J. Crew: Fabiola Dress in Abstract Leopard.

Hi, everyone!  I have a spare moment here (one of very few spare moments!), so I thought since it is review day over at JCA, I would put a IRL review of the wonderfully flattering Fabiola dress here on my blog.

Last week I wrote a review for the JCAs but since my body was not *quite* ready for the dress, I decided to wait one week to see if I could fit into it better this week.

I did, but I am still not 100% ready to actually wear it in public, maybe one more week for that?  That's the thing about being postpartum, the body you have literally changes day to day...and this time around my body is changing in ways it hadn't with either of my other pregnancies.  I had always heard each pregnancy and recovery is different, but I am living proof of this with how remarkably different my body reacted to this pregnancy/recovery.  (Which I will likely cover in a Mommy Style Monday post, no need to discuss the details here in this post.)  :)

I had fallen in LOVE with this dress when I saw it on the website and when all the other blog friends wore it in their review posts, so I kind of knew that as soon as it went on sale with a % off, it would be all mine.

(BTW, if you are a blog friend with a review of this, would you drop the link in the comments?  I have been a bit behind in keeping up with all the reviews, help a sister out.)

This dress also had the benefit of reminding me of a dress I already own, also in a leopard print, but in a much more winter friendly fabric, the silk-wool watercolor leopard dress (wore it here).  Since I knew I loved that dress, I knew a "summer" version would be a good choice.

Pockets, pockets, pockets!  YAY!

Size 8.  I had read that this ran small through the bust, and with my hips being a problem area (regardless of postpartum or just my pear shape), I did not want to chance a size 6.  Even though all the bloggers mentioned that it was fairly full in the hip/butt/thigh area, I didn't fully believe it.

Yeah, they were right.  I am still glad I went with the 8.  It would likely fit me better in the size 6 at my BEST fighting weight, but honestly, sometimes it is just nice to have a super comfortable, yet still somewhat vavavavoom type dress in the closet.  Even with all the surgery scars and lack of energy and some pain, I put this on today and felt pretty darn good.  Really does sort of give proof to the idea that clothes indeed make the man.  (Or woman, I know.)  ;)

Here's my secret...I have a 30 inch waist now (normally it is a 28 inch non-postpartum) but some big time hip measurements (38 inch upper hip, normally 35 inches; 41 inch middle hip, normally 39.5; and 41 inch lower hip, normally 40 inches).  My bustline is (sadly?) nearly the same, le sigh.  The reason I could wear this today?  The teeny little bulge you see there below the waist?  Yeah, that's my "secret" pocket where all the excess baby weight is hiding out.  God bless you, J. Crew, for designing the exact right dress for my postpartum body...thank you for the little puff of fabric perfect for hiding a non-baby belly.  It's all in how you dress it, right?  LOL.

My silk wool watercolor dress has this, too.  (As do many of the J. Crew dresses, in fact.)  There are quite a few J. Crew dresses that I cannot wear right now, but these work, and for that, I am grateful.

Based on my current rate of weight loss (it has plateaued, which is fine), I may not get back to my normal hip measurements for a few months, and I am glad to know there are options for dress up time at my fingertips.

From the back.  I should mention that the print is really pretty, too, deep purples, a pretty lime, a bit of black, and a nice cream color all on a textured (almost seersucker like) cotton fabric.  It is fully lined, too.

Hope this helped someone out there! 

You all have a great night!

P.S. Boden friends, tomorrow is another review roundup, if you have a review that you think I may have missed would you mind putting the link in the comments below or e-mailing me at dinagideon AT aim DOT com.