The other morning, I opened the back door to let the dogs out, and my heart leapt with joy. It was the first time in months that I didn’t feel like I was hit in the face with a blow dryer the moment I was outside. I realized, with a smile, that my favorite time of year has finally arrived.
Full-figure fall is here, and it’s fabulous.
Look, no offense to “hot girl summer,” but in a world where under-boob sweat exists, I don’t want to be “hot.” Additionally, with my 40th birthday waving at me from the not-so-distant future, I don’t particularly care to be called a “girl,” either. I need a season that will embrace all of me for me, as much as I embrace it, and that’s exactly what fall does.
Fashion that’s Functional & Fabulous
As a full-sized mom with places to go and children to wrangle, I need a season that allows me to dress for both fashion and function.
My favorite fall fashion trend is actually one you can’t see: the full coverage bra. Over the summer, I saw an article specifically advertising dresses that you could wear a bra with. And yes, you could wear a bra with the gauzy, strappy, see-through frocks they were pushing, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Not unless you want your second grader to roll her eyes so hard she’d need an ophthalmologist to get them fixed. (“Mooommm! Your bra is showing again! It’s embarrassing!”)
But the best part of that advertisement was actually in the comments, where some young lady questioned why anyone would even want to wear a bra in the heat of the summer. After all, she reasoned, they are very uncomfortable.
Bless her heart.
Bras are not optional for moms like me. My loving sister once wore the cup of my nursing bra as a hat. With full-figure fall, in your decently cut tops suitable for the cooler weather, you no longer have to worry about slipping straps or flimsy coverage, and you don’t have to ridiculously defend your need to actually wear a bra. Instead, you can rock out in your seasonally appropriate attire in comfort, style, and support.
Fall also has other full-sized fashion perks. To start, you can wear wide-calf boots that are both sturdy and sexy. Tired of shorts that ride up? You can finally ditch them for the sweet, sweet coverage of denim. Want to accessorize with a cute scarf? Go ahead! You won’t melt (right away, at least), and you may actually need it…unless, of course, the Texas weather tricks us with “False Fall” that starts at 60 degrees one day and ends at 100 degrees the next.
She’s Alive!
Moment of truth here: I am just not as good a mother in summer as I am in the fall, and no amount of iced coffee will fix that.
In the summer, there is very little I want to go to or do. Sure, the pool or lake can be fun, but on an average day? Well, as one of my favorite stores so succinctly put it: “Please. DO not invite me to outside events. It’s hot and I’m fat.”
So, back at the beginning of August, with three digits staring back at me from my dashboard, every time my kids asked to go to the park, the answer was a cranky “no.” But, in the fall, with the weather just about perfect on most days, post-school park stops are frequent. Family bike rides also happen more regularly, as do trips to markets and fairs, sports events and general explorations. Fall means this full-figured momma is not just fun again, but also feeling like a human. I’m alive again!
And it’s not just about going out and doing anything, it’s also about doing specific things. Namely, watching sports and eating good food. Fall is the best season for sports. There, I said it. And with bathing suit season now in the rearview mirror, you can settle down to watch your favorite team. Or, load up your crew to cheer for them in person. (Geaux Tigers!)
Full-Figured Fall & Family Fun
Particularly this year, the excitement of being with my family for some family fun is something I’m looking forward to. After the forced isolation of the previous summer, summer 2021 was particularly chaotic. There were vacations, and camps, and long weeks spent at the grandparents that left this momma longing for a routine.
But with fall, family time can be the norm, whether indoors or out. The season of pumpkin spice is when you can get your cute family photos taken (in your full-figure fall-friendly wardrobe, no less!). It’s when you start making holiday plans, but don’t have the holiday crazies. It’s when “too hot to cook” gets replaced with homemade chicken soup, or stews, or even gumbo. And it’s when the night comes a little bit quicker, and cuddle time on the couch lasts a little longer.
And it’s when a momma’s heart, no matter the size, is a little happier.
