Body positive blogger proves size is just a number with striking Instagram

Nisean Lorde
·3 min read

A body positivity coach from the U.K. is living proof that clothing size is simply a number.

Michelle Elman, known as scarrednotscared on Instagram, says she recently found a dress in her closet that she purchased five years ago when she was a size 10 (U.K. size 12) and the dress was a size 12 (U.K. size 14). Today, Elman is a healthy size 18 (U.K. size 20) and she was still able to fit into the same dress.

“NUMBERS DON’T MEAN ANYTHING,” she wrote in a recent Instagram post that quickly went viral. “So are you really going to let a change in dress size dictate your day? Are you really going to let an increase in a number affect your mood?”

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NUMBERS DON'T MEAN ANYTHING. I found a dress in my cupboard the other day that I had since I was in sixth form. The dress is a size 14. I bought it 5 years ago when I was a size 12. Now, I'm a size 20. And yet, I still fit it. Which just proves that NUMBERS DON'T MEAN ANYTHING. So are you really going to let a change a dress size dictate your day? Are you really going to let an increase in a number affect your mood? Same dress. Still comfortable. Still beautiful. (In fact, I think I look better and happier now!) A higher dress size doesn't mean: – you are less beautiful – you are less worthy – you are less lovable – you are a worse human – you are a bad person – you are a different person AND it doesn't even mean you have a bigger body. You could go up a dress size by simply changing stores… (or countries). You can change dress sizes because of the time of the day or simply due to whether you are on your period or not. If you look at your cupboard and you find it harder and harder to find something to wear because of a change in clothing size, I have a great solution for you… throw out all clothes that don't fit. Looking at your wardrobe shouldn't be something that makes you feel insecure and sad so make sure everything in your wardrobe fits! Numbers don't matter. Not the number on the back of your jeans, on the scale or even the number in your bank account. You are not a number. #OneTakeBeauty #BodyPositivity EDIT: For anyone saying I'm lying about my size. Check my stories

A post shared by Michelle Elman (@scarrednotscared) on May 29, 2017 at 8:07am PDT

“Same dress. Still comfortable. Still beautiful,” the 24-year-old says, noting that she thinks she looks better and feels happier now. “A higher dress size doesn’t mean you are less beautiful, you are less worthy, you are less lovable, you are a worse human, you are a bad person, you are a different person.”

Elman says that a higher-sized dress doesn’t even mean you have a bigger body since you could go up a dress size by simply changing stores, or countries.

“You can change dress sizes because of the time of the day or simply due to whether you are on your period or not.”

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If you look in your closet and you find it hard to find something to wear because of a change in clothing size, Elman has a “great solution” for you: “Throw out all clothes that don’t fit. Looking at your wardrobe shouldn’t be something that makes you feel insecure and sad so make sure everything in your wardrobe fits!”

“Numbers don’t matter,” she concludes. “Not the number on the back of your jeans, on the scale or even the number in your bank account. You are not a number.”

Elan’s 46,000+ followers praised the blogger for her candidness and it essentially encouraged others to share their clothing size stories:

“Had an experience like this the other day. I tried on a dress I bought when I wore a 16, I wear a 20 now but it fit well and looked lovely,” one woman commented. “Clothing size is so variable and unimportant! It’s not worth hurting your body to change it. Thank you so much for this post!”

In a recent video, Elman said that she grew up loving her body and enjoying everything about her body until she realized she was “different.” She has scars on her body from having 15 surgeries, including treatment for a brain tumour, a punctured intestine, obstructed bowel, a brain cyst , and hydrocephalus (i.e. “water on the brain).

“I have all the scars to show for it, I have scars from my ankles to my head.”

After baring her scars in a bikini photo last year, the blogger has embarked on a mission to help others love their bodies, no matter what their size.

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PEOPLE WITH SCARS CAN’T WEAR BIKINIS This is what I have believed for the last 21 years of my life and when asked in January why I never wear bikinis, this horrible sentence came out of my mouth. I was shocked – at myself! I had had 15 surgeries, a brain tumour, a punctured intestine, an obstructed bowel, a cyst in brain and have lived for the last 21 years with a condition called Hydrocephalus yet somehow my scars have always been the hardest part. They make already awkward moments in your adolescence even more uncomfortable – like taking your top off for the first time in front of your boyfriend, and made me feel even more isolated in a world where I felt no one could understand. At age 7, I tried on my first bikini and after receiving a range of reactions from disgust to pity, it soon became easier to hide away and be doomed to a life of tankinis and one-pieces. Why did I believe this? Because over the years, I have learnt that my scars make people uncomfortable. I had become ashamed of my body and soon other people’s disgust became my own and this was allowed to be the case because of one simple reason – I had no one to talk to about it. Well in January, I started to talk about it – all of it, and I want other people to join in on the conversation. Every human has scars, whether there are emotional and physical – they are part of our story and we should be proud of them. About a month ago, I finally faced up to wearing a bikini and although, I love my body thoroughly and have for many years – this was one of the most difficult things I have ever done, yet once it was on, it was one of the most liberating feelings to know that I wasn’t letting two pieces of material stop me from being comfortable in my own body. My belief is that no one should have to feel ashamed of their body, whether you have stretch marks or a C-section scar so… THIS summer, let’s stand up and be proud of our scars and what they represent – a story! Tag a friend below and lets make this the summer of scars! #scarrednotscared

A post shared by Michelle Elman (@scarrednotscared) on Jul 13, 2015 at 5:32am PDT

“To anyone that is struggling with body confidence, I tell them to just start somewhere,” she said. “Start realizing it’s possible to love your body – start realizing that it’s actually an option to live your life without insecurities and then start doing something about it.”

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