We had Push-Up Bras…

…and the focus was all about the boobies. Now it’s all about the booties (and I’m not talking baby shoes).

We’ve always had the need for never looking our age. It’s a perpetual cycle of wanting to look desirable and accepted in the modern world. However, there’s no such thing as anti-aging or perfect. We age, it’s life. We’re given the chance to get older. Some aren’t blessed with that privilege. No cream or tangible product contains the elixir of reversing the process of getting older or turn you into something you’re not (even plastic surgery needs to be maintained).

Many moons ago, in the 90s, no self respecting woman’s drawers (excuse the pun!) were without a Wonderbra. That bad boy could truss your chest into the hemisphere. Breasts were heaving. You could adapt them to whichever level you desired at the tug of a toggle and even fill the gaps with a couple of dubious looking pads. I had a friend with whom I was on the bus one night, armed with a takeaway (clubbing was hungry work) and the innocuous looking pad had fallen. “Erm excuse me, I think you’ve dropped a prawn cracker,” came a tentative voice from behind.

We both looked down, to find the padding had fallen out of her bra. That was the last time she wore them without securing said bra properly.

Fast forward to current times and it’s now about the bum. Have a flat, out of shape or small tushy? No problem. Ladies, we now have magic leggings. Yep. Bum shaping and lifting is no longer reserved to nude coloured, pull everything in and push up, Spandex, under your clothes. No, under is now over. These creations will give you a butt as round and hard as a ball of Edam cheese. Heck, you even get the cheese wire thrown in for good measure to separate your cheeks. Ok, maybe you don’t exactly get given wire to enhance the derrière, but it looks like it.

Many young girls and mature women are vying for this ‘new look’. Whether they admit it or not, they want to resemble the perfectly sculpted bodies that we are exposed to on a daily basis. I’ve had times of insecurity and looked at myself negatively, but as a mother to two daughters, it’s my responsibility to show them it’s ok to be and look like themselves. Photo filters, Botox, lip fillers, false eyelashes, body crushing corset style waist cinchers, bum lifting leggings- the list is endless. None of it is real and I have spent a lot of time convincing them (and myself) that they don’t need to fall into the trap. I want my girls to believe in themselves and not feel they need to look a certain way to fit in. Stay healthy and look after yourselves and your skin, has always been my advice to them. It’s been passed down through four generations of women in my family.

Like yourself, and your confidence will shine through. In a relentlessly trending society, stay classy.

Take care, Eva x

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