Oh the Dress. (23/30)

August 6, 2011

After today there's just one more week of this abbreviated Whole30. I'm planning on taking two days to go all-out with treats (Tuesday and Wednesday), and then pulling it back to an Atkins-style eating plan for about a week while I plan out the next Whole-phase. This'll mean I'm still avoiding sugars, grains and starches, but allowing dairy and the occasional alcoholic beverage (just not the ultra-sugary cocktails), as well as possibly allowing sweeteners like Splenda, although to be honest I haven't missed those much so it's unlikely I'll partake in those.

I bought groceries and cooked up a storm on Friday, thank goodness. Today's the first day I've brought my lunch in I don't know how long.

Yesterday Panda and I went to a truly beautiful wedding for two of our theatre friends. It was really awesome and fun. Getting dressed to go, beforehand? Not so much.

I knew for a long time that my favorite purple dress wasn't going to fit forever, especially since I had such ambitious weight loss plans. My aunt gave me the dress years ago, and it's kind of been my go-to for nice warm-weather events like weddings and outdoor parties.

Well, I put it on yesterday and, while it's been loose for a while, yesterday I noticed it was loose to the point of being unflattering. The bodice section sticks out a full 3 inches on either side of my rib cage/ bust, giving me this weird square boxy look (the material is high-quality and heavy and thick, so it holds its shape), and it doesn't sit right anymore on the top or bottom. Also, the position of my waist and hips have moved, so the top part also looks too short.

August 6, 2011 - A friend's wedding

September 3, 2011 - Another friend's wedding

February 22, 2012 - Opening night gala

June 28, 2013 - "Formal Friday" at work

May 2, 2015 (already in progress on Whole30 Adventures) - a friend's handfasting

August 10, 2015 - That face says it all.

I'm happy to be getting healthier, to be losing weight and changing my body. But I was pretty peeved that my favorite dress isn't even passable anymore. It made me grouchy since I'd moved a bunch of my nice formalwear into my mom's garage for long-term storage and I had so few choices of nice things to wear. I'm still going to keep the purple dress, and take it to a seamstress to see if it can be altered to fit me better.

So as I was pondering what I could wear to this event yesterday, and I suddenly remembered THE DRESS. 

Back at my highest weight, when I was fantasizing on a daily basis about making big changes to my body, I used to browse ModCloth on the regular and troll the site for gorgeous vintage-style dresses (ok whatever, I still do that now. It's a great site). I fell in love with this PinUpCouture sailor dress. I saved it to my favorites, I gazed lovingly at it for ages. When it disappeared from ModCloth I was super worried: how would I ever purchase the awesome sailor dress when I'd lost the weight if the site was no longer selling it? Oh no!!!

Fortunately I remembered the name of the company that made it, so I went to their website and found it there. I saved up some money, and bought it in what I considered an "after" size (L). It arrived, I rejoiced, and I've been saving it wrapped up in a drawer in the hopes that soon I'll be able to wear it.

When my beloved purple dress was no longer an option, I figured it couldn't hurt to *try* the sailor dress.

It went over my head like a dream. It zipped up, snugly but not uncomfortably. THE DRESS FIT.

And...well...it looks terrible. Not terrible all over, just...um...terrible around the chest area.

I was going to post a photo. I won't subject you to that. Suffice to say it was a bit...profound.

The primary problem is that, despite being a size large, it has molded cups for boobs that might maybe (MAYBE) fit a B-cup. Maybe. I need to be remeasured, but my last bra fitting registered me at 38G. Yeah. I'm likely down a few cup sizes but not nearly small enough to fit into the chest of this thing (with or without a bra.)

There's also the fact that, like many vintage-style dresses, the bodice portion is so short it's practically an empire waist. I'm 5'7" and change; whether I'm large or small in circumference my waist is not in my armpits.

Even if I hit my goal weight of 150, it's unlikely the top half of me will look hot in this dress. I can't believe I didn't think of that when I first received it, and I'm kicking myself.

I'm going to keep The Dress, and ask around for advice to see if the structure on top can be taken apart and refitted to actually look good. I love the design of the dress, I love the color, and I really, REALLY want it to work. But if it turns out it's not worth reworking, then I will sell or donate it to a lady who can really rock it.

The long journey continues. And a glass of wine will be very much appreciated after this next week.