On Skinny Jeans & Hospitalization: Why Do Women Willfully Hurt Themselves for Fashion?
Today I’m wearing a romper. It’s blue and white striped linen with architectural detailing. It’s kind of adorable and actually fits my disproportionate body straight off the rack. When I have it on, I feel confident and cool — but there’s a catch: the ensemble secures in the back with three buttons. I can hook them myself by stretching my arm really far, unnaturally pulling my muscles, except it hurts and requires an extra few minutes of fumbling every time I take a bathroom break. Usually one to drink gallons of water a day, I’ve learned instead to dehydrate myself in order to avoid having to endure this process. Also, I have heels on; they give me painful blisters. But, as cute as I look, I stopped to wonder at one point: why do I torture myself like this? Because beauty is pain, obviously.
I might sounds crazy, willingly subjecting myself to aches, cramps, and pains, but I’m not the only one to do so. Recently, an Australian woman spent four days in the hospital because her skinny jeans were too tight. The pants constricted the blood supply to her calf muscles and the 35-year-old collapsed. When she got to the emergency room following the fall, which was caused by the fact that her feet were numb, medical staff had to cut the pants off of her “because they couldn’t remove them any other way.” The case, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, revealed that squatting throughout the day resulted in the compression of two major nerves in her lower leg. While the “fashion victim,” as she’s referred to in the paper, has made a full recovery, the author and consultant neurologist Professor Thomas Kimbe warns those who insist on still wearing the slim style should learn a lesson from this incident and make sure to stand up and walk around if their legs get tingly.
But a single horror story won’t impact the style’s staying power in fashion. We’ve always known the risks associated with wearing too-tight pants. Even science-backed warnings have done little to loosen waistlines and ankle hems. “Defying logic, the immediate desire to “look good” often outweighs the future discomfort of our fashion choices,” Jennifer Baumgartner, a clinical psychologist and author of You Are What You Wear, tells to Yahoo Style. “As we stand at the precipice of our closet eyeing our skinnies, the cons of constriction are overshadowed by the pros of sartorial success.”
This ignorance in the name of an elevated #OOTD doesn’t apply to bottoms only. High heels are uncomfortable at best and self-inflicting torture chambers at worst. As Christian Loboutin famously said: “High heels are pleasure with pain.” The benefits — added height, enhanced calf muscles, an air of authoritativeness, increased outfit sophistication, sexiness for sure, and so much more — certainly, for most situations, outweigh the benefits. But the consequences are real: The Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery reported in May that in 2002, there were 7,097 heel-related injuries for women. And yet, by 2012 the annual number in the United States had doubled to 14,140. (It can’t be a coincidence that within this same time period, social media sites exploded, making bloggers and regular people with large expense accounts the new tastemakers, opening the doors to fashion’s once restricted ivory tower.)
Women have sadistically subjected themselves to distress in the pursuit of looking good for centuries. Corsets rose to fashion in the 1500s, breaking ribs and impeding breathing for women of all classes and bustles in the 1800s weren’t much better (they were traditionally so large women couldn’t sit down). These days, fashion’s obviously still unforgiving for females: Spanx can create varicose veins, constrict organs, and restrict circulation; heavy handbags cause neck and back issues for many; waist training’s making a comeback thanks to Kim Kardashian and Jessica Alba; and more.
There’s a reason fashion hasn’t evolved to be more comfortable—it isn’t supposed to be. Sure, athleisure and normcore — both trends that place a higher importance on laid back comfort — have witnessed a meteoric rise in popularity, offering some reprieves with classy sweatpants and Stan Smiths. But they haven’t halted consumption of slim-fitting denim and Manolo Blahniks. And, even though I’m a conscious participation in pain, it won’t change my choices. Tomorrow I’ll probably wear this dress with underwire that cuts into my torso when I sit so my standing desk is in its upright position most of the day and I’ll pair it with new sandals that require covering my feet in band-aids before I even slip them on. It’s worth it — at least for those spare few moments when my tenacity prevails over the pinching and crunching of my toes and I’ve adapted to taking in less oxygen, and my self-esteem soars, and it feels like I’m walking on cloud nine.
More from Yahoo Style:
7 Life-Changing Hacks to Make Your Shoes More Comfortable
How to Stop Yourself From Crying
Thanks to Science, #OOTD Posts Will Never Be the Same
