Battle Scars

Since I began this blog four years ago I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the scar on my stomach. Although it’s faded significantly, the scar still has a strong presence in my outfits and in my life. Fourteen years ago my family and I were in a hit-and-run car accident. We’re talking a car-flipped-over, made-the-news-in-four-states kind of accident. I crushed my ribs and fractured my backbone resulting in one, dare I say, badass scar.

I don’t like to be pitied so please know that I mention this only as background information for what I’d like to say next. The fashion world is inextricably linked with the issue of body image, and for me this scar was always what made my different from everyone else. The general reception to scars is not a welcoming one. People want to know how small doctors can make scars after surgery, they want to know what creams they can use to make them fade, they consider scars to be a blemish, a mar on an otherwise perfect object.

I’ve always embraced my scar. Not only do I not try to hide, I quite nearly flaunt it. For those of you who follow my blog you know I don’t shy away from crop tops, cutouts, and bikinis. This isn’t a thirteen year old’s Tumblr so I won’t say that our imperfections make us perfect, but they do make us interesting. And when I wear a crop top and people stop and stare at my stomach, I smile. Because I know that this scar means I’ve won a battle, and come out better for it.

Photo by Jamie Ditaranto.