I just spent a week in Disney World. Not the most sartorial of destinations and certainly hot, which limits what one can really show off in terms of wardrobe, but it wasn't what I expected. Thank God for Florida's close proximity to Central and South America or it would have been a dull and dreary landscape. Latin women have a lack of self-consciousness, which I find exciting. You spend a day at Typhon Lagoon with a bunch of Dominican mothers who need to lose 30 pounds and are wearing one-piece thong maillots and see if it doesn't make you happy.
Yes, happy. The whole chubby, tan and almost naked thing going on is refreshing compared to the skirted black bathing suits of typical American moms. We're talking gold chains, we're talking Gucci beach bags and Versace sunglasses. There is no restraint and it is lively and fun. Love that. It's like Jersey with a better accent. Coney Island with a willingness to get your hair wet. These women aren't stopping at the chin to save a hairdo. They go for the full immersion.
Yeah, I was expecting a slew of women pushing strollers with denim shirts covered in embroidered Winnie the Poohs. Not a one. No Dansko clogs. Not even Birkenstocks. It was short shorts and flip flops. It was undone hair and no makeup. It was real. Everything a vacation should be. A lesson to be learned in letting it go. Disney wasn't half as ugly as I had anticipated.
Will you see me wearing a one-piece thong maillot at the JCC anytime soon? No, because I understand context. And I am no pioneer when it comes to partial nudity in public, but I'm also not one to wear a swimsuit with a skirt. Thank you, Disney, for reminding me that not all women hate their bodies and you don't have to have a perfect one to wear whatever the hell you want. That was money well spent if you bring home something like that.
