Alter It August: Part the Third

 I had a hard time posting these photos.  Not because I don't like the dress (I do!) but because I don't think these are particularly flattering photos of me.  My face feels puffy today and my hair is a hot mess from the heat.  Also: this is me with color in my skin.  I just don't tan (I don't mind, actually). #burnsinthemoonlight 

I keep trying to lower the carb load in my diet to get rid of the bloat in my gut and the puff in my face, but then I get stuck about what to eat since my options are still more limited than I like to admit.  I spent most of last month fighting a gastroparesis flare and was nauseated almost every day, no matter what I did.  I had to take Zofran for the first time just to stay functional.

But I'm trying to live in my brave, and to understand that my body is my body and this is how it looks.  And will probably look no matter what I do.  Pffft.  I had an interesting conversation with my kids' therapist this week about how to think about body image and how to communicate with them about their bodies and weight and so forth (this is something I'm very aware of, given my own issues, and it was good to discuss it with her too).  She basically said, don't talk about weight or size or anything like that.  Just talk about healthy habits, and how bodies change and grow, and that all bodies are good.  No qualifiers, nothing.  I like that because it goes so well with the lesson I keep trying to drum into my own head: ALL BODIES ARE GOOD BODIES.  Have a body?  Good.  

I keep getting stuck in my head about the cultural female ideal, and struggling.  Even though I try to make sure my visual diet is full of women of all shapes and sizes, and to avoid the cultural visual ideal, I still have trouble.  Maybe I always will, but I'm starting to see light on the tunnel, that I can think about it differently for myself. 

 

Anyway.  An alteration, albeit a very gentle one.  I thrifted this dress from ThredUp (it is from Old Navy, and a linen/rayon blend that is really nice).  The dress fit very well except in the bodice, which had a whopping four inches (4! inches!) of fabric around the bust area.  I almost returned it, but the color really spoke to me, and I like the style and unusual details, so I decided to have a go at altering the bodice to fit better through the bust.

It was a surprisingly quick fix!  I think it took all of 20 minutes to unpick the bias binding for a couple of inches to either side of the side seams, pinch out the excess fabric (2" on either side) and then sew a seam that tapered to nothing at the waist seam.  So basically I made a big wedge on the side seam.  I could have trimmed it, but I just folded it to the side and resewed the bias tape back over it.  It isn't as neat as the original because I had to lap the excess bias, but it looks much better on me now, and I've worn it twice already since altering it!