To hide or not to hide? fashion tips for people with scoliosis

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People with scoliosis tend to be very conscious of the flaws in their bodies. I am no expert in medicine and cannot advise people with this condition to undergo corrective surgeries. Each patient is different and an invasive surgery is not the best treatment for all. I do believe that if the physician does recommend/encourage it, after reviewing all the relevant facts (including whether the condition is progressive), then the patient should overcome his/her fear and go for it for both health and aesthetic reasons. The surgery would not make the spine perfect. However, it would definitely improve it. In most cases, patients do recover well and the conditions, which typically become mild, tend not to deteriorate much after surgeries. 

This post, inspired by fashion journey of a dear one (C, whom I mentioned in my previous posts) provides fashion tips for people whose condition is mild/moderate, whether or not they have undergone surgeries. (Former) patients need reassurance to overcome their insecurity about their own bodies which, in some cases can become psychologically debilitating. Due to their insecurity, their flaws, which range from unnoticeable to mild, often become magnified in their minds.

1. Everyday clothes ~ There is no need to avoid wearing most clothes, including fitted ones, including blouses, t-shirts, and sweaters. Extremely tight clothes that cling to the body might be an exception, but those aren't very comfortable to most people anyway (in my opinion, those tend to look trashy and are only fit for people in certain industries--why would you want to wear those?) 

There was a time when C felt extremely conscious about her flaw and so hesitated to wear fitted clothes. At boutiques, she would pull her mom into the changing rooms and ask if the mild asymmetry was visible under the clothes she considered buying. Over the years, she finally overcame her fear and enjoyed shopping for new clothes without being troubled by this old, intrusive thought.

Those who pay very close attention and/or have trained eyes might spot any asymmetry, but so what? The condition is more common than you might think (3 % of the population) and chances are that many fabulous-looking people do not have perfectly symmetrical bodies. 

You want to look great, and fabulous. You don't need to be perfect.

2. Evening dresses ~

Shailene Woodley, who has been open about her condition but never had any surgery, wore a very beautiful white evening gown at one of her movies' world premiere. The gown laid bare her whole back down to the sacrum area. While most netizens complimented on her dress sense and great bodily figure, a few noticed her curved spine, which appeared like an S. Some said she should have hired a better image consultant who reminded her not to reveal her flaw. I, on the contrary, believe she wore the gown not only because it looked great on her but also for the purpose of making a statement and expressing pride in her perseverance and solidarity with scoliosis patients.  

Not many people who underwent surgeries might choose to bare their entire backs like Woodley did.  It is not necessarily because they feel ashamed. In fact, they have zero reason to feel ashamed. They likely do not want strangers to stare. Moreover, they likely do not feel ready to to respond to innocent questions from them.  Completely harmless remarks ("You underwent surgery, right?"), or even compliments ("I actually think your scar looks cool!"), can make a person extremely uncomfortable.

Most evening dresses bare some parts of the back. It would be silly not to buy and wear a nice evening dress, C said in retrospect, just because it bares (parts of) the scar (or a back that is not entirely asymmetrical). I agree wholeheartedly. If those with scars do not want to respond to strangers' questions or attract curious stares, they might want to wear nice overcoats or shawls to cover up their backs in public, e.g. when walking in the street. When they go indoors and are in the presence of their friends, they can feel more ready and comfortable to take them off.  People usually feel more comfortable to explain their conditions to friends. Real friends would not react negatively or say anything embarrassing. Those who do .. well, they do not deserve genuine friendships.

Models like Martha Hunt and Emm Arruda bare their backs quite often. Just check out their YouTube video. They also seem to cover up the scars with makeup powder at times (e.g. as per request by their clients). 

People who are conscious about their scars should feel inspired by these celebrities: cover the scars when they feel like to, although not covering them is just as fine.

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I do not want to overlook people whose conditions are more severe and cannot undergo corrective surgeries. The above tips also apply to them, albeit to a lesser extent. However, if they do feel insecure in fitted clothes, loose gowns and dresses--especially those with colorful patterns that distract from the conditions--make excellent choices.  If they do think they look bad in fitted clothes and yet must wear those on some occasions, they should choose to tailor-make their clothes for those occasions. Experienced tailors are skilled at tailoring their clothes to hide bodily flaws (e.g. by hiding humps and stick-out rib bones) and to make them look good on their owners' bodies. Trust me, bodily flaws take many different forms and are much more common than you might think.