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The dress is made of polyester and spandex, meaning it will show every bump and bulge. It’s pretty short for me - above the knee, and together, these factors limit where I can hide the pump. I can’t clip it on my bra because it’s too tight on top, even though the neckline is high. The length prevents me from wearing it in a slip pocket. But what attracted me to this dress and keeps me pulling it out of my closet (it’s an oldie but a goodie) is the rich color palette and distracting swirl pattern. So where’s my pump?

I’m glad you asked! I wore it in the “arm holster” around my waist.

We celebrated my mom’s birthday tonight and that is an occasion to get dressed up. I’ve had this lil number in my closet since Spring and have been waiting for the right time to make its debut.

What immediately caught my eye was the unique design of this dress. The dress has this extra layer of fabric that drapes very delicately over the front.

If you have been following my “where’s my pump?” series, you’ll know that one of my favorite tools is the pump clip, and that’s exactly what I used with this dress. Can you tell?

And just for fun, here’s a pic of me and the birthday girl.

Growing up, I used to watch MacGyver and was blown away by how he could find a creative solution out of crazy life or death situations. (I also thought he was super cute!) Well, not to be over dramatic, but I had a pretty tricky situation because I really wanted to wear this dress today:

… and I did. The tricky part is that this dress is unforgiving. First of all, it’s low cut, so I couldn’t just clip my pump to my bra like I have been doing lately. Secondly, it’s very fitted on top. 98% of the time when wearing a dress, I can simply wear a slip with a pocket sewn into it, but this dress is very fitted and none of my slips are that snug, so you could see the waistband of the slip through this dress. Heck - at some angles, you could even see my belly button. What to do…

Well, months ago, I ordered this from Pump Wear Inc:
It’s an under the arm holster. I thought the concept was fascinating, so I ordered one and it turned out not to be so great. There’s a little snap at the top of the strap to secure it to your bra strap. At the bottom, there is velcro on either side to keep your pump secure and for you to be able to wear it under either arm. The problem is that unless you are wearing a huge baggy sweatshirt, you can see this flap and the outline of the pump under your clothes. Not to mention that there’s nothing that keeps the pump close to your body so it’s flopping around under your arm. Needless to say, I was very disappointed in this purchase… until today. You see, the arm strap is made of a very strong elastic. So I put my MacGyver thinking cap on and tried slipping the elastic around my waist and guess what? It fit! In fact, it was nice and snug, and I just let the pump rest on my thigh.

This is how I wore it underneath my dress. I’m super excited about discovering how versatile the holster can be, because if I’m wearing a dress, chances are, it’s warm out. Wearing a synthetic slip is essentially adding another layer, and not always the most comfortable option when wearing a sun dress on a hot summer day. So there ya go! With a little creativity, I re-purposed the arm holster and found a clever way to wear my pump with fitted dresses!

My dog was being a total goofball when I snapped this pic, but I like the way it turned out because it’s almost like I’m laughing at my readers, daring you to figure out where I’ve hidden my insulin pump. Well, I am sure it comes as no surprise that it’s clipped on my bra again, but part of why I think this series of posts is interesting, is that I am sharing how the design of the dress makes it easy to camouflage the pump.

First of all - the dress! I bought it at MERCY Vintage Now, this great little shop on Piedmont Avenue, and all the ladies who work there have killer style. This dress was actually really long - try mid calf, and when I slipped it on over my clothes, I asked someone if I was just swimming in stripes. They wholeheartedly agreed that yes, I was, and that it really needed to be shortened to my knees. So I bought the dress, took it home, my sweet husband even tried helping me pin it, and I promptly cut off all that excess fabric. I used no-sew hem tape leftover from my IKEA curtains to finish the job, and voila!

It’s such a versatile dress. I’ve worn it with pearl earrings, a yellow cardigan, an outrageous red belt (where the buckle is actually a woman’s face - also purchased at MERCY Vintage Now) and darling peep toe gold shoes for a very retro look. Today, I decided to go for a more casual look - (and a little more punk rock) with my new Dansko booties and sans belt.

Once again, I am able to clip the pump to my bra because of how loose the bodice is. The stripes that converge in the middle also create an illusion so that the bulk of the pump is virtually undetectable. I could also have worn a slip with a pocket which would be equally comfortable.

This dress had me at hello. I found it at Marshies for just $14.99 and at first, I was a little skeptical about where I’d put my insulin pump. The material is thin and just drapes on my body, so I didn’t know if it would make its way into my closet, but happily, it did. (I love that my dog is striking a pose with me.)

So can you see it?

The pump is conveniently clipped to my bra using this little clip. This clip is fabulous because it adds virtually no bulk, and the the dress is just “drapey” enough to camouflage the pump. Score!