Dress it Up

I had a blissful afternoon with Mum and Dad in Cheltenham yesterday, we had lunch and then Dad went to mooch around town while Mum and I went and looked at some wedding dresses.

We were looked after by a lovely lady called Jo, but despite trying on about ten dresses, only one really hit the spot, and even that didn't feel 100% right. Part of the problem is that I just don't feel comfortable showing off a lot of flesh, and 99% of wedding dresses are either strapless or very strappy.

I'm a curvy girl, so I imagined most of my problem would be finding a dress that didn't make me look like the marquee - but actually my figure looks OK in a lot of the corset style designs. My waist being pulled in gives me a kind of 40's style figure which actually suits a lot of the gowns which is a nice surprise.

Sadly though even if the 'body' of the dress is OK, the top is usually not. Plunging necklines and fine straps make me desperately exposed - I realise I can't wear a polo neck on my big day, but I just can't stand not being covered up. I'm blaming the dresses - but I'm beginning to get the feeling it might be more to do with me.

I have never been the kind of girl who wears figure hugging or low-cut clothes mainly through a lack of confidence. I simply feel ridiculous in that kind of outfit, and yet I love the look on other people. My mum says I'm too hard on myself, I secretly think she's bigging me up because I'm her daughter - but what if she's right?

In my day to day life I still dress the same way I did as a student: jeans, T-shirt and trainers, maybe it's time to embrace being a grown-up and make some changes. Perhaps then, I can consider some of the dresses I'm turning my back on because they feel out of my comfort zone.