Red Check Pinafore Dress

It’s been a while since my last fashion post. This is mostly because I’ve been steadily putting on weight – largely because of the PTSD I’ve been experiencing, because of issues during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. However, I wanted to feel good about myself over the Christmas period. For my birthday, my Aunt gave me an Outfit gift voucher. So, I went on the hunt for an item of clothing that would make me feel good about my body again and came across this red check pinafore dress in Topshop.

TW: Mention of clothing sizes and weight gain, though not in detail.

I spotted this red check pinafore dress in my small, local Topshop and fell in love with it. Not only did the red give it a festive feel, it’s similar to my current ‘Mummy style’ but with a little twist. I knew I’d feel comfortable in it, that it would be practical for babywearing and that I would feel confident wearing it.

Made from corduroy, I love the combination of black, white and red of this pinafore dress. The silver buckles are a great contrast against the pattern and colours of the dress itself. One thing I would mention is that I haven’t yet been able to undo the buckles. So I’ve had to put the dress on over my head. I’m yet to work out if this is how the dress is designed or whether it’s just that my hypermobile fingers can’t manage the buckles because they’re stiff (or not – thanks hEDS!).

My clothes size is fluctuating at the moment, but when I bought this red check pinafore dress, I was a UK size 10-12. My local Topshop had both sizes in, but when I compared the two, the 12 was smaller than the 10! Unable to try the pinafore dress on because of the sleeping baby wrapped to my front, I bought the size 10 because it was the larger of the two.

Unfortunately, though I was able to get the size 10 on, it wasn’t very flattering at all! My postpartum tummy looked huge and I didn’t feel at all comfortable or confident. A week later I was in Birmingham, so popped into The Bull Ring Topshop to exchange my red check pinafore dress. The store had a size 14, but were out of stock of size 12. Elise was awake at this point, so I headed to the fitting rooms to try on the size 14. I was concerned that the 14 would be too big for me, but it was perfect around my stomach area – loose and comfortable without looking like I was wearing a tent. The top half was quite baggy (surprising with my larger chest), but I was able to adjust this by shortening the straps.

Seeing as I was looking for an outfit to wear over Christmas, I thought that having a little extra room on the skirt would be a good idea. I prefer to size up with the amount of sitting I do and you’ve got to take into account all of the yummy Christmas food when choosing outfits for the festive season!

I wore my Topshop red check pinafore dress on Christmas day and to a few other occasions over the Christmas period. I teamed it with a pair of black leggings, a long sleeved white t-shirt and my brown knee length boots.

When wearing Elise, I used one of two wraps – my size 3 Firespiral Asphodel Cirrus Seafoam wrap, which is a gorgeous mix of cream and off white, or my Firespiral Spindrift Twilight Seafoam size 3 wrap, which is a beautiful deep navy (that looks purple in certain lights) and off white, silver effect.

Size 3 was the perfect length for spending time with friends and family as it allowed me to get Elise wrapped quickly on both my front and back. It allowed for ‘popable’ front carries, which were ideal for getting to and from the car and when people wanted to have a cuddle with Elise. I found size 3 to be easy to have to hand when Elise wasn’t being worn too, as there wasn’t masses of fabric that needed folding.

This red check pinafore dress is now available in the sale for £25 on the Topshop website. It was originally £39. I’m really pleased with it and know I’ll be wearing it for many years to come.

I’m not sure this red lipstick was the best choice of colour to compliment the dress. But, neither was taking photos on a windy day! Haha Never mind.