Photography by Karen Rosalie
I’ve often talked about how much I expect to bounce back immediately after Chloe, but fact of the matter is .. that’s just not realistic, and i’ve learned to fall in love with my perfectly imperfect body. Maybe it’s because I’m often getting photographed and so much of my life is on the internet, but I feel like there’s this huge pressure to be perfect. And with the right angles and photo filters, that only enforces the idea that everything has to be glamorized and UNREAL. Instagram has all of a sudden become a platform to filter your way into what seems like a “perfect life” (I’m guilty of this myself). I’ve recently been very encouraged to open up and talk about my struggles with my body after seeing so many women online embrace their imperfect post partum bodies. (This particular post on Facebook HERE really inspired & moved me) There’s a movement going on where we’re starting to embrace our body while working towards our body goals instead of body shaming and feeling so bad about ourselves. I’ve been relying on my corset most days, but other times I’ve realized it’s okay to give myself a break and just be thankful I have a beautiful baby girl at home. It was after all the roundness in my belly that was able to protect Chloe and the extra fat stored up that was able to nourish her for 9 months. Then you realize how amazing the human body really is and how beautiful it is that you were able to create, carry, then birth your one and only. The curves of a woman’s body represents the entire circle of life.
Bringing me to the reasons why I love this outfit. This lace Rebecca Taylor skirt hugs my “new” curves all in the right areas. Pencil skirts are one of those universally flattering fits for all body types- curvy, thin, and in between. This tailored pencil skirt, crafted in delicate white lace, reveals the perfect amount of skin making it the perfect piece for the warmer months. transparent stripes to this pastel-hued sweater. Then this Jason Wu Striped sweater is a mixture of sweet and sultry with the added transparent stripes on to this pastel hued sweater. A “relaxed” fit to skim right over your hips to offset the tailored fit of the pencil skirt.
Encouraging you guys this week to embrace your bodies and to give it some extra love this week!
PS. (Try hovering over our social media buttons on the homepage for a little April Fools surprise! Happy April 1st!)
OUTFIT DETAILS:
Sweater: Jason Wu
Skirt: Rebecca Taylor
Shoes: Miista
Bag: Balenciaga
Sunglasses: Gentle Monster
Postpartum Corset: Bellefit
Shop similar options here:
What do YOU think?
111 responses to “My Perfectly Imperfect Body”
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Hi Chriselle,
Am from a red dot on the map call, Singapore:D Just wanna say thank you for persevering this amazing blog of yours. A blink of an eye, I have been reading and following you since 2010! Am always admire your long and lean figure, what earns my respect most is that you accepted the changes of your body and live with it. It’s really amazing! Am married for coming 3 yrs yet to have a baby as my main concern is the change of my figure as am a pear shape with just 5.2ft in height. I know I sound dumb right…
Now you have started to wear more flare skirts which inspires a pear shape like me to beautify myself once again! You have given light in my life. Thank you and please keep it up with all the good works and words that you post everyday! Muacks!
Wow thank you Mandy for being a reader for so long! And don’t worry about your figure, I was so worried about that before (I gained 40lbs OMG) but I’m slowly and surely losing it now ! Good luck to you Mandy ! xo
You’re beutiful and what you wrote in this post (and the one linked on Facebook) are very inspiring and motivating, I’m really moved!
http://justsem.wordpress.com/
Aw thank you for reading both! xo
I’ve never been on your blog before, just wanted to say you are a seriously beautiful lady!
Hugs from Ireland x
Thanks Nicola! & welcome! I hope this site will help inspire you daily <3
wow,you look so so so PERFECT.i am really impressed Chriselle.thanks to share your nice photo.http://www.sposamoda.pl/
thanks again
Hi Chriselle!
Love from Malaysia 🙂
You always look perfect and I love your style!
http://www.keriitleto.blogspot.com
You’re inspiring <3 !
I’m inspired by you guys!
Love the pastels, can’t wait to the weather to get warmer!
Kisses
http://bloodxblack.blogspot.dk
Where are you from?
You look super gorgeous!
Thank you Karen !
I like your perfect imperfect body and above all your condolence in your imperfect body
Thank you! xo
You are absolutely gorgeous and don’t let any Instagram feed or anybody else make you think that you’re not. Congratulations on your baby girl x
http://www.spacedreamsandmarshmallows.blogspot.com
You’re too sweet Ciara! Thanks so much .. hope you had a great weekend!
I love these photos! Also this post was so inspiring and lovely 🙂
Thanks Alice! xo
You look amazing in all these pictures. The Instagram platform has created an illusion of what the perfect life and perfect person looks like however we all forget to remember not all of it is real. No ones life is perfect not matter how good it looks and everyone has imperfections.
I really enjoyed reading this post. Great work!
– http://www.thewordsofbeauty.co.uk
Very true! Thanks for your support!
Nobody is perfect. This is the type of messages that we need to see more often! So thank you for writing about it 🙂
By the way, I love how you combined the striped top with the skirt, I thought that it was a dress!
Fashionably Sparkly
Thanks! I love creating the illusion of a one piece with two pieces .. it looks so effortless.
Thank you so much for posting about this. No one should worry about their body being perfect especially after carrying an amazing baby in your belly for 9 beautiful months.
You’re absolutely right Sara .. and I’m so glad I have a little chubby bunny baby to show for it!
Such an inspiring post <3
http://www.sarmash.com
People need to stop putting so much pressure on new mothers to get back to their original weight. Like you said, it was that baby weight that helped your daughter safely into the world, so instead of being reviled, it should be respected! And like my mom used to say, “All in due time”.
In other news, your skin looks amazingly flawless. Seriously. Flawless.
–coffeeslag
coffeeslag: festival style
Thank you! I’ve been getting a lot of compliments on my skin lately .. looks like I’ll have to share my skin secrets soon !
Love your honesty. You’re gorgeous inside and out! I haven’t even had a child yet, but I already worry about my varicose veins. Trying to remind myself that all of us women need to be kinder to ourselves and each other!
Yes Grace! We have a no body shaming rule at the office & we tell each other we’re beautiful inside & out (:
You are a beautiful person Chriselle!
Thank you Sarah!
Instagram definitely makes all of us idealize the world around us and our memories as well. There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve but I like how you’re trying to appreciate what you have and embrace yourself along the way to achieving your goals.
-M
http://www.violetroots.com
Hi Chriselle,
Have always been a fan of yours, especially your youtube videos and love your sense of stye. I guess like most women today, we go through different stages of our lives and having a newborn (and fast growing) baby is a huge change to your life, being in the motherhood stage, as much as it is a huge challenge and responsibility, it is also one of the most rewarding experiences in life.
Though taking care of babies is such a long far away distant memory for myself now, but looking back, I am blessed that I have family around to help me out back then. I am happy that, today, I have two fast growing up young boys at home, and no longer requires that much of crazy FULL attention, nonetheless, calls for some other forms of nurturing and open communications.
As for body image, I have come to realize it works best for me to take it not so seriously, and just embrace what I have, as this is the only body we are gifted in this life time, and it is extremely precious. Of course, all women aspire in some way or another, to look our best, but we can only strive to be the best that we can be, and not beat ourselves up for it, to achieve that “perfect” body image that we are constantly bombarded with from the media and all.
Happy to see that you are taking a whole new perspective towards your new body and I am sure you will reach whatever goal that you set out to achieve.
Nice looking combo by the way! Love this pastel look.
Hope you are having a great week and are looking forward to unwinding during the weekend ahead! Keep those awesome video work coming, they are extremely well produced, can see much thought and heart (sweat and tears) have been poured into making each one of them *_^ I would know coming from a production background myself!
Big cheers,
Jeann
LUMINNEJ
Sunshine (and rainy) KL, Malaysia
Hi Jeann,
Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful message to me! I’m so grateful to have such amazing supporters like you! I’m glad my experiences as a new mother can resonate with you and I hope my blog & videos will continue to be helpful to you. Hope you have a great week yourself and thank you again for this message! It made me smile <3
Embrace those curves hahah, you always look amazing 😀
-Emily Kwok
http://www.monodays.blogspot.com
I’m working on it 😉
You look perfect!! Love ur sunnies!!
Xo
http://www.sweetsimpleday.com
You still look amazing to me Chriselle! How wonderful it is to know how your body has led to the life of another beautiful human.
I’m an NYC fashion and lifestyle blogger. Check out sustenanceandstyle.com for my adventures.
Looking for other bloggers to collaborate with as well!
Hi Stephanie, thanks for your support! & cute blog, I like your lip post! We just shot a lip post this week too .. watch out for it!
It took me about 9 months to get back to normal. I breastfed and started hardcore exercising regularly when my baby was 7 months old. No need to rush for the pre-baby body. It’s so much more important to spend time and love on your bébé.
Thank you Anna, I’m definitely enjoying every single moment of it. She’s getting so big already!
This is so beautiful, about how your curves represent the love of a mother! And, I agree to embrace our body while working towards our body goals. We need to give our body some love in order for it to be in a better condition.
★meilijourney.blogspot.com ★
Hi Vanessa, yes we definitely need to give love to our body instead of hate all the time! Embracing your curves isn’t easy but so necessary!
That outfit is great! Love the colurs.
http://fashionkings.org/
Thank you Denise!
It’s something I’m learning too. I’ve not had a baby but accepting my body is something I’ve had to learn and unlearn several times over. It is a rewarding and fulfilling experience though.
http://www.barbara1923.com
Lagos, Nigeria
I’m glad I’m not alone in this Barbara, thank you for your sweet comment! xoxo
Gorgeous just the way you are. You are one of the hot mama’s out there!
XO
Joyce
http://www.teawithmd.com
A dermatologist’s guide to health & beauty
Hah thank you Joyce! xoxo
Hi Chriselle,
Love your site! I was wondering if you could post the recipe from the smoothies you had in a couple of your snap chats recently?
Thanks!
Hi Ksenia, yes I will (: Stay tuned!
AWESOME DRESS
NEW POST ON SRS BLOG : ICONIC MOUNT FUJI
THANK YOU!
I know that you feel that you have to look perfect because you are in the public’s eye, however, personally, I think you look great. I think that any reasonable person who knows that you had a baby will never judge you on your body. On another hand, I really love that Jason Wu sweater. I have a soft spot for dainty sweaters.
One, thank you I’m learning that the public eye might not be as harsh as I sometimes think it might be, and I’m learning to be kinder to myself. Two, dainty sweaters yes. xoxo
OMG! It’s so true. Perfection is what God gave us…just being the natural you is all that matters! Congrats again on entering motherhood. Thanks for writing a post like this and opening up. I think it’ll inspire a lot of people!
http://www.dudettesedge.com
I hope so Viv! God loves us just as we are right? (:
I love the outfit! You look so beautiful 🙂
Everyone should love their bodies more.
Lots of love!
http://woodlandhalls.wordpress.com
Thank you Victoria!
Beautiful outfit, I love your purse!!
|| D I A N A ||
http://www.TheNeonFactor.com
Thanks Diana! It’s on heavy rotation right now.
You’re so right, we should except our bodies the way they are and not be blinded by the fake perfect Instagram bodies and lives..
http://www.fashionpartyblog.com/
Right? Thanks for your support! xoxo
you look great, extra pounds or not you will always be classy and elegant. I started my blog when I finally learned to accept my body and refuse to give up on dressing up just because of the curves 🙂
http://momochiclook.blogspot.com
Thank you Morena, being classy & elegant is not as easy as it looks! & cute blog! xoxo
you look very beautiful!
http://www.thefashionprincess.it/
Thanks Desiree!
You look great. Don’t believe a word otherwise.
xo, Alice / House of Inconnue
The Blog || The Shop
Thank you Alice, I wont!
Amazing post Chriselle! I really like the message, I hope many women will resonate with it 🙂
xo
Lucy
http://www.lucyvandean.com
Thank you Lucy, I hope so too!
Wonderful combination! Love the skirt and the shoes!
http://martasfashiondiary.com/
http://martasfashiondiary.com/
Thanks Marta! xoxo
I’m still trying to embrace my imperfectness almost two years post baby. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
It never stops right? We just have to accept it and be happy with where we are (: Thanks for your comment!
Love your thoughts! I find that it is so important to remember to love your imperfect self in this word that is trying to seem so perfect.
Love,
http://www.thestyleventure.com
Thanks for your comments Monika (:
The easiest way to achieve perfection is being real, honest and smiling from your heart. I think that you look gorgeous, and that’s because the camera captures all the hapiness and peace you feel right now, and not only phisical appearence. We only live once, we should give each matter its own importance! Hugs from Barcelona <3
Thanks for your support all the way from Barcelona! xoxo
The pressure put on women to appear perfect and act perfect all the time is so tough. I think it’s all about breaking this idea of what is perfect in our heads and remodelling it to fit our own standards. Body acceptance might take a lifetime as we’re constantly physically changing but having doubts and not feeling our best somedays is just part of the journey I guess. On that note, you are beautiful inside and out so don’t you worry !
xo, Charlie
http://charlieleschroniques.blogspot.fr/
Thank you Charlie, you’re absolutely right!
These sunnies are so cool!
Shall We Sasa
Thank you! I’m obsessed with the details in the frame right now!
lovely!
http://monkeyshines-monkeyshines.blogspot.com/
Thank you!
You look so feminine and chic. I love the color of your tops and also that Balenciaga bag <3
http://www.stepfromsteph.blogspot.com
I’m seriously keeping that bag on heavy rotation right now, it’s so perfect for every outfit!
Thank you for this post Chriselle! I am amazed that you have realized this so early on in your motherhood! I have 3 kids and have been a mom for 12 years and 3 months (coincidentally my eldest shares the same bday as Chloe!) It took me way longer to accept my post baby body and just recently I bought bigger jeans because I wasn’t going to let fitting into “those jeans in my closet” define me!
Thank you Karen, you’re beautiful and don’t you forget it! A mom of 3 kids.. that is amazing!
Beautiful looks !
http://www.fruityandpassion.com/2015/03/it-is-denim-thing.html#more
Thanks Diane!
i think it is wonderful that you are embracing your body. You look absolutely stunning.
Thank you Cara!
I definitely agree with this. In the grand scheme of things having the “perfect” body isn’t the be all and end all of everything and that’s true whether you’ve just had a baby or not. <3
The Quirky Queer
Hi Izzy, you’re absolutely right. At the end of the day we are all beautiful as we are!
Looking awesome hun! Love your skirt!
Carpet cleaning Hampstead
Thank you Agnes!
Way to go!! I love this post, very inspiring!
Kate
http://www.lamiabellavita.com
Thanks Kate!
Oh how I agree with you on every single word! Thank you for writing this kind of post, you have totally hit the spot!
I can’t believe when and why does it become so hard to just accept and love our bodies as they are!?
In my mind, you have never looked more beautiful and sensual than you do now!
http://lartoffashion.com
Thanks Natali, surprisingly a lot of people have been saying I look better post partum!
You look great! And it’s just human to not get back into the same shape as before having a baby!
Hi Liesa, thanks! & seriously!
you look absolutely amazing — it’s hard to bounce back after baby. The only reason celebs do it is because they can afford to have private trainers, nutritionists and the whole nine yards. I love this outfit and you look beautiful!
http://hashtagliz.com
Very true .. Thanks for your comment Liz, and your blog is great!
You’re perfect to me, Chriselle! Love the skirt on you ❤
munchies&musings
Aw thank you Rebecca !
You look absolutely PERFECT!:-) What a wonderful pastel top and all the whites! Love the skirt, have a crush on lace!;-) The Balenciaga purse is still my favorite!;-) Great shades too!
http://www.PurseFixation.com
Toast your Purse with an Outfit!
Fashion Advice, Events and More
Thanks! I’m wearing my Balenciaga almost every day, I’m hooked!