White Lace Dress + Postpartum Confidence

*This post was written in partnership with Nordstrom. All photography, opinions and content remain my own. Thank you for supporting brands who support Style Your Senses.

Hi Friends! Today I’m sharing the absolute cutest off the shoulder lace dress that I styled two ways for Summer, as well as a little piece of my heart. This is the first post that I publish post-baby and to be honest I’m feeling super vulnerable. I know that we are all friends here, but it was really hard to get into my groove and feel confident in my own skin.

If I’m telling the truth, I don’t love the end of pregnancy and really really despise postpartum recovery. Your body goes through SO many rapid changes within such a short time and it’s really overwhelming for me both mentally and physically. I gained 15 lbs in the last 4 weeks of my pregnancy alone (just like I did with Landry) and gained nearly 40 total, which was hard for me to stomach since I worked out until the day I delivered. After birth, my body feels like a deflated balloon. There are clear signs that it served a very important purpose, but doesn’t really feel quite like my own any more yet either. Things are different, nothing fits and you’re tired and honestly it’s just miserable for me to not feel 100%.

OTS Lace Dress | Fedora Hat | Pearl Slides |Sunnies ($12 dupe pair) | Similar Earrings | Tote + Cross Body Bag ($66!)

The reason that I’m even telling you guys this is because you see I’m normally a really confident person. I always have been…even during my real, real ugly middle school years (bless my poor heart)…and I love using that confidence to power this blog. Typically I look forward to photo shoots…I’m always thinking about how I can style pieces to make them relatable and useful for you guys. By making shopping and styling easier for you, I feel like I’m passing along some confidence to look and feel your best…which makes the the happiest.

This time was different…I felt vulnerable and insecure and totally picked myself apart at the sheer thought of it. My face is rounder, my skin is pale and freckled with melasma, my tummy is still soft and I still have an extra 15lbs hanging around…I swear I went on and on. Thankfully, Nordstrom is all kinds of amazing and I was able to order (literally) 10 dresses in different sizes, all of which I tried on in the comfort of my home and was able to return the ones that didn’t work free of charge. Seven of the dresses didn’t work, but three of them did and I chose to be happy about that.

My favorite is this lace off the shoulder dress. I put it on and instantly felt more like *myself* again. It’s a flattering fit that works to down play my larger chest (which I’m still not used to or totally comfortable with) and highlight my waist that’s slowly returning (the waistline is adjustable, so I am able to continue to accentuate it as I recover). I also love that it’s versatile enough to wear dressed up or dressed down a little. What sealed the deal is that this off the shoulder neckline is also nursing friendly.

I also treated myself to the bag below. If you follow along on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been gushing over it all week, but if not here are the cliff notes. I was a little leery about buying it because it’s only $66. When I got it in, I was pleasantly surprised at how well made and versatile it is for that price point. It’s large enough to fit mom essentials in, but not too big to overwhelm you. It can be worn as a hand bag, shoulder bag or cross body bag and is the perfect neutral cognac color for Summer. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Tote + Cross Body Bag ($66!) | Fedora Hat (I’ve had this exact one for two years now, and it was the best $18 ever spent)

Cute sunglasses are also KEY these days, as my eyes really give away how tired I am. My trick is to throw on my biggest sunnies and a great lip color and people will think that you totally have it under control (#lifehackwithanewborn). I splurged on these Ray Ban’s earlier in the Spring and have been LOVING them (I’m wearing them below), but I also just stocked up on tons of designer dupes that are all $12 each, which are great to wear everyday because I’m so hard on my sunglasses. See which ones I bought below!

I love how this dress totally works for casual or a little more dressy. For casual, I styled it with easy slides, a great bag and my fedora hat. I would wear this on any given day, but especially on a Saturday while out and about…brunch, shopping, an outdoor concert, patio dinner, etc. I can see this dress working for so many things and I know that it’s easy to wear and will always be flattering.

Aren’t these details so beautiful? This really is one of those dresses that can make a girl feel pretty, even when she’s admittedly not feeling her best (cough, cough…me).

To dress is up a little, I threw on my favorite neutral heels (they were updated HERE) and a cute straw clutch. I would wear this for a date night out, summer wedding, baby shower, or the like. It’s feminine and pretty and would even look great with your hair swept up in a low bun.

OTS Lace Dress | Sunnies ($12 dupe pair) | Updated version of my heels | Straw Clutch | Similar Earrings

Sorry, I totally got off track talking about pretty dresses. If you’re still reading…thank you. Thank you for following along on this journey with me and being patient with me as I get my bearings back. I know that this doesn’t happen over night and have been trying to afford myself some grace throughout the process. Thank you for letting me get a little real about postpartum, because I don’t want the highlight reel of Instagram to make it look like it’s all roses and butterflies. I too struggle with feeling confident in my own skin after baby and I think that it’s important to bring light to that so that we can all help and encourage each other throughout the process. There’s nothing easy about having your body go through such massive transitions in such a short time and it’s totally normal to not feel fully like yourself for a while. I’ve found that the more time I take for myself (we are only talking like an hour or two between feedings these days, but honestly it works), the better I feel. Take the shower, get the manicure, buy a new dress that you know is flattering and I promise the fog lifts a lot quicker. Even though I wasn’t thrilled about getting in front of the camera again, it was SO good for me to push myself out of my comfort zone. I will be talking a lot more about this in the coming weeks, but please leave any specific comments, questions or advice in the comments.

Thank you again for sticking with me through this…I’m excited to continue this transition and am so thankful to have such a wonderful and supportive community of women to share it with! Love you, mean it.

Here are a few other dresses that I think are great for Summer. A few of them will be styled on the blog in the coming weeks!

Thanks also to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post and being a great partner.