Mira Hirsch, a blogger from South Africa, took to Instagram earlier in September to share an important PSA about the clothing industry and why numbers mean nothing. To illustrate her point, the body-positive activist shared a side-by-side photo of herself in a dressing room, wearing two different pairs of pants in the same size from the same store.
“I was looking for a pair of pants and found both of these in the same size in different sections of the store . . .” she began. “The maroon pair had a label saying ‘New Fit’ and the mint pair had nothing. Both were my size yet one pair couldn’t even close and the other pair was a little loose? . . .”
Hirsch went on to share that she used to “dread” shopping because it left her feeling defeated. “You look for something in your usual size, it doesn’t fit and you up leaving the store feeling so s—ty about yourself. Letting diet culture kick in, and self loathing take over. I know I did,” Hirsch revealed.
But the 18-year-old signed off with an empowering message. “Stop trying to fit into the ‘ideal size,’” she wrote to her more than 100,000 followers. “Who the hell cares if it’s a few sizes bigger or smaller than what your normally wear . . . take back your power and wear whatever size and style you desire . . . love the skin you’re in!”
Her post received nearly more than 4,000 likes. Wrote one woman: “I’ve had this happen before, I even told the store employee and she said their ‘fits can vary based on fabrics and materials.’ Lol. Ya right. You go girl!”