Diana Veras is a model, a muse, and a zealous advocate for radical diversity. She’s also a 21-year-old human being who doesn’t want people commenting on her body every hour of the day. This might seem obvious, but the idea that tight or revealing clothing is an open invite for attention is pretty frustrating for women who work behind desks… let alone those who work in front of a camera, often wearing only underwear.
Recently Veras opened up to W magazine about developing her personal style. As her 200k Instagram followers know, it involves a fair amount of bomber jackets and baggy sweaters. The reason, besides the fact that they look cool, is very relatable if you don’t agree that having boobs or a butt automatically makes you answerable to other people’s desires and discontentments.
“I wear a lot of baggy stuff,” she says. “My career is so centered around my body, and everyone is always looking at my body. And it’s not that I’m ashamed of my body, but sometimes I like wearing baggy clothes so no one can comment on it. They’re normally like: Look at her boobs, look at her butt, look at her rolls. But no one can say anything about it when they can’t see it. It helps me go through the day. I’m tired. It gets exhausting when your career revolves around body positivity. And not that I’m complaining, because I will always advocate for body positivity. But sometimes you just want to be a person, and that’s what I base my style on.”
That feeling is probably heightened by the fact that Veras is a dyed-in-the-wool resident of one of the world’s most crowded cities. Veras is such a New Yorker that she hasn’t even seen her giant Aerie billboard IRL, for the very relatable reason that it’s in Times Square. But she’s not against underwear billboards in general. “My dream job right now is Calvin Klein. I want that billboard in SoHo,” she says. “I want it so bad! I’m putting that out in the world.” Hopefully the world is listening.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Image via Instagram