Dealing with outfit issues: dressing for the bloat ► Suzy Turner

I’ve talked before about how difficult it can be to dress for the intense summer heat, but on this occasion not only was I dressing for the heat, but I was also dressing for the bloat! I often suffer with a bloated tummy, and it can be so difficult trying to find something comfortable enough that also hides a stomach that’s sticking out. Okay, perhaps I also suffer a little bit with paranoia (or body dysmorphia as Michael keeps telling me). ‘Your stomach’s not sticking out,’ he says. ‘You’ve just got curves, everybody has curves, nobody has a flat stomach!’. He’s probably right, but when you feel sluggish, you feel kinda sluggish and fat, right? You have to dress for that ‘feeling’. You have to dress for the bloat.

I had intended to wear a figure hugging dress (that I’ve owned for several years but haven’t yet had the confidence to wear), but whenever I looked down, all I could see was about a 5-month-pregnant-looking belly looking back at me so I duly took it off and reached for my security blanket instead: my jeans.

Then came the search for a top that would allow me to feel content and comfortable. Numerous tops strewn all over the room later, I settled on my favourite blue Quebramar top. I fell in love with it in the sales last summer and had to have it.

Not only is it a gorgeous shade of blue (which suits almost everyone) and has such a pretty sequin design around the bust line, but it’s also the perfect shape for when you’re dressing for the bloat. It hangs from the bust and flares out over the hips: perfect. 5-month-pregnant-looking-belly well and truly disguised. Result.

My trusty Tiffosi jeans, Primark leather sandals, H&M black handbag completed the look, along with this beautiful silver ring I inherited, a bracelet given to me by a beautiful friend of mine and these gorgeous silver ‘diamond’ earrings we bought from Macy’s in Florida last year. It’s a simple and comfortable look but one in which I felt dressed up enough for an evening out with friends, and it was a great evening out at that!