Philadelphia, PA - We are all aware of the pressures teenagers and young women face daily, as they struggle to live up to the images of perfections they are bombarded with in fashion magazines. But those impossible goals are not limited to the young.  Older women are increasingly being subjected to ideals that defy the natural course of aging.  This seems especially true of older moms, thanks in part by the slangy term MILF, which in recent years has become the staple benchmark that determines whether a mom is “hot or not”.  But luckily, just when you think it can’t get any worse, we are seeing a new fashion trend emerge that represents a more realistic and healthy attitude towards aging and beauty.  Borrowing from the interior design term “shabby chic”, (where furniture is intentionally distressed for a look that is used and worn out, yet tasteful and distinguished) more and more women today are hailing themselves as the… 

FLABBY CHIC

Striving to be a MILF is becoming passe, according some local moms who are embracing their over 40 bodies without looking back in dismay. Take Momish, for example.  A few years ago, she was a slim size 4 and looked fabulous in clothes that reflected the latest fashion trends. Sporting form fitting outfits, Momish often shopped in the same stores as her teenage step daughters.  At that time, she would have done anything to keep her those nasty extra pounds and wrinkles at bay, from starvation to dangerous diet fads, to expensive anti-aging products. 

But these days, Momish is no longer oppressed by the mass media and public opinion, an opinion that all too often pigeon-holes teenagers, working women and older moms into maintaining impossible body proportions.  No, Momish and the other women over 40 like her, are breaking free!  Instead of looking towards all those waif-thin icons, they have found a new and bolder image to grab onto, one that they can realistically identify with, one which allows them to eat what they want without sacrificing self image or their fashion sense. 

“I just love the Flabby Chic look,” says Momish as she rips open a bag of cheese curls (having given up potato chips for lent, cheese curls are her latest comfort food).  Momish herself has managed to beef up over the last three years, thanks to being overworked and run ragged at home.  With increasing less hours in the day to herself, the idea of working out instead of vegging in front of the TV was starting to really take its toll.  “Now-a-days, I don’t worry about getting to the gym anymore.  After I finally get out of the office, I barely have enough time to get through dinner, bath time and finish my daily chores before I am ready to drop.  Adopting the Flabby Chic look has really helped me to enjoy those precious few minutes I have to myself without the torturous guilt and self loathing.  I also find I am more relaxed, thanks to being able to binge snack my way through especially stressful moments.”

But the best part about the Flabby Chic lifestyle is the chic part.  You don’t have to sacrifice style and grace just because you aren’t anorexic or the same weight you were at twenty-four.  Momish herself is on the fast track to becoming a solid size 8, having long ago handed down her size 4 clothes to her two step daughters.  Like Momish, many women today are constantly sacrificing their own wardrobes for the sake of their children’s needs or the household bills.  “It’s great,” Momish slyly grins as she ‘pinches more than an inch’ on her waist, “Going up another size gives me the perfect excuse to go shopping and spend money on myself for a change. Just wanting to keep in step with the latest trends wasn’t reason enough for me to treat myself to new things. But it’s a whole other story when I can’t fit in my clothes from last year. I mean, I can’t very well go to work naked, now can I?” 

So don’t fret ladies if that MILF status is beyond your reach thanks to your much deserved laugh lines, your naturally slowering metabolisms and your impressive busy schedules. As Momish tells us, “While only time can make you 40 and fabulous, anyone can be Flabby Chic. All it takes is a little flair for fashion. Well, that and a shitload of sugar and carbs!”