What I Wore: The Starting Over Edition

If you've been following along with the blog lately, you'll know that I've been in the throws of a big move to a new apartment (and, by consequence, missing from the blog for the last month). It's been a very weird transition for me because I went from living in a trendy, busy neighborhood to a really residential part of Chicago. It's definitely been a change of pace - almost like starting over with a whole new life. Even though I still live in the same city, Chicago is big enough that moving across town feel like a whole different world.

What does that mean for my personal style? I definitely feel the pressure to be more laid-back an conservative around all these families, but, at the same time, I still love my crazy prints and crop tops. How can I stay true to my personal fashion without scaring my neighbors? Maybe it's not possible.

Anyway, the point of this very winded story is that the blog might become the only place where I can indulge in all my crop top, sparkle, leopard print fantasies. So I'm apologizing in advance if my style seems to get a little wild on here in the next few months.

Today's outfit isn't a good example of that. I would call this tame. Wouldn't you? I picked up this adorable atomic print dress on ASOS on sale (of course) and I'm so in love with it! It's fun, it's cute, and it's definitely the right shape for my body type. 

 Outfit Details:

Atomic Print Dress - ASOS

Half & Half Polka Dot Tights - ASOS

High Heeled Oxfords - Urban Outfitters forever ago, but I found these similar ones on Modcloth

Hat - Also from Urban forever ago 

What I wanted to talk about here a little bit, in keeping with the starting over theme, is dressing for your own body type. This is something that took me a long, long, LONG time to learn, because sometimes you find something that is just adorable and you need to have it. But, as I'm sure you've all found out, it just look terrible on you. That's not because everything looks terrible on you, it's just because it was made for someone with straight lines and, honey, you've got curves (yea, I'm speaking to you and myself here, because I'm weird and losing it) and that's okay. It took me a long time to embrace the fact that not every cut, ruffle, and flounce is going to look good on me. No matter how hard I tried to make it work.

Well, if that lesson was a hard one to learn, an even harder one that I'm struggling with now is that our bodies are not constant. Yes, the general shape stays the same, but the things that looked great on me at 20, do not fit me the same way at 25. This is not a conversation about weight gain. Weight fluctuates and your size will too, we all get this. What I'm talking about here is your hips getting wider, your legs changing shape, and, are your boobs still growing, because it feels like mine are a different size every month. THESE are the fluctuations and changes that I was not prepared for. Once I figured out my body type, I though it was over. Done. I figured it out. I'm good. Thanks.

Wrong. It's like you have to re-evaluate your body every 3 years to see what stuck around and what could use a new ruffle or two. I understand this also has a lot to do with growing up and gaining (and sometimes losing confidence) but I'd like to think it's not a body image issue as much as it is acceptance and understanding.

Take this dress for example, it's a shape that I would not have worn 3 years ago, because it just wasn't flattering on me. Now, I'm a slave to the a-line. Slave. Does that mean that I have given up on the pencil skirt? No, obviously. But I am much more conscious of what kind of pencil skirt it is. The longer, the better.

I'm still figuring it out, my growing figure, but instead of being upset or worried about it, I'm excited! All it means is that I get to shop more. A lot more. I mean, I have to figure out what works, don't I? ;)

In the meantime, I'll be setting up my craft room/Etsy store photo studio in my new apartment and getting back to work at full speed very soon!

Are you trying to figure out this ever-changing body type too? How are you dealing?