Walking through Time...

*This cartoon would be a good illustration of my point, however the belt needs to go and the waist needs horizontal expansion!!!

With my flight to San Diego approaching rapidly, I thought it was time to peruse the closets in search of a few flattering outfits to wear over the course of this coming wedding weekend.  I would love to go out and buy something new, but right now it's hard to justify when I have more than enough in my closet to choose from.  I was hoping, even though I haven't lost that much weight, that this exercise would be a more positive experience than my everyday interaction with my clothes.  Normally anytime I have to wear something other than my "uniform" (I have 3 or 4 everyday outfits that I am SO sick of wearing but are functional and comfortable) I go through just about every item in my closet, including things I've saved for years that I know will NEVER fit again.  Ten minutes past when we've set to leave the house, my husband calls upstairs "How much longer are you going to be?"  At this point I am standing in my underwear in a heap of discarded clothes frantic with the additional stress of being late before I throw on the same ratty old pair of flowy black pants, a black top, and a black cardigan.  I look like I'm going to a funeral, not a party, but this is what I wear every time I go out.  Of late, my solution is to stay home.  On Demand and some sweat pants.  It's not pretty but it's a lot less stressful and doesn't require an hour to clean up all the garments that were purchased in skinnier days.

I was pleasantly surprised when I tried on a dress I bought last year when I had lost some weight at the end of the summer.  It actually fit better than I'd hoped.  The only bad thing is that it is that rayon/nylon stretchy type fabric...not sure the exact blend of synthetic materials, but hopefully you get the general idea.  It's the kind of material that is super comfortable but that you can see all those little flaws.  So looks like my trusty pair of Spanx  (http://www.spanx.com/home/index.jsp) will be making the cross country trip!!  I have a love-hate relationship with this wardrobe accessory.  Before I added lumps and curves to my body, I swore I'd never wear something so ridiculous.  I still don't wear them a lot, as I usually opt for funeral garb instead of a sexy dress.  They work miracles holding in the problem areas so you don't have to spend your entire evening repeating in your head "suck in your fat roll, suck in your fat roll" and risk accidentally saying that out loud when someone at a cocktail party asks "Would you like a drink?"  I have both the waist high and the chest high version, and by then end of the evening in either of these I feel that blood has slowly been cut off to my brain from the constricting fabric.  But hey, at least I looked good whilst staving my brain of precious oxygen.

After what I deemed success on the first dress I got cocky.  I decided to dig deeper, you know, push the limits of where I am with my weight loss.  I pulled off the plastic dry cleaning bag on a few dresses that have been left to collect dust over the years and I thought "Why not?"  I have this super cute very retro salmon/pink dress with black velvet ribbon trim and a cameo pin on the waistline.  It's a departure from my normally J Crew preppy style, but it's vintage look was unique and the dress was flattering.  I thought it would be a nice addition to my wardrobe.  I loved it the last time I wore it and I have kept it for years (purchased in 2002) in hopes of someday wearing it again.  The good news, I got the thing zipped.  The bad news, I looked like a tick ready to burst.  I am going to focus on the good, in the fact that I got the damn thing zipped not the fact that if I took one breath much less one sip of wine the dress would come apart at the seems!!  Imagine the story The Mitten by Jan Brett...all it takes is that one extra something to send the poor garment to explosion.

I was so close to taking out my wedding dress just to see how it might fit.  Just like they say, the one you pick is never what you think you will wear.  But similar to the cocktail dress, I fell in love with the vintage throw back style by Alvina Valenta.  The picture below does not do justice to the detail work but gives you a general sense:

I LOVED my wedding dress, as I am sure we all do.  In fact (I guess you can argue both sides of this) I loved it so much I never had it cleaned and sealed in one of those ridiculous capsules with a window.  I am sure this is really what I should do for long term preservation.  However, I think clothes are meant to be worn, not vacuum packed in plastic.  Not like I am planning on wearing my wedding dress to the next school drop off, but I have to admit I do like to take it out now and again and try it on.  You spend so much money on this princess like garment that you wear for a handful of hours, that I see no shame in a quick twirl around the house to get your full money's worth!  Point being, I took it out a few months back to do just the above.  I was able to zip it up halfway.  I was actually pretty satisfied with that result seeing that I've had a kid and all!! But time was running short this morning, so I did not get to parade around in my lovely wedding gown.  Probably better to wait a few more weeks and perhaps I can be even more than satisfied with a 1/2 way zip and achieve full zip status!!  Only time will tell.

Remember that Friends episode where Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe spend an evening in wedding dresses watching TV?  I have always wanted to throw a "wedding" party where all the women would wear their old wedding gowns and men their tuxes.  I'm sure most women would love this while most husbands would never accompany their wives.  Sill, I think it would be a fabulous excuse to feel like a princess again in that super special dress for a second evening in your lifetime.  Then again, thinking about my current body, it may not be as glamorous the second time around for most of us.  I'm envisioning a serious of contraptions used to close the back and/or sides where we just can't get those pesky zippers to zip!  Bungee cords?  Those giant clips used at the initial fitting at the bridal shop when you are trying on dresses 10 sizes too big?  Duck tape?  Ok - perhaps we better leave the bridal dress wearing to the privacy of our own home...at least until we all reach our goal weights!!

Anyway, I enjoyed walking through time this morning in my closet.  I makes me feel like all this crazy diet effort is worth it.  Yeah yeah, we all want to feel better and healthier, but man, when some your old clothes fit you again it's an amazing feeling!!  Keep up the good work everyone!