Hello everyone and welcome to the finale of my Altar’d State Haul! Today, we are going to wrap things up by talking about a lovely black and white floral print summer dress. This is a purchase I am particularly proud of because, normally, I wouldn’t have even bothered trying this dress on. Take a look at some pics and read on to find out more:

The first thing that I noticed when I saw this dress on display after how much I liked it, of course, was that a bra would be incredibly visible. As a bustier gal, a bra is absolutely necessary for me to feel comfortable but it would ruin the silhouette of the crossback straps and the plunging V of the back of the dress. As mentioned above, I would usually acknowledge how cute a dress like this is on previous shopping trips and then move on to something I could wear a bra in. So imagine my surprise when I took this dress from the rack to try it on in Altar’d State.

Chalk it up to my quickly upcoming wedding (!!!!!!) but my self confidence has been sky high lately and it feels awesome because of how much I have struggled with it in the past. So, instead of feeling disappointed when I saw this dress because I used to think I “couldn’t” wear it, I tried it on anyways. I thought to myself that I could make it work, especially with the adhesive strapless bras that I got for my wedding and almost jumped for joy in the fitting room once I had it on and loved it so much.

It could be the novelty of trying something so new to me but I think that this dress is just the most. The uneven hem is so charming and flowy and it reminds me of fairies. The pattern is also so beautiful to me and it feels like there’s a surprise on the dress everywhere you look from the peekaboo keyhole on the back to the crossback straps. I hate to toot my own horn but I was feeling my DAMN self in it.

I felt amazing in my new dress and even better about the fact that I took a risk and tried something different. This is the first time I have ever considered an option other than my standard, supportive bra when buying something and I know it has to do with my very improved self image. I can’t wait to go shopping again so I can try more new shapes and styles that I didn’t think were possible for me to wear before! ❤

How do you take fashion risks? What makes you feel confident? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah