[Riestrella]

Hi everyone!

On the 12th December I'll be going to my first ever work Christmas party. There's going to be a fun award ceremony (people have been voting for a month on who's their favourite to work with, sexiest male/female, best newcomer, smiliest person etc!) and then there'll be a paid for buffet with a few free drinks thrown in there at a pub that they've hired out especially for us. One of my friends says that at hers it's a free bar, unfortunately it's not as fancy at ours =p.

POINT IS! I want to look pretty. Right now my wardrobe is pretty damn bland because I've just not been shopping for myself in a long time. I've sort of been saving the big spendings for when I'm at goal weight. I also own zero dresses that are suitable for just a night out. I really felt self conscious in dresses, I've never worn them when I go out with my friends because I felt like it draws attention to parts of my body that I don't want to be on show. Giant boobs, big belly, back rolls - you name it!

But I've lost 37 lbs since then and I'm down 2, sometimes 3 depending on the store clothes sizes. I think I have to face my fear and go out and buy a cute dress. I don't want to be the only girl wearing jeans and a smart/casual top. I want to be the girl who wears a dress! I do really like the look of dresses, I've just never believed that I'd look good in them.

So basically, I'm trying to psyche myself up to get a *****in' dress that makes me look awesome. IT'S TIME!

Does anyone else have a phobia of certain clothes that they hope to one day face? Have you already faced it and what were the results? Maybe not even just clothes but other little things that you were terrified of because of how you looked?

[liliesinmycereal]

My avatar of me in the black dress with cutouts on the side was kind of a trial. I was nervous about wearing something that kind of revealed my stretch marks if you were staring but it turned out to just be an awesome dress.

[bargoo]

With me it was shorts and certain colors . One of the first things I bought was a pair of Capris in a bright orange/red color. I would never have put that color on my 200 Plus pound butt. I thought my legs were too fat for shorts, needless to say I have shorts, capris and slacks in all colors, now.
Go out and shop and get a sensational dress and have a great time .

[Sophieeex3]

I think that you should go for a long sleeve all black short/mini dress paired with opaque black stockings. When I was at my heaviest nothing would look good on me. Every dress would either draw too much attention to all my problem areas ( fat arms, huge love handles, protruding muffin top, cellulite thighs). I found a great dress at American Apparel ( still on the website, heres the link). The long sleeves and all black color was so slimming, and since it was too short for comfort, I paired it with opaque tights, all black or red pumps and great makeup. I felt so good! So seriously give it a try, I guarantee that you will adore how you look.

(This is my fave) http://store.americanapparel.net/rsa8344.html?cid=29
or
cotton version:http://store.americanapparel.net/rsa8358.html?cid=29
velvet version: http://store.americanapparel.net/rsavv358.html?cid=29
http://store.americanapparel.net/rsavv358.html?cid=29

[DivineFidelity]

I'm just scared of anything that shows my arms. I feel like they are huge! I'm kind of learning to fake it till I make it though....although it won't make much difference right now since it's cold outside and it would be dumb to walk around in sleeveless shirts. lol. Maybe by the time it's warm again I can get rid of these flabby arms and feel confident in those cute sleeveless shirts next summer!

Oh, and Riestrella....we all already know you look good in dresses from the pictures of you in that red dress. Even when you were bigger you looked good, and now you look incredible. I say just fake the confidence until you really gain it, because there is no reason you shouldn't show off your body in a dress. You look great!

[runningfromfat]

I really get what you're saying. My "fear" clothes have always been shorts/capris and also anything that emphasized my arms (like sleeveless tops). Thus, jeans/pants+hooded sweatshirt was my goto outfit because I was covered as much as possible.

I basically got over my fear because it's just too freaking hot here to wear pants all the time! It helps too that for me I lost a lot in my legs (honestly if I stopped losing there today I'd be pretty happy ) so it's taken a big part of the fear away. I still don't wear sleeveless shirts much, not so much out of a fear of them at this point but more that I haven't found any flattering ones yet. Hopefully soon because it's getting really hot here!

Maybe it's a good thing that you have your Christmas party coming up because it will push you out of your comfort zone and help you to try dresses and see that they're not as bad as you thought. Maybe you'll even start wearing them more often!

Important thing is, though, is to find one that you really love. One that suits your body and you feel comfortable in. Sometimes it takes shopping around a bit but hopefully you find one that works well!

[sontaikle]

What about the red dress you wore in your progress photo? That looked really nice on you

However, I know the feeling of wanting to buy a new dress and wear something new. You have to be adventurous when heading into the fitting room. Try different things! You might be surprised!

I always had a fear of a clingy dress and showing off my arms. For my high school reunion I was trying on dresses and managed to find a cling, little black dress on the clearance rack. I was hesitant, but I decided to try it on.

It looked awesome on me! It fit perfectly! I wore it and EVERYONE loved it

[RebaRamBam]

I usually hate to show my arms! They're flabby and I had really dark stretch marks for the longest time (they're not as obvious now thankfully) so I would always wear jackets or sweaters over anything that showed my upper arms. For halloween I ended up wearing a tight sleeveless dress that i never thought i could have pulled off and it made me feel so great that I completely forgot about my arms! It was such an awesome feeling when I realized that I hadn't been worried about my arms for the first time in years! Good luck on finding a dress that makes you feel amazing! I know you'll look good because you already showed us how great you looked in the red dress!

[MusicalAstronaut]

Tank tops! I always felt like they hugged my belly and emphasized how big my arms were. I'm still not over it, haha, I'm only halfway done, but once I finish I will buy a bunch of them.

[ClaireBear92]

I have always been affraid of SHORTS. I carry almost all of my weight in my legs. They are like small tree trunks and look all wobbly like cottage cheese sometimes. I'm hoping one day soon after i tone the crap out of my body, ill be confident enough to wear little shorts in the summer like all my friends. I hate it when they always point out how im wearing jeans =[