If The Dress Fits, Wear It

One week after I wrote a post celebrating a year of healthy living, I tried on a dress that’s been hanging in my closet for a year- and it fit! It was even loose around my midsection.

It fit so well I decided to spend the whole day wearing it: a day which included a lunch outing and a trip to the supermarket.

When my mother traveled to Madrid last summer, I only requested she bring back one thing with her:  the contents of my Primark shopping list. I make no secret for my love of the brand’s clothing, as well as my hatred of actually going to one of their stores. Since they were staying next to it, I thought it would be a good idea to have her shop for me.

Among the items I picked out was a cobalt shirt dress, made out of very light fabric, with a braided brown belt: nothing fancy, but it looked like the kind of thing I could wear on summer evenings or weekends.

But when the dress arrived and I tried it on, I couldn’t pull it down past my chest.

I hung it in the closet, frustrated.

This coincided with the ill-fated dinner that was my trigger to lose weight- so after the frustration wore off, I became determined that I would do whatever possible to fit into it.

I forgot about the dress in the winter, but as soon as spring came around, I pulled the dress out of the closet, my fingers crossed. I had lost several kilos since the last time I attempted and I was sure it was enough.

It wasn’t. This time, I managed to pull it down to my stomach, and it stopped there.

So close, I sighed in exasperation, and put it back where it belonged: the back of my closet.

Then a few weeks ago, I ventured again. We were going out to breakfast with friends and this was the perfect item to wear. I could even show off my runner’s legs that I had been working hard on.

But to no one’s surprise, it still didn’t fit.

I could finally pull it all the way down, but I couldn’t move in it. The fabric bunched up at my midsection, making the dress look very unflattering. Let’s just say, if I had gone out in it, the first question I would’ve been asked was how far along I was.

Given all of the above trials, I didn’t expect I’d leave the house in the dress anytime this year. I even debated if the problem was with the design or sewing- it is from Primark, after all, so quality standards are not expected to be high.

I was so convinced of that, that when I took it out of the closet this morning, I was laughing. Did I really want to disappoint myself ? I’d done really well with my diet and ran a few good runs this week, so why end on a sour note? But today was hot and I wanted to wear something comfortable and different than my sneakers and jeans.

On the dress went. Actually it slid on.

I was in disbelief. Even when I belted it, it looked flattering, it didn’t bunch up in any weird places, I could even do a few squats in it! Later during the day, I’d find out that it still looked good after having a rather heavy meal (I was carbloading!)

If the dress had fit last August, I still wouldn’t have gone out in it, because it is much shorter than the dresses I normally wear. But now that I run, I’m less self-conscious. These legs work hard and deserve some time out in the sun.

So if today has taught me anything, it’s that one should never lose hope, especially when they’re putting in the hard work.

The results might not be immediate, but they will eventually show. And when they do, well, that’s a reason to smile through the whole day.