Eight Months Since Surgery

And some random reflections about clothes...again


Tomorrow is my 8-month surgi-versary, and so far I am down a total of 110 pounds.  The doctor would like to see another 40-50 pounds gone before I'm done, which means that most of the clothes I am in now will be too big eventually.  I'll need to "down-size" yet again.

I've been thinking lately about clothes and my relationship with my wardrobe.  I've already written about some of the clothes that I'll never get rid of because of their history and how much I love them in the post titled, "FrankenPants, Kissy Shirts and Argyle Sweaters".  I am not a conservative dresser.  I live and work in a casual world, so grey business suits are not really part of my lifestyle.  I wear jeans most of the time, and I love sweaters in bright colors and the occasional pastel.

Conservative, I am not.  But modest, I am, most of the time.  I just think there are times and places for things, and most of the time I don't think ladies need to be showing all their business to the world.  I guess that's old-fashioned.  Is there a time and place for a little cleavage?  Sure, there is.  For example, church ain't the time or the place.  Just my opinion.

As a lifelong fat girl, I always followed 2 basic rules of dressing with regards to clothes and my body:

Rule 1.  If it's not pretty, cover it up.
Rule 2.  If it sticks out too far, cover it up.

Seems simple enough to me.  Now, as I emerge from my former largeness, things about my body are looking better and sticking out less, but I don't expect to change my dressing habits in any major way.  At my largest size, my biggest concern was just finding clothes large enough to fit...to cover it up.  And the baggier, the better.  I realize that putting a big, loose garment on my big body didn't do anything to flatter that body.  But it gave me a place to hide.  Now, I am actually starting to care about how things fit, not just if they fit.  And I am starting to remember that it can actually be fun to put an outfit together.

I'm still not going to be wearing cleavage to work or to church.  Cleavage is for special occasions like date nights with The Hubs.  I'm not going to be showing my legs in short skirts, or my fanny in clingy pants.  That's just not who I am.  But it does make me happy to look better in the jeans and sweaters I enjoy wearing, and especially to feel more comfortable in them.  I still believe in covering it up, most of the time.