Gingham, it's everywhere at the minute, and I will admit I am really enjoying it, there's something that instantly makes me think about Summer when I see a piece of Gingham so I think that is the reason I have been so drawn to it this season! I have bought 4 pieces recently but I thought I would share this little number with you for starters and maybe even share the rest with you in later posts, let me know if you think this would be a good idea! However this skirt leads on to an even bigger more important subject that I just thought I had to discuss with you all. Now I love this skirt, despite the length; I'm aware it's a little on the short side, what I don't love is the size I had to buy it in. Now I am not afraid of the fact that in some shops I may come up a 10 when in others I need an 8, nor am I bothered that the majority of my clothes bought from ZARA vary right across the board, I have Large coats and Small skirts, and tops in-between, because generally I know that I am between an 8/10, S/M, with some variation in relation to bodysuits (I'm always a 12, especially at Topshop, this lanky body makes it impossible to wear a 10 without been sliced in half - you get my drift right?) and I've never been one to really care, recently I have gained a few pounds here and there and I can feel it, however my clothes all fit nicely still, barring the odd summer skirt *cough cough*, then I stumbled across this skirt - in H&M. I originally tried this skirt on a few weeks ago and as always I reached for my usual size 10 tried it on and realised actually I couldn't get it passed my legs?! I'm aware H&M usually comes up small so I thought I'd try the 12 too, nope, still didn't fit. Deciding I 'didn't really like it' anyways I left, a little bit disgruntled that I'd not bought anything but not really thinking anything of it, that is until I saw it again last week. Knowing I did actually like it I decided, out of curiosity, to try it on in a 14, 2 dress sizes above my usual size, and I found that this fit, not without still been a little tight though! So I bought it, simply because I did really like the skirt but I could feel that part of me, the part that is usually happy with my body, start to crumble. Guess you know where this is heading don't you. 

If you follow me on twitter you might have even seen the little rant that I had, and even in that I convinced myself that I was okay with the fact that I'd just had to buy an item of clothing 2 sizes bigger then my usual one. But I really wasn't, and I think it's actually taken me a week to realise it, now if this can have an impact on me, one week on, someone who I felt was somewhat comfortable and held considerable amount of body confidence then what on earth will it do to those individuals who do not feel remotely confident? How will this affect those people who suffer from eating disorders and body dysmorphia? How will this help those people in recovery? The size on a label matters to a lot of people, and until now I didn't realise that I was one of those people, but apparently I am. 

Now I am not saying that a size 14 is big, nor am I judging that size or anyone who is that size, what I am trying to put out there is, the high street and the fashion retail industry need to look at this issue and resolve it, girls (and boys) need to have some stability when looking at labels and dress sizes, how can I be a Small in one place then a size 14 in another? And, this skirt only stocked up to a size 14, so anyone who is a 16 or above was already discriminated against before even attempting to try it on! The damage this can and will be having on both male and females who are impressionable is beyond words and it needs addressing ASAP. 
PS I measured this against my Topshop size 10 skirt and it was exactly the same measurements - someone want to tell me what is going on please?! 

I think I might cut the label out of the skirt and start to be positive about myself again, size and labels do not define me, nor do they define any of us and all you fashion retailers out there, take note, this is damaging, for both our physical and mental health, something needs to change. 

P x