Tropical-Chic Wrap Dress

Memory: I'm a seven year old chubby kid laying flat on my stomach looking at old photo albums. My mom is sitting cross-legged next to me. I'm looking at yellow tinted photos of a family BBQ by the poolside. There's a photo of my mom, a young thin girl, wearing a yellow two-piece bathing suit. I come across a photo of my Grandma and her sister, wearing bright printed dresses, ones that are mid-sleeve and floor length. "Mom why isn't Grandma wearing a bathing suit like everyone else?" "Krystal they're wearing muu-muu's- it's what women wear when they get too big and want to cover up". She laughs at my curiosity. "Moo? Like a cow?" My mom laughs, "Right, like a cow. You never want to get too big and have to wear one".

Even as an adult that memory always stuck with me. Before my body/fat positive journey began, I never allowed dresses or bright prints into my wardrobe. In the summertime especially, I would always see the long summer dresses with bright florals and refused to wear them. I blamed my "dark" aesthetic, which was partially true, but the truest answer was because I was afraid I would look like a "bad" "fat" person in a muu-muu. Looking back on it now, this is absurd. Anyone, of any size, can choose to wear whatever they want, which includes wearing large floral print summer dresses. And I feel damn good in it. 

Dress: Ross
Shoes: Avenue
Lipstick: Besame Cosmetics