return to personal style

a postpartum tale

Prada hat / Bode dress / PDPaola earrings / Le Specs sunnies / Ilia tinted lip balm / Beauty Pie cream bronzer (a very very good alternative to the Chanel one) / Sensi Studio tote / Julietta necklace / The Row slides

Confession: even though I wrote an entire newsletter about it.. I still don’t know what to wear to my sister’s graduation next week. At almost 6 weeks postpartum, my outings have been limited. Save for one or two trips to my daughter’s school, some errand runs and a pedicure I have essentially been a shut in. Granted, this is a privilege of having a majorly supportive partner who’s taken on toddler duty while I recover (shoutout to my husband), but yeah… I kind of forgot how to dress for the ‘real world’ (that’s in quotations because every time I look at a news headline I feel like I must be living in a simulation). My go-to look has been an oversized vintage tee, these bike short things and fancy sandals. It’s been my only saving grace in a time where half my closet is too small and the other half is too big.

I blocked off my “me time” aka nap time yesterday to try on new purchases and old favorites and while it was fun to play dress up for a minute, feelings of frustration definitely surfaced. Some things worked great (this maxi and this sundress) while others left me feeling so awful I returned them first thing this morning. Am I on a first name basis with UPS? Maybe!

One realization from all of this- whether I’m pregnant, postpartum or neither I’m an accessory girl. Shoes and bags excite me more than clothes. I will spend on bags and shoes impulsively and make myself wait until a dress/skirt/top etc. goes on sale because those just don’t bring me as much joy! It is what it is. Maybe you’re the opposite or healthily in the middle.

Speaking of a healthy middle…. I feel like my newsletter content has been 100% shopping and low on the personal style lately (again, probably due to my shut-in status). I’m aiming to find a good in-between going forward because that’s where the real fun lies.

So…. here is a highlight reel of everything I bought that *sparked joy*.

Bode Maxi dress

Ciao Lucia dress

CJR halter dress

Sea fringe top

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BTW…

• Inspired by the official arrival of Summer, I snapped up this off the shoulder dress and a shift. TBD! I’ve found Staud to be a reliable brand for occasion wear over the years and their new arrivals are no exception.

• will be purchasing this keychain inspired by my daughter’s obsession with strawberries and couldn’t help but notice that their Hampton bag is the perfect size and shade of brown. While working on my most recent cool girls of Erewhon letter, I noticed a few guys rocking a pair of these! This little curved piece is still *classic* but funky enough for everyone to know you’re different! The comeback is real, people.

• Mentioned Your Friends and Neighbors in my last letter- rarely do I love a finale but this one was SO satisfying. Speaking of TV shows, I can’t wait to watch another season of And Just Like That for the plot outfits.

• My friend Elin of

  Bang Voyage
  is really cool and total Mom goals in a way where you want to be BFFs/see her closet/wonder how she looks so cool on outings with her toddler!

xx,Liz

More Bad Influence

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