Hi! I feel like it's rude to ask for your help without even introducing myself . . . however I don't want to bore you, so I'll (try to) be brief:
This place is out of my comfort zone. I've never felt that I knew anything about fashion and I suppose I've largely ignored it altogether for the last 10 years. Not that I look down on it; quite the contrary, I love seeing people dressed well and have always wished I were among them, but I figured I just didn't have a cute enough body for it and it was better to just try to avoid notice. (That sounds like I'm looking for sympathy, but it's just a statement of fact: I'm sure most of us have struggled with body image issues, and the best way for me to avoid despair over how I looked was simply not to think about it too often.) I married at 21 and have had 5 kids in the 10 years since, so my internal excuse has often been that I don't have the time or money to look nice. I buy what's on sale at Target or Old Navy and call it good. I love my family and I love being a mom and I'm happy with my life and it seemed almost greedy to want anything more than that.
But then, I have gradually come to think that maybe there is a way to be fashionable without having a perfect body, and without being consumed by fashion. Angie and you ladies seem to exemplify that ideal. After watching "what not to wear" I was always so amazed at the idea of "dressing for the body you have", and I've gradually come to believe that I COULD dress and look better, and we aren't starving college students like we used to be, so I could probably even afford to buy clothes that would actually last and look nice for years instead of months. But my problem is, I just don't know how! I feel silly even speaking up in a forum like this where you all seem to know who you are and what you want. I can't imagine being able to look at an item of clothing and say: "THIS would work for me" without much anxiety and uncertainty! I feel like I've never known my body type or how to dress for it. But my youngest is now 4 months old and I'm emerging from that post-partum state and feeling like I can do something proactive, so here I am.
(So much for brevity! sorry.) Anyway, I have been delving into the archives all I can, and it's all so enlightening; I feel excited to try actually having a "style"! And it appears that this is where I should start: with body type. It seems like my body has been in a constant state of change for the last 10 years! I have no idea what to do with it. Here are some pictures.
