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Post Pregnancy Fashion

September 8, 2017

BB Cream: tarte | Lips: Baby Bat Beauty | Dress: Ezra via Modcloth | Shoes: Target
TRIGGER WARNING: body image talk

I am finally understanding why Mom’s have a bad rep for their fashion choices. I have a closet full of clothing and most are unwearable. Lots are too small, some have too many lacy holes and buttons for Wolfie to grab at, and some are too fancy. Some I’ve just haven’t even tried on yet.

One Bad Mother released an episode about self care. They talked about as you and your children grow, what constitutes self care changes. I know when Wolfie was born showering, eating, and sleeping were on the top of the self care list. But now that things are becoming more manageable, taking care of my self image is surfacing. I want to make an appointment to get contacts again, I want to dye my hair a fun color, and I want to wear clothing that are nice.

But my body isn’t the same. It is slightly different from when I was pregnant- I knew I would be totally different each day getting a little bigger and bigger, and suddenly go through the most extreme weight loss. Wanna loose 10 pounds in ONE DAY?! EASY! Just have a baby!** But now I don’t know what will happen with this body. I am MOSTLY “normal” but I do have a little more fat on my tummy. My boobs are very much so bigger, but what will they look like after I stop breastfeeding? When will I stop?! So how the heck am I suppose to buy new clothing if I have no idea what size to get?

**Disclaimer may take 9 months to create baby

If I go shopping I like to go alone, and I found out quickly, it is hard to shop with a little nugget. I can’t just pick clothing off the rack and know they will fit. My body has changed so much. My boobs are bigger, my hips are wider, I mean I’ve been living in t-shirts and leggings this summer. And I literally have no shorts or pants that fit (that aren’t for working out that is.) So I’ve been thinking about doing a subscription clothing service. While searching around I saw that Dia & Co has a Try-Day Friday fashion challenge- try to go outside your comfort zone.

The simple act of going into my closet and picking out a new outfit is very intimidating. I was so excited when Jon and I would go out for dinner, but 90% of my dresses didn’t zip up. It was incredibly frustrating especially since it use to be my waist that would be too big, not it is my chest. This alone has had me stick to the same tried and true shirts, skirts, and leggings for my wardrobe.

And having my clothing not fit properly around my chest only fans the flames of my personal discomfort around them. I’ve never liked my boobs. They are big, floppy, and pain to find both clothing and bras. The problem is only getting worse, I went from sometimes a D to E, and I can only assume they will look like deflated water balloons after nursing. Ugh. So I thought I would dig into my closet and find a dress or shirt that I would have to wear a strapless bra! Yikes!

I found a dress that I bought on sale from Modcloth. It doesn’t look racey or anything, but bra straps always show. So I never wore it. I went the whole 9 yards, lipstick, bb cream, hair pulled back, and some cute shoes. Once I had everything on, I really wasn’t sure why I put off wearing a strapless bra with this dress. It was all very comfortable.

Now, don’t think this is all sunshine and rainbows. Shortly afterwards I found out that strapless bras and babies are a horrible combo. I had to change before making my errands otherwise I would of been flashing everyone I walked past. But it will probably get worn out next time I am with little Wolfie or when he gets older and doesn’t need me to carry him everywhere.

Then when I looked at the photos on my computer I was not loving how my chest looks. But loving how I look in person is a place to start right? I know part of my dislike of the photos is the lighting. And you can’t see how sparkly the lipstick is, but it was nice to not be wearing an oversized t-shirt with leggings for once. It has definetly inspired me to clear out my closet. Try things on again, try and give my clothing a second chance.

Posted by Jennifer in Clothing Tags: baby bat beauty, body positivity, clothing, dia & co, ezra, fashion, modcloth, target, tarte, wiw

5 comments

Pregnancy Fashion and Body Image

October 6, 2016

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Pin: Kate Gabrielle (discontinued) | Shirt: A Pea in a Pod via Swap.com | Dress: Hello Miz via Zulily (available in black or teal) | Tights: Target (similar) | Nail Polish: Lime Crime

I randomly took a photo of this outfit I wore to work and posted it on Instagram. I don’t always dress up, but I was feeling it that day. I thought it looked so cute, that I should probably take a proper photo for the blog. Why? I said I would post some fashion posts with the new baby bump, but uh… really haven’t. I don’t think there isn’t enough “alternative” pregnancy fashion posts out there, so here you guys go.

If the shirt looks familiar it is because I took a photo of it during my Swap.com vs Thred Up review. And I was so tiny back them in comparison. But then again I guess that was over a month ago. The baby was more axolotl/weasel sized and now is bunny/platypus sized! And I have to admit probably my main reason for not posting these outfit posts has a lot to do with body image. You wouldn’t think it would be so taxing on self image, but it really is.

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I joked with Jon that getting pregnant is like hitting puberty again, and in many ways it is. Everything shifts. Boobs get bigger, and not just bigger, but shape and density differs. I get adult acne more often than I use to. Your stomach is starting swell, and although I knew that I wouldn’t have a big basketball of fat on my stomach, it is weird. Normally if your tummy gets bigger it is from a nice thick layer of fat, but a baby bump is hard lump. I am always trying to put my socks and shoes on while standing, forgetting that my baby doesn’t fold over like fat. I am constantly walking around in narrow passages, forgetting that my tummy can’t quite clear the table or that chair. Heck I even moved some boxes around at work because I kept bumping into them.

Sure there are pages in pregnancy books about coping with the physical changes, but almost all offer the solution of “Just think of the baby!” I can’t help but imagine everyone saying it in the same tone as “Elaine you gotta have a baby!” And I think it just dismisses a lot of the complicated feelings women have with body image. Truthfully, I think if we lived in a perfect world where all shapes and sizes were embraced, people would still find the changes of pregnancy difficult. You only have a few months to deal with these changes and after giving birth your tummy won’t shrink down magically.

Somedays I feel like I am in the wrong body. The normal curves you see every single day suddenly go away and become new ones. And it isn’t everyday that I feel weird and out of place. Some days I can look in the mirror and smile at my big tummy. I mean I clearly thought I was cute enough to share an outfit I was wearing, right? And even on days when I feel completely uncomfortable with my body, I still enjoy feeling the baby kicks.

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Maybe I focus so much on my body since I’ve been having a pretty easy pregnancy. I don’t have stretch marks (yet…), no weird darkened skin, varicose veins, digestion issues, or other aches and pains most people associate with pregnancy. So I could be possibly have more attention being focused on what is most obviously changing.

But I can now see why so many books and pregnant women tend to dislike hearing any input about their appearance. I was told that I looked so “small” and healthy early on in the pregnancy. It bothered me since it just made me think too much about how society associates thinness with health. It also felt like I was trying hide my bump, but I was mostly just trying to wear what fit and was comfortable for the hot weather. But I would hear people joke, and not in a mean spirited way, about how I wasn’t as trim as I use to be.

And there is learning how to dress all over again. We all know women’s clothing is all over the place, but now I have to learn even more new sizes. I can safely say- don’t size up. I was afraid of things being too small, and ended up with a few articles of clothing that I am swimming in. I am also getting a reminder that more money doesn’t equal better quality. The A Pea in a Pod shirt I am wearing has nice fabric, but the sleeves I think were cut properly on the bias as they twist oddly. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if they didn’t have some cute buttons at the cuff that never stay in place.

Some items you can get away with wearing into pregnancy, but I totally recommend investing in some maternity tights. When I wore some black tights with my tent dress, it became clear that normal tights will cut into your tummy and be very uncomfortable. I was able to get these awesome tights on sale for $5 from Target, which it is hard to find maternity tights for less than $15. They can be much more if you are looking for the compression styled tights.

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I also wanted to quickly talk about the pin I am wearing. I got it in a surprise pack from Kate Gabrielle. I’ve always loved her fashion blog since she has a cute style, but also she loves vintage movies. She has her own shop and had a this “Be Kind to Animals” pin, but has since discontinued it. So sad right? But she has other cute things, like a BFF heart necklace for you and your cat. And one of my favorites- a pin commemorating Oprah’s (or your) love of bread.

Posted by Jennifer in Clothing, Pregnancy Tags: a pea in a pod, be kind to animals, clothing, fashion, Hello Miz, kate gabrielle, pregnancy, scathingly brilliant, second hand, swap.com, target, zulily

7 comments

Vintage in Asbury Park aka How to Rock a Tent Dress

August 11, 2016

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Dress: 3 Generation Curation | Tights: Target | Earrings: Six Clothing | Shoes: Modcloth

Two week later- finally sharing these photos. It has been a pretty long time since I’ve done a fashion post- and it probably has been because I have gotten a little lazy with my clothing choices. Or it might be because I haven’t expanded my closet much. Sure readers haven’t seen most of my clothing, but it seems less interesting to share something if I’ve worn it 30+ times.

But I’ve noticed there is very little posted on fashion blogs about maternity clothing. Probably because 1) You only look pregnant for a few short months. And 2) Pregnancy clothes are a little…. uh…. meh. Don’t get me wrong there are some super cute things out there, but modern pregnancy clothing is both vastly better and worse than older styles. The tent dress definitely suffered over the years.

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I LOVE Rosemary’s Baby, especially the fashion. Rosemary wore pretty much nothing much swing or tent dresses, and they were so cute. I figured I would stock up on them and be fine for the rest of my pregnancy. Turns out no one really makes them. And when they do- they kind of miss some key points. Like the dress I bought recently from Maternal America. Sure it looks cute, but the darts, just don’t seem right.

So what makes an awesome tent dress? Well, in my opinion you need a cute statement at the neck line. It could be a cute peter pan collar, or in my case a big bow. The next tip are pleating the front of the dress. It gives a little room for expanding tummy, and you can even get an accordion fold going to make a bigger statement. And then my next tip, which is debatable- go bright. I think since there isn’t many pieces to the pattern you can really flaunt a bold pattern. Heck, Rosemary did it! In pigtails even!

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I got this dress from Etsy and I am VERY happy with it. I only paid $35 with shipping and the quality is great. I see no wears or tears, and it does look like this an actual maternity dress. I even risked it all and washed it in the machine and I am wondering if the dress was brand spanking new because it shrunk just a little bit. But I actually prefer the new fit, so it all worked out perfectly in the end.

Alexa took these cute photos while we were walking around Asbury Park. They have some great murals on the boardwalk that really make the dress pop. And for the record- no I don’t actually wear tights during the summer. It just happen to be fairly cool that day (in the 70s) and I thought I could wear tights. Plus it meant wearing cute shoes that looked nice with the dress.

Posted by Jennifer in Clothing Tags: 3 generation curation, Asbury Park, fashion, modcloth, ootd, pregnancy, target, vintage, wiw

6 comments

Alexa Asks, Jen Answers #22: How do I buy vegan shoes?

November 20, 2015

Alexa is working toward a vegetarian diet, and is loaded with questions. Jennifer’s got answers. We talk about anything as long as it is vegan. Are tattoos vegan? How do I politely not eat Thanksgiving dinner? How do I order without pissing off the waitress? We know you are dying to ask!

When going vegan everyone focuses on food, but what about clothes? How can I tell shoes are vegan? And where do I get them?

There are lots of vegan shoes out there, but it can be a little hard to find. Sure if you type in “vegan shoes” in google you get a bunch of stuff. There are stores that specialize in vegan shoes like Moo Shoes (which has a brick and mortar store in New York City and Los Angeles) but they can be pretty expensive. There are other all vegan shoe stores like Lookie Lou, Vegan Chic, and Alternative Outfitters. Some companies have vegan shoe tags like Modcloth, Zappos, and Lulus. But I’ve found sometimes these searches aren’t the greatest. For example if I went to DSW and search “vegan” I get a few hits. But truthfully there are MORE shoes available. So why the low results? Because they are basically showing only brands the identify the faux leather as VEGAN faux leather.

So how can you tell what your shoe is made out of? Well, luckily it is all in the tag. Do yourself a favor and grab a shoe from your closet (hopefully not too old that the label is worn down) There are several different ways shoes have their materials listed. They sometimes have a chart, sometimes they have a small note, sometimes it is on a sticker, or printed on the inside of the shoe. Just keep looking around.

The shoe should have materials listed for upper material (this is what you see on the outside of the shoe), lining/inner (you know, the stuff your feet touches), and outer sole. Some shoes will have these graphic charts. It will have these images, and whatever is next to upper shoe icon will be the material they use.

images

So for example I grabbed an old pair (pre-vgan days) of shoes from my closet (it’s this pair if you are wondering). I flipped the shoe over and on the sole there was a sticker that looked like this: (synthetic outside, leather inside, synthetic sole)

shoes

So not vegan, but only the inside isn’t vegan, which is actually very common. The problem with these icons is that they are vague. For example, they have “textile” but it doesn’t need to specify what the material is. So you could picking up a pair of shoes that have a fabric that is made from silk or wool. Some people even have found that the icons don’t match up with information on the box, or catalogue. There is also the chance the glue isn’t vegan, and it is pretty much near impossible to find any confirmation about the glue source. So it is always a good idea to check the box the shoe comes in to see if there is any additional information.

Truthfully I am loving Target’s website as they do a great job listing the materials in their shoes. It is nice to be able to look around and read the materials before heading out to the store. In general I find that vegan shoes are usually super expensive or super cheap. Why? Well, leather is a little expensive, and is actually desired by most people. So most shoes want to have it. Most cheap shoes are cheap because of the lack of leather. The downside is that this can be bad for the environment and be made in sweatshops. Some of the more expensive vegan shoe brands are trying to have better quality and better working conditions for the workers.

How do you guys buy vegan shoes? Any favorite sites or store to shop at?

Posted by Jennifer in Alexa Asks, Clothing Tags: alexa asks, Alternative Outfitters, dsw, fashion, lookie lou, lulus, modcloth, moo shoes, shoes, target, vegan chic, vegan clothing, vegan shoes, zappos

2 comments

Fashionable Mermaids

May 6, 2015

Shirt: Old Navy | Skirt: Hot Topic | Tights: Hot Topic | Necklace: Target | Shoes: Modcloth

I’ve realized that I haven’t posted in quite a bit, but I had also completely forgotten about the cute outfits that Jen had been and angel to capture for me! So the good news is…here’s an outfit post!

The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney films. I just love the character designs, music, and animation. I would also argue that Prince Eric is one of, if not the best, Disney Prince. When Hot Topic began releasing all of their adorable Disney themed items (ranging from a clothing line to Disney inspired jewelry) I got pretty excited. It unfortunately falls under the unfortunate circumstance of having a 50% chance of being really cute or really tacky, but for the most part I think they’ve done a pretty decent job.

I had purchased the skirt on my own after pining for it for weeks. I love skater skirts because they can be paired with pretty much anything and are a simple and easy choice. The only thing I would tweak is that these ones in particular seem to run a bit small and quite short. The shortness doesn’t bother me all that much because I’m short myself…but I definitely can’t wear this to work if we’re expecting to get shipments in. This one was a size medium, but I almost feel as though I should have gotten it in a large because it’s still a smidge tight – not so tight that it’s unflattering, but I immediately want to change after I’ve eaten anything and that’s no fun!

The rest of my outfit came to me as gifts in one way or another (for the most part). The tights were given to me by my friend Bridget for Christmas and I was SO excited to pair these two pieces together. I don’t care if it’s cheesy, look at how cute they are! I love the trend of “silhouette” tights that is going on right now because there is just so much you can do with them.

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I really liked the idea of putting my hair back in a bow like Ariel has it in most of the film, and I was lucky enough to have a cute little bow that matched my shoes! I got these for Christmas as well, but I do know that they’re from modcloth. I love the deep red color of them and they keep my feet nice and warm. I also love the fact that they have a bit of heel to them, but not too much, so I can even wear them to work.

I even put cute little bows on my ears too! I got the mint bow earrings from modcloth quite some time ago and I find that they go with almost everything I own…I wear a lot of mint. I acquired the necklace from Target around Christmas time when I had been shopping for family and it caught my eye. I’m not usually into the big jeweled “statement” necklaces but after watching a ton of Grace Helbig videos over the winter I finally started to understand them. In a way it reminded me of her and I just adored the color palette and design. I would even go as far to say that this outfit (the upper half anyway) is just me trying to channel Miss Helbig, so thanks for the inspiration gurl.

Posted by Alexa in Clothing, Clothing Review, Reviews Tags: Disney, fashion, fashion post, Grace Helbig, Hot Topic, mermaids, modcloth, Old Navy, target, The Little Mermaid

My Music Highlights of 2014

January 8, 2015

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Shirt: Comme Toi via Modcloth | Skirt: Alice Moon via Modcloth | Tights: Unknown | Shoes: Target | Collar Clips: Ladybird Likes

Alexa and I got together this Monday to catch up since we didn’t see each other at all during the winter festivities, one of the drawbacks of working in retail stores during the holidays. Naturally we got all dressed up super cute and took some photos in town. I got to wear some of my Christmas gifts, my beautiful new skirt and collar clips.

While getting together Alexa mentioned that she was thinking about making a post on her favorite music from 2014. I thought I should too, but I soon remembered I actually didn’t listen to much new music in 2014. I am notorious for saying the term “new album” when I mean “most recent album.” But I do have a few albums that I got pretty excited about, and I will leave some out, since I think they are making Alexa’s list. One thing is for sure, it is the year of the female singers for me.

YUKI – FLY

No I am not going caps crazy, the proper title and artist name are in all caps. I’ve been a huge fan of the Japanese singer YUKI since high school. I even had a friend perform one her songs for our wedding to walk down the aisle to. She originally was the lead singer of the group Judy and Mary, who wrote the theme song to Rurouni Kenshin. Once the group broke up, she went solo, starting out with a rock song, morphing into folk, and then into her own brand of pop.

Her newest album sticks to her self branded pop style, but dips into different styles of music. Most interesting is her borrowing hip hop styles in Naminori 500 Miles. Fly is just as refreshing and uplifting as her joy album. And the artist direction is really fabulous, though very disconnected from single to single. And can we talk about her new music video for Daredemo Lonely? I love her self awareness of the video medium (you can see the sides of the set during the video) and use to playful dance (in a very Fatboy Slim style). And that outfit? brb guise. I gotta get a new workout outfit.
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Shiina Ringo – Hi Izuru Tokoro

This is the first album with original songs from Shiina Ringo since 2009, five years ago. She had released a few singles, live albums, and such. This album, does have some singles that were released a few years earlier, but still delivers some great new ones. Her newest single featured is Nippon, which was used as the theme for Japan for the World Cup.

Earlier in the year Shiina released another full length album filled with covers of songs she wrote for other artists. It is a great collection of songs, but they don’t play well with each other. They varied too much, leaving a sour taste when playing them back to back. But it is an interesting departure since the songs aren’t always her signature retro-meets-rock genre.

I am shocked to see Shiina’s new Monroe hairdo. Although she always dabbles in jazz, enka, and older songs her fashion is modern or from 50’s and earlier. She says her favorite albums are from Ella Fitzgerald and Blankey Jet City, a modern garage rock band, which kind-of sums up her music style.

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Ga-in – Truth or Dare

The first thing is that I need to point out is that South Korea is a very sexually repressed nation. Although pop stars might be barely dressed, TV story lines have the “kiss” as the ultimate climax of love. From the perspective of music, it is dominated by record companies creating groups and controlling all aspects of image, which can leave some “sexy” dances and videos looking stiff and forced. Ga-in is a singer from the group Brown Eyed Girls, but releases music as a solo artist with a different company than her group. This gives her a lot of control of what she releases in music and videos.

Truth or Dare is only a mini-album (Ga-in has yet to release a full length album as a solo artist), but has extremely dark undertones. What makes this release so special is the title track, Fxxk U. The video highlights rape in a relationship, a taboo subject in the United States as well (can we remember about the NC-17 rating for Blue Valentine?)

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Kyary Pamyu Pamyu – Pikapika Fantajin

Most everyone on the internet knows Kyary Pamyu Pamyu because of her Pon Pon Pon music video or her Lady Gaga meme. But I know her as the next prodigy from Nakata Yasutaka. In March 2014, Alexa and I were able to see Kyary Pamyu Pamyu perform LIVE, which was absolutely amazing.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s newest album really excited me. She is still keeping to her style of 8-bit mixed with some retro-electronica. Nakata Yasutaka has the tendency to evolve his sugar-pop groups into a more dance-club based, like his other projects capsule and Perfume.

Since Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s style is essential to her music, it is worth noting her artistic themes. I wasn’t as impressed this time around. It took awhile to choose which video to link below since they just didn’t has the same punch as before. But she did come up with some cute album photos.

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Barragán

On a totally different note, I think I was most excited about Blonde Redhead’s newest album this year. Like most fans, I wasn’t sold on the first listen. The songs are much less layered than previous albums, making it a dull first listen. But the upon the second listening the songs grew onto me. I started to like the simpler form, as it gives a more haunting feel to the music. The group really challenged themselves by simplifying the music, creating a minimalist theme for this album. I admire how each album they stick to specific theme to the sound, most groups don’t do that anymore. It is a bummer that I missed them when they came to Philadelphia for their tour. They were playing at Union Transfer, which mean I could listened to them while eating Little Baby’s Ice Cream.

Need to give a sampling of these albums? Below are videos from each album, and some of the artists are streaming on Spotify and all artists (except for YUKI) are available on iTunes.

NOTE Alexa got her list of best 2014 music here. What does Alexa list that Jen didn’t (but loved)? Orange Caramel, 2NE1, and Kimbra.

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Posted by Jennifer in Clothing Tags: alice moon, blonde redhead, comme toi, dream pop, fashion, ga-in, jpop, kpop, kyary pamyu pamyu, ladybird likes, modcloth, ootd, shiina ringo, target, wiw, yuki