Fall Fashion Picks for a Post Baby Body. — This Photographer's Life

The first time a stranger asked me if I was pregnant I was about 17. I had a fairly normal body, but I've always just carried my weight in my stomach. In my mid 20s it would happen monthly. Someone would come up to me in the grocery store and say, "boy or girl?" I used to look shocked and go home and cry, but eventually I got used to it, looked them in the eye and answered, "boy," before I walked away. Never mind that I was unmarried, obviously slightly overweight, and nowhere near being pregnant.

The worst example of this was when I picked out my wedding dress. I picked a very tight straight dress that showed off my stomach, determined that when faced with my wedding day I'd finally find the motivation to lose the stomach. That lead to monthly tears at my dress fittings, a strict diet of soup and smoothies, and an ultimate breakdown where I tried to get a new dress - afraid everyone in the audience would assume it was a shotgun wedding. In the end we added straps, I got over my insecurities, my sweet photographer/uncle cropped all the wedding pictures where my stomach was sticking out, and I'm now left wishing I could pay $10,000 and have that body back.

My apple shaped body did me no favors while I was ACTUALLY pregnant. The day I found out I was pregnant was the last day I could fit into my regular pants... and that was at like 5 weeks. I was unable to hide the pregnancy after about 7 weeks, which is pretty laughable. I'm not sure if it was bloating, or if I just gave up on sucking in all the time, but either way my belly was finally free.

Post baby the belly fat decided to stay. Even though I only weigh like 3 lbs more than I did when I got pregnant, I still look about 3 months pregnant. I've decided that I have so much to be thankful for, and I'm not willing to go to the gym every day, so the best thing to do is just get over it. That belly gave me Oliver, and Jimmy doesn't seem to mind it, so what's the point of hating it?

I decided to give up on perfection and embrace the shift dress, my uniform of choice, and then I met my friend Alysse Lucas. Alysse works at Beacham now, but she used to work at InStyle. She is amazing at fashion, and I love what she wears even though we have different styles and bodies. Alysse asked my opinion on starting a fashion blog, and I've been really encouraging her to do it. She has so much talent, and I think people will love her ideas. She just launched her blog Pumps & Prosecco! I asked her to pick out a Fall wardrobe for me. She is preppy and classic, but she sees my clothes every day and has a good sense of my style. To further define it, I told her I love the look of my friend Dani's store Flock, the feel of Spell Bindery, the quality of Morgan Kylee, and the more BoHo the better. I sent her the three dresses below as examples and left her to choose for me. These are her picks. I think she did a fantastic job! Thank you Alysse!