While I'll always love a circle skirt with a massive petticoat or two, I'm really starting to get into the wiggle dress. It's taken me a while, since I've spent most of my life feeling self-conscious about my belly, but lately I've really been feeling the fitted look! They have a totally different vibe than my usual giant-skirt-and-novelty-print combo, but it's one I finally feel ready to embrace. Life is just too short to worry about whether strangers can clearly see that you have a stomach: hello, everybody has a stomach. Otherwise, we'd all die of starvation!
Since I never do anything by halves, I've decided to hammer the 'wiggles are awesome' message the rest of the way through my cranium by holding my own personal Wiggle Week! I'm challenging myself to wear a wiggle every day for the next week, and I'll be Instagramming/blogging all along the way. A big part of why I feel ready to do this is because I've spent the past year looking at fabulous women of all sizes and realizing 'hey, Yoda was right, size matters not, so I should really chill out on the self-body-hate!' Thus, I'd be delighted if you'd join me by posting your own wiggle-dress pics on IG with the hashtag #WiggleWeek!
I'm kicking things off in a truly amazing dress: the Deadly Dames Courtesan Wiggle dress in Victorian rose. One of the ladies I know from FB/Instagram was selling this one a while back, and though I was still a bit leery of wearing a wiggle, the print was too pretty to pass up! When it arrived from Down Under, I was amazed by how well-made the dress is (no bra needed!) and I felt super confident. I think Micheline Pitt has some sort of magical dressmaking power, since all three of the wiggles I've blogged about thus far are her creations.
I'm kicking things off in a truly amazing dress: the Deadly Dames Courtesan Wiggle dress in Victorian rose. One of the ladies I know from FB/Instagram was selling this one a while back, and though I was still a bit leery of wearing a wiggle, the print was too pretty to pass up! When it arrived from Down Under, I was amazed by how well-made the dress is (no bra needed!) and I felt super confident. I think Micheline Pitt has some sort of magical dressmaking power, since all three of the wiggles I've blogged about thus far are her creations.
I think of this as my Deadly Dames face.
It's funny: for the longest time, I thought I was apple-shaped, with no difference to speak of between my waist and hip measurements. Then I went wedding-dress shopping. While that was dispiriting because none of the sample dresses zipped and that is an inherently awful, demoralizing experience, I also discovered that I was wrong about my shape all along. As it turned out, I do have curves (as cliched as that expression is), and I just had to figure out where to buy things that fit properly. Those bridal-shop measurements actually helped me to recognize this, and made me a lot more effective at shopping online. Even though I felt awful in the immediate aftermath of my first few attempts at wedding-dress shopping, in the long run, trying on mermaid gowns and seeing that they actually did suit me was a bit of a wake-up call. All I needed was to find dresses that were made well, with proportions that work for my body.
So here I am, a convert to the wiggle at last, in one of the most well-constructed garments I own, and I'm ready to preach the gospel of the fitted dress. Won't you join me?
So here I am, a convert to the wiggle at last, in one of the most well-constructed garments I own, and I'm ready to preach the gospel of the fitted dress. Won't you join me?
Follow this blog on:
Instagram: @emily.hallock
That dress is simply stunning. I love the shape, and the print, and you in it! Way to be amazing (as usual) and institute Wiggle Week--I think it's a great idea! Using your blog to promote your own and others' body positivity is truly a wonderful thing. Looking through my closet...it's pretty devoid of anything remotely body hugging (besides my jeans and my First Date dress), so I don't think I'll be participating now, but you ARE giving me the confidence to shop for those things in the future!
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much! This print is lovely and so classic, and I'm very glad someone was willing to part with this dress. I've been having such a great time doing Wiggle Week, and I know you'd look amazing in something fitted <3!
DeleteYou go girl! You're rocking this wiggle. You look great in every outfit you post - but you're so right, once you learn your measurements and start to accept/love/know your body, you can find the right things to wear (basically whatever the heck you want!) and feel great in them! I love this #WiggleWeek!
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much! I'm really happy that after a lifetime of feeling too self-conscious for dresses like this, I'm feeling confident enough to wear them. Thank you for the encouragement, and cheers to wearing whatever we want!
DeleteI am far too self conscious to wear a wiggle dress! Full circle all the way for me. But you look brilliant! Love the print and the contract of the black panel!
ReplyDeleteHazel - www.fleurcharms.co.uk
I absolutely love swishy circle skirts and twirling around, so there's no chance I'll be giving them up. But have a peek at the photos people are posting on IG for Wiggle Week -- I was already riding the wiggle train, but all of their positivity is making me even more pumped to pick out a slinky dress each morning! I bet you'd rock one <3!
DeleteThat is stunning! I love the floral design too! Also don't worry about your tummy! Easier said than done though as I always worry too, I'm quite slim but always self conscious about my pot belly! But just like you I have tried to embrace my figure and get lovely clothes that fit me <3 a wiggle dress is too much for now, but as my confidence increases I hope I can :) xx
ReplyDeletesophieannetaylor.blogspot.co.uk
Thank you so much! It's so unfortunate that no matter what, so many of us will be self-conscious about our bellies. I hope your confidence continues to grow <3. You are lovely and you should feel that way!
DeleteYou look stunning! I love this body positivity message, keep doing what you're doing girl. What a lovely post. x
ReplyDeleteKayla | http://uncrea.wordpress.com
Thank you so much! It's amazing how good it feels to embrace a body-positive group activity, and it makes a world of difference to surround yourself in body positivity rather than negativity.
DeleteThat dress is super pretty! I'm so happy to hear that you've accepted your body, because damn girl you look amazing! I can't wait to see you in your other wiggle dresses :D
ReplyDeleteLizzie Bee // mysticthorn.com
Aw, thank you, Lizzie! This print makes me smile. It's nice to see a pretty dress and feel like you could wear it no matter what -- there are too many lovely dresses to let body shame hold me back! <3!!
DeleteI love this print! So pretty. I miss wearing dresses at the moment our winter in the Uk is so cold :( great post xx
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm hoping to make it through a Chicago winter without having to resort to the dreaded leg prisons, so I feel your pain. Spring is coming!
DeleteThat dress is AMAZING! And I love the idea of #WiggleWeek! I have two dresses that are currently collecting dust that I believe need to be broken out for #WiggleWeek! Thank you for creating such an awesome body positivity week. (I also love that Yoda was a part of it too!)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I hope you do bust out those dresses, because I'm sure they'd look great on you! And if I'm honest, there's very little I do that doesn't relate to Star Wars in some way ;).
DeleteGorgeous! Love that you are embracing the wiggles! They look so great on you. In light of your challenge to wear more wiggles I have two picked out for this weekend to wear myself. Okay, so now I've said it, and now I have to stick to it! ;) Only sorry I will be missing it for actual #wiggleweek ! <3
ReplyDeleteAw, I love the story of how wedding dress shopping helped you better pinpoint your shape and made online shopping easier (even if it was difficult to start out with!) I LOVE this dress! I haven't seen it before so this excited me! Great print and how fun is that bold black!!
ReplyDelete