Acceptance

Most suppliers only do S-L, but when I do special orders I can sometimes order extended sizing. As I grow I have more say.

I’ve had a long journey learning to be “body neutral.” I love the body positivity movement, but there are many days I don’t love the way my body looks. I love what it has done for me, but it still frustrates me. So I’ve worked on accepting my body for how it is and learning how to dress so that I feel beautiful. Some days I want to be skinnier and have a smaller chest, but I yearn for that less when I have clothes that FIT me that are comfortable AND cute. 

I distinctly remember being in junior high and high school not wanting to wear anything tight because I didn’t want anyone to know I had a bit of a belly. Looking back, no I did not have a flat belly but I was tiny!! I didn’t think so back then. Even at my lowest weight in college. I still thought I needed to lose weight. I look back at pictures and I was really small. I “look great” compared to now but I was hardly eating for various reasons.

Then I started working at an eating disorder treatment center and sat in on a lot of groups that challenged the way we think about women’s bodies. I remember one group, one of the girls said that she was challenging herself to wear tight shirts even though she thought they made her look fat. I thought she was crazy for doing that—not because I thought she was fat but because I could never see myself wanting to do the same. I really thought you should never dress in a way that wasn’t “flattering” aka making you look skinny. And I learned that “healthy” doesn’t always mean “skinny” which at the time felt so bizarre.

6 years later and I’ve had three babies. After my first, I “bounced back” quickly and ended up being about 5 lbs over my pre pregnant weight. 2nd baby was another 5 lbs, but still I bounced back! 3rd baby and I’m about another 5 lbs, so 15 since before I had kids but man my body has changed! It feels like I’m shaped completely different and that has been hard to get used to! But I’m working on dressing my body how it is, and feeling cute the way I am.

I hope you can love your body, and if not that you can be body neutral. You CAN look cute in the body you have. And I never want anyone to feel like they aren’t welcome here because I don’t have their size.  So I’m always trying to get the most sizes I can!! Dress for the body you have, not the body that you want or used to have. It’s ok to want to be skinnier (if you don’t hurt your body in the process!!) but take care of your body where it’s at and try to remember that you are your worst critic. You’ll probably look back in 5 years and think “man I was so skinny then!”

Remember, you’re a Dahl whether you’re a size 2 or a size 22.

With the exception of Tye, I don’t hire models because I want you to be able to see what these clothes look on average women. These are my friends and I love them and they are all so beautiful. 🥰