Growing up, my mom made a lot of my clothes and even as a little girl, I always wanted to wear a dress. Picture day – a dress, bed time – a dress, parties – a dress… you get the idea. I loved when my mom would make me a new dress actually. I remember going out with her and choosing a pattern and she would often let me choose a couple different fabric options for the dress to be made in….but you know what she always added on my dresses? Lace.
Lace was added to a lot of my clothes actually, not just dresses. Being a giant at a young age, things were often too short and she’d add lace at the bottom of my pants, the bottom of my dress or skirt hemlines and then lace was added to the collar just for fun.
Growing up my mommy made me feel beautiful. Being not only a chubby girl but a tall girl took a toll on my self-esteem but she would always try to make me feel beautiful and dress me beautiful, even as a baby. But, at some point, her words and her loving care just wasn’t enough to crowd out the bullying and torment at school. So, instead of dressing girly and adorning myself with lace, I morphed into a tom boy. A tom boy who wore baggy sweatshirts, and baggy sweat pants. A girl who hid her body in hopes that no one would notice her or how big she was.
I didn’t date in high school, I was always the best friend but never the girlfriend. I was actually 21 before I had my first kiss. I hated my body, I hated the way I looked and the only thing I liked about me was my hair – I believed the lie that it’s all I had going for me.
Over the past several years as I’ve peeled off the layers of labels that people have placed on me about my body, my looks, my personality and essentially who I am and replaced those with truth, I have fallen in love with the creature God made – ME. There’s only one of me and I will live every day from now on loving who He created rather than hating her. I have also made it my mission to help other young women see their beauty, their value and their worth so that they can in turn live their best lives too.
It is because of this also that I now dress differently. I love to wear dresses still – it’s always my first choice. I have a large collection of long black pants in my closet – that used to be my staple – and I never wear them anymore because I dress to accentuate my curves, not wear straight, shapeless pants. This is why, when I saw this beautiful, soft white, lace dress from Sydney’s Closet, I knew I had to have it.
As soon as I took this dress out of the box, I was in love with it. And when I put it on, I simply felt divine. It brought back all those memories of my mom making me feel beautiful as a little girl in lace, only now, I am a woman who dresses her curves to highlight them rather than hide them. The fit of this dress was perfect (which is always good when you are using a sizing chart when you order online). This dress makes me feel like a woman, not a little girl. A woman who owns her beauty, who walks with her head held high knowing just how valuable she is. It is no surprise at all that the quality is top notch either – and that is essential when it comes to lace.
I chose to accessorize this dress keeping it classy with some simple pearl earnings, necklace and bracelet – they are actually pearls I bought in Indonesia while I was there a few years ago. I also chose a simple (but high) nude pump and wore it with my hair half up just to keep it simple and classy.
To get this look click HERE to visit Sydney’s Closet’s website.
Be sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook to see more great looks and of course stay tuned to the blog for some more from their new Day to Evening looks from their new Celebrations line.
Now for the pictures quick video review of this stunning dress!
Photos by Robert Skuja
All photos © 2015 Robert Skuja Photography
Makeup by Cherelle Dechamps
Stay Beautiful,
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