Maternity Style: Floral dress with a cutout back
I have been working hard on my Etsy shop these days, and one of the things that I really miss about listing things on Etsy is styling the garments. Most of my Etsy finds are pretty average sizes, with the exception of the haul sent to me by a kind woman who wanted someone to get some use or money out of her things, so I’m usually able to style them for a photo or two. But being pregnant hinders that. I have been listing things like crazy, and there are so many garments I wish I could style not only because they would look SO much better on a person, but also because it’s just fun to style things that you don’t have to keep. Which sounds weird, but if you have a vintage Etsy shop you’ll understand (Emily?).
And this dress is one that I had actually wanted to style right when I bought it and was not very pregnant, but somehow I never quite made it work. Which is odd, because it’s such a pretty dress and the bows and cutouts in the back are to die for! But I think part of why I could never wear it before is that it’s a plus size dress, and when I’m not pregnant I just don’t have the curves to fill it out properly. Some day I hope some fabulous woman buys this and shows it off how it’s meant to be filled out!
I very nearly decided, when I bought it, to alter it to fit me, but since I will probably be pregnant or nursing for the next… who knows how many years (we want five kids, so… a lot of years), I don’t think it would be a practical addition to my wardrobe. I can’t wear it while nursing because there’s no flex or buttons at the neck, and I can’t wear it while pregnant because it’s a natural waist with a slight vee, and… that just doesn’t work on pregnant people.
I very nearly didn’t make it styling wise today at all, because after I put on the dress and started to do my hair and makeup, I realized that I had a massive zit in a very obvious place next to my lip. And it was one of those that I couldn’t just, you know, leave alone. So my solution? Wear bright pink lipstick and pose with my hands covering the zit in as many ways as possible. It reminded me of that one ANTM episode where one of the former model judges blew away the contestant’s excuse about not feeling it in the face because she had a blemish with “when I had a zit, I covered it with my hair, with my hands, with a prop, whatever, you can still work it!”
And then I just started to make ridiculous model faces.
Dress, vintage available here | sandals, Target | belt and scarf, thrifted | earrings, vintage | glasses, c/o Firmoo
So now I feel a bit better about modeling my Etsy shop items (although I’m looking forward to being un-pregnant and styling things, too). But confession time: as soon as I was done with this photo session, I changed right back into my pajama shorts and a tank top.
And I plan to pretty much sit and eat otter pops all day. Pregnant mom life, you guys. 😉
IÂ hope you are all having a good week! Tomorrow, we visit the midwife and she’ll check to see if I am dilated at all. I don’t really expect to be, but I will be so happy if I am! Anything to indicate that baby girl is getting ready to arrive is good with me.
Thanks to Skye for mentioning and reminding me: if you would like to guest post for me while I take a two week leave from my blog after the baby is born (so, probably the first two weeks of September), please let me know! I would love to have a few people to cover for me while I’m gone, and I’d especially love it if your post was somehow pink or girl themed. 😉 (comment below, or email marabird (at) eccentricowl (dot) com)
Happy Wednesday!
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8 Comments
skye
I gotta say, I am absolutely SLAIN by how you manage to put together hair and makeup a) in this heat and b) while 9 months pregnant. It puts me to shame – I can barely roll out of bed in the morning when it’s above 80 degrees.
P.S. Would you like guest posters on your blog while you’re on maternity leave, like last time?
https://colormebrazen.wordpress.com/
Eccentric Owl
Oh man! I was totally going to talk about that. YES. I want guest posters! I’m going to edit this post to add that in.
And my secret to hair and makeup is… put the hair up in a sloppy bun with one good victory roll and a headscarf, and wear bright lipstick. Seriously those two things make my routine about 10 minutes long maximum, and make it look like I took actual time to do things. 😀
Emily
This dress is so pretty! I definitely feel you about styling items that I’m going to sell – it’s like I can get it out of my system if I just have the chance to dress up in it. Is that weird? But it has totally helped me let go of some things that I otherwise would have been desperate to keep. Fashion while nursing is so hard! I remember finding the bag of clothes that I had put away as “not maternity/nursing-friendly,” after my daughter weaned, and being SO EXCITED about being able to wear shift dresses again, ha ha 🙂
http://blog.breadandrosesvintage.com
Eccentric Owl
Yes, exactly! I just need to wear it once and then I can let it go. It’s so funny, the woman who gave me the haul of pristine 70s vintage was all about hoping I could make money off of the clothes, but I was just like… just OWNING those things is worth more to me than whatever I might make off of them. She didn’t quite understand that a big part of selling vintage to me is purely just finding beautiful clothes and sending them off to someone who will love them. But first trying them on. Hahaha!
Oh, I know. I specifically choose clothes these days that I will be able to nurse in. Pregnancy, eh; I can make things work. But nursing friendly clothes are harder to find! And that glorious time between nursing and the next pregnancy is the best, because then I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to get a boob out or how my belly will affect the way things look!
SaraLily
I love this dress! The belt is perfect over it. I love dresses with back cut outs but I get so annoyed when it comes to bra options! If it’s a structured dress, I might just go bra-less but it can be such a challenge! Usually a strapless will be low enough to work with the cutouts but ugh does it annoy me when you can see bras through a dress! haha!
saralilyphoto.blogspot.com
Eccentric Owl
I know what you mean! I didn’t realize my bra showed minimally until I was taking “back of dress” pictures, but actually with this one I know when I am not SO pregnant and it doesn’t ride up, I think one of the bows covers where a bra goes perfectly! That’s another reason why I love it and wish it fit me! They need to do a fit check like that with ALL cutout back dresses.
SaraLily
Ha! Is it sad that i didn’t even notice that?? Well, at least it’s pink and matches oh so nicely! 😉
Eccentric Owl
Nah, I noticed for the closer up pictures and (don’t tell) unhooked my bra so you couldn’t see it. 😀 But also it was a coordinating color so… oh well!