It’s no secret that I’m not a fashionable person. I’ll ALWAYS choose comfort over fashion. Most of you know that I live in a hoodie…
I’ve always wanted to be fashionable. I don’t think I’m incapable of it. I’ve just had body insecurities my entire life. Well, strike that… I’ve had body insecurities since I was 9 years old. You see, I was the first girl in my grade that had to wear a bra because I was growing boobs. Yes, BOOBS in the THIRD GRADE! Yeah, maybe this is TMI for some of you but come ON… I’m a girl… and girls have BOOBS! 😉
Soon after that, my Mom married a country guy. You know… home-cookin’ country guy. We lived in what felt like the middle of nowhere where we ate fried chicken and drank whole milk. That was during my pre-teen years… The years you start to turn into a woman. Well, it was then that my battle with weight started.
Well, now I’ve lost weight. Strike that… I’ve lost a LOT of weight!
Now, I’m not where I want to be. I still have about 20 lbs to go. But the stink of it is that I still see allllll of those problem areas I had 50 lbs-ish ago when I look in a mirror. Insecurities aren’t something that just go away. I SO wish they would. I’m sick of not feeling great about myself! I feel like I’ve earned confidence. But, as many of you know… it’s just not that easy… it’s not a light switch that you can just turn off and on.
I was hoping to lose an extra 10 lbs before the photo convention in Las Vegas that’s in 1.5 weeks (AHHHHH!) and have been putting off buying clothes until that happened. Well, my stress levels leading up to it haven’t helped in that arena. Again, not gaining was enough to make me feel victorious!
This is where you come in… IT’S A CONTEST!!!!!!
I, sadly, am not good at dressing for my body type… and was hoping that some of you out there would be much better at it than me. I essentially need four outfits for Vegas. You send me what you think will work… if I pick yours, you’ll receive a $10 iTunes gift card! I’ll pick between one and four winners. 😀
I warn you now… I’m TOUGH to buy for!
Things you’ll need to keep in mind:
- I’m quite frugal. But, will spend on staple wardrobe items (jeans, jackets, etc).
- My bust and hips are the exact same measurement. My waist is about 6.5″ smaller.
- Problem areas: belly, breasts and arms (I’ve always carried a lot of weight in my arms. That’s why I don’t wear tank tops 😉 )
- I’m convinced that the size of my chest adds the appearance of 20 extra lbs. I VERY much struggle with finding clothes that flatter me because of this.
- Also, I have cleavage in everything… and not on purpose! It’s just the way it is. In high school I wore a turtle neck with everything.
- Speaking of that… I’m pretty modest. I suppose that comes with the territory!
- I like quirky stuff. I don’t like looking like everyone else.
- I have very strong calves. Strangely strong. Taller boots don’t fit me. 🙁 That makes me jealous of those that can.
- I still have 15+ lbs to lose before I feel great about myself.
- clothes from stores like Anthropologie, J.Crew, ModCloth, etc. don’t usually fit me because of my aforementioned large chest.
- I have very short legs… even for a short person. Petites still have to be altered to fit.
- I struggle in uncomfortable shoes. I SO wish that weren’t the case! I think that to wear uncomfortable shoes, you have to have been wearing them since you were very young. Your muscles and feet form to fit them. I went from waiting tables in Shoes for Crews to combat boots in the Army… Now all of my shoes look like they were made for old nurses. Not that there is anything wrong with being an old nurse!
Here’s a recent photo of my body. 🙂 A confession… because of bullet point 4 (that my chest adds the appearance of 20 extra lbs), for my healthy train photos, I use a chip clip to pull my shirt back so that I can see the changes in my waist better 😉 Don’t judge me!
See, told you it’d be a challenge!
If you’re up to it… send me an inspiration board with what you think will be an amazing outfit. Also include where I can buy it and how much it costs. I’ll pick a winner (or four!) on Friday morning. Email me at style(at)bobbiandmike.com
Oh, and… a quick disclaimer: Because I’m doing this with online shopping, that doesn’t guarantee that I’ll love the outfit once it gets here or I go try it on. So, if you see me in Vegas and I’m not wearing the winning outfit… you’ll understand. 😀
Thank you all SO much for being such a big part of my life. I would be absolutely honored to wear an outfit that our incredible blog readers picked out for me.
~bobbi
PS. I won’t be surprised if I get zero contest entries… my list of “things to keep in mind” is a bit intimidating!