#BodyPositivity with The Style Allie

Anyone who has had children will know: 

The Mother of All Body Changes

Meet Allie

Creator of The Style Allie

She is a blogger and Stylist

A Mum and Wife

Follow her on Instagram Here

The Beginning: Full of confidence and youth

When I met my husband, at the tender age of 16, I had just retired from gymnastics with a knee injury and my build was very slim and athletic. Content in a relationship and not at the gym constantly, I filled out a bit and felt confident with a bit more meat on my bones and a bit more boob in my bra! Fast forward 8 years to our wedding day and I felt so confident, I rocked tiny bikinis on our honeymoon and body hang ups were not even on my radar.

Then Everything Changed..

I fell pregnant just a few months after we married and I remember naively thinking I would just ping back after. My amazing Mum has had four children and she was back in her size 10 jeans a week later, every time. I assumed that I would inherit this ability. By week 20, it was clear that I was not going to carry a neat little bump and I had put on so much weight everywhere. I felt almost freakish when people assumed I was almost at full term and joined in by saying things such as "definitely only one in there" or "they can probably see me from space" to hide my upset. At least I didn't have stretch marks, I thought, until I went 14 days overdue and they were literally appearing before my eyes. I ended up covered in them.

Then, after a dramatic birth where the cleaner delivered her, my beautiful daughter came hurtling into the world. Of course the next few weeks, everything paled into insignificance and I basked in the newborn glow. However, the tiredness was overwhelming, I ate terribly, gorging on sugary snacks to give me an instant energy boost. It wasn't long before I began to loathe my reflection, so much so a birthday shopping trip reduced me to tears. I began to hide away in loose clothes and even still wore my maternity wear . I pushed these thoughts away and threw myself into Motherhood. Violet was a toddler when I fell pregnant again, suddenly my saggy stomach was firm again and I actually felt amazing. My bump this time round was neat and because I was running around after an 18 month old, I didn't put on extra weight. After Oscar was born, those feelings of body loathing returned but I convinced myself that I was being stupid and it didn't matter. I had two healthy children and I should stop being so ridiculous.

Getting Back To Me

I remember the day I realised I needed to look after myself again. I was looking at photographs of my son's first birthday. I was wearing a maternity dress, I had cut and coloured my hair into what I thought was an appropriate "mum do". I suddenly didn't recognise myself anymore. I vowed to take control, I joined a Body Combat class and started to eat healthily. I don't personally believe in diets, as soon as you say I can't have something, I immediately want it all!
So everything in moderation.
I began to feel good, I noticed I had more energy and my clothes felt looser. I eventually lost 2.5 stones. This was great but I was left with saggy, stretch marked skin which I hated and would obsess over. I was far from the pre-pregnancy body that I loved. I realised it wasn't a matter of the weight, I just didn't feel like me anymore.

I decided to go shopping, I had not done this for a long time, I had avoided the shops as the carefree days of being able to wear whatever I liked were gone. It always left me feeling frumpy and fed up. This time, I was on a mission. I had a wedding to attend and was determined to find something I felt good in. I tried dress after dress after dress. My fuller boobs wouldn't squeeze into the pretty dresses I liked and my wobbly thighs were crying out "hide me". I began to give up when an amazing lady told me what a beautiful hourglass figure I had and that I should try separates to get a better fit. She brought me a gorgeous lace pencil skirt and a little funnel necked blouse to try. I put the outfit on and instantly felt amazing! The pretty skirt was snug on my small waist and showed it off perfectly, the lace overlay skimmed over my mum tum and the beautiful blouse housed my boobs wonderfully and showed my curves off in an elegant way I had never dreamed possible. However, it was the smile on my face that made the real difference, I felt amazing! Needless to say I snapped the whole outfit up there and then.

This really was an awakening, I began to experiment with my new body shape and found out what worked for me. Yes, it was different but I was determined to make clothes work for me. Fashion had always been a huge part of my life pre pregnancy and I had missed expressing myself through clothes. It was time to get to know myself again and over time I mastered what worked for my new body. I can now look at an item and instantly know if the shape will work. I have learned how to accentuate the bits I like, for example my small waist; I'm always in high waisted items or cinched in with a waist belt. I look for pieces that skim over my mum tum and thighs and show off my calves, I have even embraced my fuller bust and instead of hiding them in loose clothing, I dress to show off my curvy shape.

Once I had mastered dressing my figure, I found I could build on this foundation by expressing myself through styling. 

Finally, I was feeling like the Allie I used to know, my confidence grew and I felt comfortable in my own skin once more. I really do believe that getting to know which body shape you are and how to dress it, is a complete game changer. Feeling good in what you wear is so good for the soul!

I know my body is not perfect, whatever that ridiculous notion means, but it is pretty bloody amazing! I grew two beautiful humans inside it and it keeps me alive to see them grow. It is so easy to fall into the trap of looking at the "body beautiful" images we are constantly bombarded with and feel inadequate but it is not healthy to think that there is only one type of beauty. As women, we all come in different shapes and sizes, this should be something to celebrate. I want my daughter to see me embracing my shape and enjoying my refection rather than agonising over it. I want my son to see that beauty comes from feeling good about yourself and for him to support the women in his life to do just that.

Here are my tips on feeling good and dressing happy

• Get to know your shape and dress for it: Once you master what suits your shape you can build on this foundation and experiment with colour and print to express your personality.
• Avoid the Practical Rut: Don't get stuck in the habbit of dressing "Practically" for mum duties, sometimes dressing in something pretty really can lift your mood and make you feel like "you"rather than just a mummy.
• Go-To Mum-iform: On days when only practical and mum-uniform will do, have a collection of go to accessories, for example some fab earrings  or a statement necklace to pop on over some stripes. You will feel like you've made an effort and will look super stylish in a snip of time.

Give yourselves some love, thanks for reading

Allie xx

RTH: Thanks Allie! Its been so good to hear about your journey! As a mother it is something i can definitely relate with as i went through the exact same thing.

Guest Post: Jessi from Haircut and General Attitude

Hey Lovelies, as i mentioned earlier on this week i'm a bit

 pre-occupied this weekend. We were planning on the family trip to see the in-laws in London but turns out Neo has come down with a nasty tummy bug.. 

Thankfully the lovely Jessi offered to guest post for me, she's gorgeous and has amazing style. Go check her blog for more, but for now, here's a little taster of that fabulousness.

Hello, friends! This is Jessi from Haircut and General Attitude!  I'm so so honored to be guest posting for Rachel today! I love her super cute style! We have pretty similar taste. I love all things vintage and girly so her blog was a quick favorite for me.

Where I live the weather has been sunny and happy lately! Spring is definitely here and we have beautiful trees blossoming all around! Perfect for pretty photos!

I had my cute hubby snap these on a nearby street in our neighborhood. He was more embarrassed than me at the cars driving by...haha.

 I'm wearing some of my current favorite things (obsessions), lace, long skirts, mustard and wedges. I also want to brag a little that I made the bracelet I'm wearing. Maybe some of you are excessively crafty but it's quite the accomplishment for me!

Is everyone excited for Easter weekend? I know I  am! I hope the weather stays so warm and gorgeous! I'll be headed to the mall Saturday for an afternoon of shopping and Sunday will be spent coloring eggs with the hubby and having dinner with my family. Hope everyone has an awesome weekend! And thank you Rachel for the wonderful opportunity!

Outfit Details:

lace top and necklace - Forever21

mustard skirt - Urban Wear

lace-up wedges - Forever Young Shoes

bracelet - Handmade

Thanks again Jessi! 

Loving this outfit.

Happy Easter to you all, hope you have amazing weekends and i will be back soon! 

{Guest Post} Hello From The Sewing Boutique

Hello Followers of Rachel The Hat, lovely to meet you!

Let me introduce myself, my name is Rhiannon and Im Rachels older sister (in age not looks! Or maturity lol!). While she is away this week she very kindly asked me to guest post on her blog. So I thought I'd tell you a little bit about what I do.

Do we have any crafty mums/peeps in the room?? One or two at the back!? I think that describes me best - a crafty mum, in more ways than one, but for the purpose of this blog I mean in the "I-like-making-things" sense! :-D  First and foremost, Im happiest being a mummy - I've got two beautiful daughters, Lillie and Madison who are the centre of my world and the things that drive me crazy, in equal measures! Secondly, I'm happiest when Im sat with a cuppa, at my sewing machine, sewing, making, creating.

I run a small online fabric shop called The Sewing Boutique where I sell fabric, buttons, ribbons and sewing supplies - both online and at craft fairs (take a look, its very pretty ;-). I love what I do and count myself very lucky Im able to do this whilst being a stay at home mum to my little ones (Madison is in school as she's nearly six, Lillie is at home with me as she's nearly two). Here is a little picture of me and my stall at a craft fair on the weekend...

Ooooh all my lovely fabrics :)

One of the lovely fabrics I stock

One of Rachys favs!!

Since my little sis has started her fab blog, I've started dressing so much better. Up until recently I was a jeans and tshirt kinda gal. But a combination of hitting 3-0, starting my own business and seeing the example my sister has set, I've started thinking about what Im wearing every day and feel so much better for it! Dont get me wrong I still have my jeans and tshirt days and by the time hubbys home from work Im in my pj's, but I feel much better if I've made an effort and got a nice top on and nice pair of jeans. I wore this dress on the weekend...

Its so cute!!  Rachel paid me the biggest compliment by saying she wants to borrow this dress!  It was so comfortable too cos it was a boiling hot day.  Apologies for not having a close up of me wearing the dress, Im not as photogenic as my sister!

So what else about me?  Im a busy lady with a business, two kids and a hubby to keep me busy, I bake, I love need coffee in the mornings, Im obsessed with cupcakes and anything with cupcakes on, I'd love to be Anthea Turner : The Perfect Housewife but quite frankly lifes too short and my kids are too messy, I should lose a few pounds but am happy as I am, my dream is to open a shop, I spend far too long dreaming and generally, Im a happy little soul but a bit grumpy in the mornings!!

I hope you've enjoyed my guest post and well done if you've made it this far!!  If you've ever fancied giving sewing a go why not pop over and have a look, you might see something you like ;-) and if you fancy reading more of my ramblings, I blog here!

Thanks for reading and bye for now!!