Polka Dots

There's a wedding I'll be attending in two weeks. I had a cute, casual summery dress that I was planning to wear, but then at the bridal shower, the bride told me she was wearing Vera Wang to her wedding.


Immediately, I panicked. The majority of my anxieties revolve around pleasing others (which of course translates to not offending them with my horrific sense of style), so I'm constantly plagued with obsessive thinking regarding my clothing choices and others' approval of them.


A more secure person would probably wear whatever they wanted and look fantastic, and no one would care if their dress was nice, fancy, inexpensive or shabby. They would exude confidence in every look and step, walking about the party without a care in the world about what other people thought of them.


I am not this person.


I'm trying to be this person, however. I'm just not there yet and I'm realistic about my goals, which involve baby steps. The first baby step is to look awesome. The second, to feel comfortable with the fit of the dress. I read somewhere that if you feel comfortable in your clothing, you stop worrying about it and start to enjoy the event. In other words, if you're not thinking about your clothes, you probably have time to think about others. Or drink more. Whatever your priorities.


So in this quest for a dress that feels comfortable and impress everyone whose path I cross, I did some online shopping and found a gorgeous frock. By Kate Spade. With polka dots all over it.


"You have a whimsical style! Polka dots would be perfect for you!" says a dear friend of mine.


"No, no, emphatically NO. Polka dots increase width and fat and all that so they never look good unless you're super skinny. Beware that print." says my sister, who is my fashion consultant and who clearly, by this statement, doesn't want me to have fun or impress people.


Anywho, it got me thinking about patterns and looking fat in clothes and I came to this conclusion:

Patterns don't make you look fat. Being fat makes you look fat.


So I ordered it. Because whimsy always beats out fattening. I figure that in my quest to become more secure with my looks and naturally exude confidence, this dress allows me to achieve my First Baby Step: Find a dress that is so awesome, no one will notice your fat. 


Did I mention it was on sale, knocked down from $400 to just under $200?? Sold.