 40? {come on you had to know I was going to ask}

Women over 40 can definitely wear a bikini. We need to dress our bodies, not our ages or numbers on a tag. Wear what makes you feel strong and confident. That may be a bikini, it may be a wet suit, but none of that has anything to do with your age.

We’ve too long been fed this elitist view of beauty and style, and I think people have had enough. It’s an interesting movement happening right now, and it’s not only limited to the curvy community. Women in general are inspired and motivated to take back the idea that they are strong and beautiful and worthy of feeling that.

And as a society, we need to stop judging. It sounds like a cliche, but it’s so ingrained in us to naturally shame, and access to social media makes it more volatile. We’re not just thinking things about others, we’re taking pictures and blasting them across the internet.

I may have gotten off topic here, but yes, tummy and boobs willing, I’ll be in a bikini at 40.

Read more from our interview over at Melissa’s 

YES!!! Thanks so much Brittany, now I don’t have to give all my bikinis away.

 

Isn’t she THE BEST! As a fellow redhead I’m a little biased.  However, I think she has this whole “swimsuit confidence” thing figured out. If you need more inspiration head over to her page and read more.

 

Now I’m off to the pool to get in some laps and strut my stuff.

 

Brittany Gibbons is a writer, humorist, and catalyst. Mostly known for her satirical wit and self deprecation, Brittany authors the award winning humor blog, Brittany, Herself, in which she overshares bits of her life between phonetically spelled sound effects and excessive ellipses. Brittany also founded the nationally recognized online women’s magazine Curvy Girl Guide, works to promote body image advocacy in women, and resides in rural Ohio with her husband and three small, very close together, children.

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Do you love vintage and shopping for clothing at thrift stores? Then you might be our next Mom Styles informant. Just click the envelope in the header and email me. We’d love to feature you for our next mission.