Two best friends with very different morphologies, Denise Mercedes and Maria Castellanos, launched the “Style Not Size” challenge on TikTok. The goal, to dress the same way and show that it’s not the shapes or the body that count but the way you wear the clothes. A playful 2.0 way to fight against the dictates of beauty often imposed by social networks and remind the whole world that all women are beautiful.
Their videos took the internet by storm, and Denise, size 14, saw her Instagram community grow to a million followers in less time than it takes to tell. She says: “It all started in early 2019 when my friend Maria and I were posing for photos wearing the same bikini. And Maria, size 2, added, very admiringly: “She inspired me and I gained self-confidence, then we said to ourselves that we try to inspire others around us.”
This time they’re back with some awesome new outfits that prove that contrary to popular belief, it’s not all about height or weight, it’s all about style. From crop tops to high-waisted jeans, through tight dresses or even swimsuits, the two young women manage to show that everyone can wear what they want, you just have to assume yourself as you are.
The first video posted by the two best friends on TikTok was seen by more than 1.5 million Internet users. Since then, the content it offers has been regularly viewed by millions of people around the world. So many women found their videos inspiring so they knew it was time to find a hashtag and get some real momentum around the concept of body positive. They let their followers vote between #ThroughThickAndThin and #StyleNotSize, and it was ultimately the second option that won.
“The message we want to get across is to dress how you like and love your body . We need to stop comparing ourselves to others. The fact that we can inspire so many women to believe in themselves and be themselves makes us want to continue this movement,” said Denise.
