Girl (em)power(ing)
I’m not much of a girls girl, I’ve always preferred the company of guys to that of girls. Guys tend to be more laid back and don’t require as much attention, they also seem to have the ability to get ready to go out much faster than girls and when it’s a dinner date, to me that’s important – a hungry Julia waits for no one.
So other than the fact that I seem to own an overwhelming number of pink things, I wouldn’t consider myself a girly girl. I don’t wear make up (unless it’s a wedding), I don’t wear high heels (even if it’s a wedding) and although I can be found in slouchy type dresses, because A) they are comfortable B) I can wear chucks with them and C) it’s less washing it’s rare that I’ll wear voluntarily don a skirt, the last time I wore a skirt to work was when Issy picked out my entire wardrobe for the day (there was a lot of pink).
So a few years ago when the running skirt phenomenon hit I didn’t get it, in fact I recall loudly exclaiming “Wtf? Why?” In my mind you wore skirts to play racket sports, or netball.
These days the skirt craze is more mainstream, in fact a number of girls at CrossfitHPU wear skirts when they train. I recall last year saying to one of the girls as she swished around in circles in her frilled skirt like a buff ballerina “Oh you always look so cute in your skirt, I wish I could wear one”. She looked at me and said “Julz! Don’t be silly if you want to wear a skirt, wear one! You’ve just got to own it!”
A few months later I walked into Lululemon and just by chance they were having a clearance sale, so after checking the racks for my usual uniform of wunder under crops, cool racerbacks or the run swiftly tanks and t’s I offhandedly grabbed a skirt on my way to the changing room.
As soon as slipped into the skirt I knew immediately it was coming home with me – skirts are so flattering! I love the way they hide the “fleshiest” portion of my legs, that part right at the top of the thigh that sometimes pokes out when your shorts ride up as you get on the rower, although I quickly learned that a skirt will get caught underneath the seat if you don’t sit ON TOP of the skirt) 😉
If however I was going for a run (pfft like that would happen) so let’s rephrase that, if I woke up with amnesia and didn’t know I hated running and voluntarily went for one, I probably wouldn’t wear a skirt and even though my Yoga teacher scoffed this morning when she asked why I wasn’t in class and I tugged at my skirt and said “I wasn’t dressed appropriately” I wouldn’t feel comfortable rocking a skirt at yoga either but other than those two instances I cant think of anything I wouldn’t do in a “sports” skirt.
But do you know what the number one hands down, coolest thing is about training in a skirt? It’s the way it makes you feel. You would assume a skirt would make you feel all “helpless” and “girly” like the damsels in distress you see in the comics, waiting for some blue eyed, chisel chinned man to come and save them (so they can fall in love and live happily ever after), but in fact the opposite is so.
Each time I walk up to the loaded bar this dialogue goes on in my head.
“I am going pick up that weight and hoist it above my head AND I’m going to do it in a frilly skirt! Take that universe, not only does this girl look cute, but she’s strong as f**k!”
OK so the universe knows that I’m not entirely “strong as f**k” but how others see you is not important, how you see yourself is. 😉
Till next time
