If you’re like me, you have at least one body part besides large breasts that makes it hard to find something to wear. For me, it’s my feet. They require orthotics, and shoes that fit orthotics are not very sleek or high.  It takes extra work to avoid looking frumpy, and a lot of times I’ve just given up and accepted frumpiness as my lot in life.

Lately, however, I’ve been running into women who refuse to give up on their looks.
A couple of weeks ago, I introduced you to Jan Fisher, a woman in her sixties who doesn’t look old.

If you read the About page on her website, you’ll be inspired.  She recognized her particular challenge:  how to look stylish and modern without looking like “a mutton dressed as a lamb” (a phrase used by England and its former colonies to describe someone old trying to look young). From her pictures, I think you’ll agree that she has successfully met this challenge.

Let me also introduce you to Carla Mathis.  Carla, who wrote the textbook for my image consulting class and is one of the leading image consultants in the world, can’t wear anything off the rack.  She has broad shoulders, large breasts, a tiny waist, short legs and a long rise (the distance between crotch and waist).  Obviously, she hasn’t let a few non-average body parts get in the way of looking amazing.

I couldn’t attend her workshop on alterations, so I was thrilled when she approached my exhibit at the convention.  One piece of advice that she gave:  When you find a designer who uses a fit model in your shape, it’s always worth it to buy their clothes.  I took this advice to heart in the shoe store yesterday (more below).

Finally, meet this anonymous woman that I saw in the shoe store yesterday.

I don’t know what other features she struggles with, but she was definitely large-breasted.  I’m sorry that I couldn’t get a picture of her chest without the shoebox in front of it!  There was no way that this khaki shirt dress was going to button over her bust, but she didn’t let that stop her.  She added a white tank top and looked crisp and cool.

In my final image consulting class last week, Carol Davidson told us that ready-to-wear is a myth.  Only 5-10 percent of the population can walk into a store and fit something off the rack.

I hope this statistic reassures, and the women I’ve introduced to you inspire, you to keep working at looking your best.  If that’s not enough, take a look at my shoe find below.

The zippered heels and side straps keep my orthotics from falling out and let me be 2 1/2″ taller.  Finally I have a pair of sharp-looking summer sandals to wear with dresses and pants.  Remembering Carla’s advice, I snatched them up.  The saleswomen were as happy with my discovery as I was, although I suspect they had mixed motives.

Persistence pays off. We can find clothing that makes us look great and all our shopping worthwhile.  We don’t have to give up on looking our best.