The perfect casual ruched dress for summer OR fall! I’ll show you later how I styled this for cooler days but this is a new fall arrival from Color Me Apparel and the perfect transition dress.

My “Mom Body”…

Since having a few kids, I have had to reevaluate a few things about myself. One is how I view my own body. I wouldn’t say I have ever had a super negative body image and hated myself, but I have always wished maybe I could be a bit more toned here or there. The truth is, I am not a small girl. I’m ok with that now, but it has taken me a handful of years and a few good people in my life to help me finally feel that way. I am the most average of sizes and a perpetual size medium, and though I will continue to try to eat healthy and get to the gym on and off {currently off because my gym’s parking lot is torn to shreds and not even open this week..grrr…}, I will always be a bigger girl.

As I started to design clothes, I kept thinking of my fellow medium-large mom-bodied friends and what they would feel best in. I often put myself in the same camp as Beyonce or Meghan Trainor and just say hey, I can be awesome looking without being tiny. I feel like this is one of the hardest parts about living as a women in this media-driven world. Small is better, unless they are boobs, then yours are likely too small, but you need tiny, yet perfectly toned arms, but you can’t have an invisible butt, but don’t have a huge butt or you just look fat…

At a girls’ night last month, we were talking about what we each think is “beautiful” about a woman’s body, and came to the conclusion that we all saw beauty in women that looked nothing alike. I follow and love women who are all sizes, but of course my idea of the “perfect body” is different than some of my friends, and we each passed around our phones and agreed that the other held a women on her screen that was indeed beautiful. So why oh why do we spend so much time and put so much stock into trying to fit into a perfect “look” when what makes us beautiful isn’t size at all? I thought about some of the women I really admire most, who have inspired me, who have shown me how to love or serve others, they are not at all what you’ll see in fashion magazines, but I think they are so beautiful. I want to be more like them. Sure, be healthy, strive to stay in tune with my ever-changing body, but I’ll always be trying to be “that” kind of beautiful, and I have so so far to go…

This staple ruched dress is just a sample of the dresses to come to Color Me Apparel in October. And they will be in darker colors and a handful of styles to hide and slim as well as lightweight to wear in the heat or layer for fall- so they are perfect for this transition out of heat.

This is a sample, so I won’t be making them in this light color because it is definitely less forgiving, but the ruching and the v-neck seem to be a fan favorite already. I’m excited to see how you lovely ladies style up these fun dresses and prints we have coming, you will rock them!

My little Reese came along for the ride and she put on her favorite romper ever that I wish I could make millions of. They are perfect for these hot and humid summer days {we are still very much in the heat of summer here in San Diego!}.

Images by Maria of Bow & Arrow Photography

Dress: Color Me Apparel {Available in October in Navy. Sign up for emails here.}

Crochet Bag: Target {Old, here’s a similar one}