Outfit Blogging: What lies beneath?

I love dresses and skirts, but I do not love the painful chub rub that can happen when I wear them. “Chub rub” is such a polite way of putting it. Basically, when two thighs rub each other many things can happen. Among them are skin irritation, chafing, pain, and agony. Painful ingrown hairs, infected pores and sebaceous cysts are also fun possibilities. Although we call it chub rub, it isn’t something that only afflicts fat people. Any time skin rubs together when walking you have the potential for aggravation. I had a horrible case of chub rub one summer which led to me heading to the doctor in tears. I felt incredibly ashamed and like I was being punished for being fat. Then my skinny doctor told me he gets horrible chafing and skin irritation when he jogs. My doctor emphasized this isn’t about fatness or cleanliness, but rather that some people’s skin is naturally more prone to irritation and infection.

How to beat the chub rub blues? One method is wearing bike shorts under your dresses and skirts.

Here I’m wearing a pair of “seamless bike shorts” from Avenue. They aren’t shapewear like Spanx or a girdle; they’re light weight material, a little heavier than tights. The only draw back is they’re synthetic. You can purchase bike shorts in cotton spandex blends from places like One Stop Plus, Junonia or Decent Exposures.

If you don’t want to wear shorts under your skirt, you can also try soothing chafing gel from Monistat (usually found in the “feminine protection” aisle, or Body Glide anti chafing stick (popular among joggers). In the summer I always have a tube of the anti-chafing gel in my purse.

Also, this dress is famous around the world. A photographer from Reuters took a a picture of me at the Fat Girl Fleamarket wearing it. Reuters sells their content all over the place, so now this picture of me can be seen in a variety of publications around the world including the Canadian National Post. Oh also I have no idea where you can buy the dress (I bought it used), the bra is a Lane Bryant plunge and the shoes are from Naot.

• «Previous Post
• Next Post »