Here's What It Looks Like To Wear Your Catcalls

Most of us have received unwanted comments about our bodies, uncomfortable compliments on our appearance, or downright nasty catcalls. It's a sad reality of being a woman in 2016, but I have a feeling the tide is about to turn (oh hey, Hillary Clinton). But it isn't just presidential candidates making a difference. Artist Jojo Oldham turned her catcalls into a dress, and the result will put a smile on your face.

"I just had this sudden realization that I had 31 years worth of other people’s comments about my body swirling around my head and popping into it on a daily basis, and I wanted to do something positive with them," says Jojo Oldham, a graphic designer in the U.K., who collected some of the most memorable comments and crafted them into a dress. She wrote the "good, bad, and ugly" comments on a "slightly see-through, skin-tight" white long-sleeve dress, according to her site.

For many of us, the comments about our appearance start early and are relentless. Many of the dress' sayings are from Oldham's experiences in her teen years, when "everyone was obsessed with chest size." By creating the dress, Oldham found a way to take ownership of her body and feel joyful about her features, no matter what others think. Now, she can remember the good and laugh off the bad.

"I’ve found a happiness in myself that means those remarks genuinely don’t bother me now and are just background noise," Oldham tells me over email. "It was that confidence that inspired me to make the dress."

The dress is colorful and kind of hilarious. Some of the sayings are even inspiring — reminding us that kindness is always in style.

"‘Mighty fine ass’ is something my husband says to me and it always makes me laugh," Oldham says. "Once, someone stopped me in the street as I was walking past to say I had a ‘smile that lights up the world’ and then went on with his business, which made me smile even more."

Other sayings and stories are downright disgusting.

"‘Pleasantly plump’ is a pretty awful one, that was the sort of thing kindly older women said when I was young and not stick thin," Oldham says. "‘Sturdy’ as well, as if I was a table."

Oldham wants the dress to inspire others who are discouraged.

"If you’re struggling with a negative experience, chances are someone else is too, so I find looking for a creative angle and turning those experiences into little projects really helpful," Oldham said."Once you put it out there, it resonates with others and when someone gets in touch to say you’ve highlighted something they’ve felt, that connection feels wonderful. It’s a really special feeling to know that some good can come from the bad, and it really helps me deal with the beauty and tragedy of life."

So where can you buy this awesome dress? Unfortunately, there's only one, and it's priceless to Oldham.

"You can buy this one. It’s one million million pounds," Oldham jokes. Fair enough. It's beautifully personal and a gorgeous piece of art, reminding us all to own every part of ourselves.

Images: Jojo Oldham/lovelyjojos.com