July 02nd, 2024

Just for fun, do you want to talk fashion today?  We haven't really talked about clothes in awhile and to me, fashion is fun.  I think it is for most people.  Well, perhaps unless you are in the industry where fashion is your livelihood, then maybe it's more stressful than fun, but since most of us are not a part of the fashion world, I think most of us would agree, that at least on some level, fashion is fun.

Not that I've ever been, in any way, fashionable, unless it was by accident.  Doesn't matter.  I still enjoy meandering through clothing stores, magazines, catalogues, youtube and other social media type videos and just seeing what there is to see.  I would love to be more stylish on a regular basis but gosh, who can afford that?  Honestly, the hardest part of always looking fashionable and "in style" is the cost.  Most  trends hit hard and then disappear so for folks who have the desire to always be au courant, there is a price to be paid.

When I was still working, I made a lot more of an effort for sure.  The the way I got around spending an absolue fortune on clothes was that I leaned hard toward the classics.  That way while I may not have been strictly In the Peak of Style, I also wasn't totally out of style either because the classics are eternal.  They can be perked up and made fresh with addition of one or two slightly trendier pieces, like truly classic trousers with a different, newer, more stylish top, or shoes, or jewelry.  It was fun to play with the things in my closet, combine them differently, come up with new fun ways to wear each piece.  I felt pretty confident that I presented myself well to the general public.

And then I retired.  And suddenly it didn't matter nearly as much how I looked every day and I guess I started slacking off in the fashion department.  At least part of the problem as my own unfamiliarity with the concept of casual clothes.  When I was working, I didn't change when I got home, I kicked off my heels, rolled up my sleeves, put on an apron and kept going.  Casual clothes were for weekends and most of the weekend was filled with errands, house chores and yard work.  High fashion not necessary!  Basically it was comfy  shorts or jeans and the least stained tee shirt in the closet.  Clearly once casual became my every day attire, changes needed to be made.   Even I could see that.  So over the past few years (since we moved to Florida) I have struggled to find my way. 

Now, multiple years down the line I have found that while of course I do own shorts and capri's, to my surprise I now own more dresses than I have at any other time in my entire life!   Childhood included!  When did this happen?

That rainbow of dresses spread out on my bed in the photo at the top of the page is every single dress I own.  And I am shocked that it turned out to be so many.  But I also love every single one of them and wear them often.    I'll start with the oldest piece:

The ubiquitous LBD or Little Black Dress.   This is the oldest garment currently in my closet. I bought it way back when we lived in Connecticut in some sort of thrift or 2nd hand or outlet type store (I don't recall which one).  It was two sizes too big at the time but I bought it anyway and then took the unprecedented (for me) step of actually taking it to a tailor to have it altered to fit me.  Why?  Well it's a great  dress.  Excellent Quality.  Evan Piccone as a matter of fact. And it cost me less than $10 bucks when I bought it.  And I have not regretted the purchase for even one second ever!  I've worn it as is, I've worn it with blouses underneath, sweaters or blazers over top.  With sandals, with flats and with heels.  It dresses up and down beautifully.  Obviously it has been worn and washed a zillion times as the colour is faded now. I suppose I could re-dye it black again to refresh it up. Or continue wearing it as is which is more likely what I will do.  I will own this and wear this probably for the rest of my life.  Quite the return on investment!

Second oldest dress in my closet.  I bought t his one in Colorado. Not positive where I found it but most likely, Kohls.  I bought a lot of Colorado stuff at good old Kohls.  Initially what drew me to this dress was the unusual colour combination - turquoise and chocolate brown.  Not the usual thing.  At the time I had two different pair of heels, one chocolately brown, the other were bronze slingbacks, that worked equally well. At the time I had a dark brown fitted, one button blazer that worked perfectly with it.  It was great for an easy peasy work day outfit but now the heels and the blazer are all long gone and because of that I've nearly put it in the donation bag a dozen times.  What saves it each time is how comfortable it is and how indestructible!  It's literally wash and wear and packs like a dream. A keeper for sure!

I bought both of these oddballs here in Florida.  The striped one, rather circus inspired I'd say, is so voluminous that normally I wear it with a belt and often with a button down blouse underneath.  The polkadot/flora also looks especially nice with this cantelope colour filmy blouse underneath. I know it sounds like it doesn't go, but it absolutely does!  Wouldn't it be very cute with a pink or red jacket?  Both are fine with sandals, sneakers, flats or barefeet!  Very Comfy but nice enough to wear when I work at the museum.  I love clothes that are flexible about their use.

How Very Tropical! ​Obviously, Florida Purchases.  The pink one I bought on a whim one day shortly after we moved here. I was walking down the avenue and a store that was closing had a spectacular sale going on - last day of!  I don't remember what I paid for it but it was a teensy fraction of the original cost. Love it with a denim jacket and 5 lbs less than I currently weight. dang it.    Oh I can get it on right now, just it looks a whole lot better 5 lbs ago.  Sigh.  The other one I bought for a wedding which sounds unusual.  Not in Florida.  An old friend of Tim's was getting married and it was a Tropically Themed Wedding. Everyone was supposed to wear Tropically Inspired clothes.  The pink one would have been perfect if the stars and my scale and my wishes were in alignment. But alas, they were not. So off we went to a local store and this one fell right into the cart.  The back is longer than the front so it has a kind of salsa feel that makes it even more fun!

It's Sparkle Time!  Love these two.  The gold and black one Joy gave me.  Originally it was hers but I think it turned out to be uncomfortably itchy to her. Luckily it wasn't to me!  Normally I wear this with a black pullover sweater over top and it appears that I'm wearing a sparkly skirt rather than a dress.  The blue one I bought to wear to Youngest sons wedding. And I have worn it a surprising number of times since then. Mostly Christmas Parties but still it's refreshing to buy something for one specific occasion and then be able to wear it other times and places as well.  It is dressy so clearly it don't wear it to the grocery store or to do yard work or scrub toilets.  But every fancy dinner or theatre visit or special holiday one of these babies comes out without a second's hesitation.

Grocery Store Treasures.  Hard to believe but I found both of these (different years) at my local Publix Grocery Store.  I don't know if ALL Publix stores carry clothing but ours does.  Maybe because we are a beach/tourist town?  Whatever the reason,  they were such good buys.  Each was less than $20 bucks. The blue one in particular is great because while it's a terrific summery sundress on it's own,  during the cooler months I wear it as a tunic over white skinny jeans and it's still awesome.    The green one, I think I was drawn to the colour more than anything and those fun little tiers in the skirt.    I wear a white tank top under it and sometimes a lightweight summer sweater overtop. Comfy, cottony, easy to care for, love them both.

bLast but not least, the new kid in town.  I did a little shopping over the weekend and this one came home with me.  It's linen, so nice and cool it's very lightweight and comfortable, floaty but not too loose and the design is so fun!  

There you have it. I own eleven dresses!  What?  How on earth did that happen?  Never thought of myself as a dress-wearing person on an ordinary day but it turns out they are so loose and cool and comfortable and honestly, nice looking. Kicks up my style a wee bit and that never hurts!

I have been writing for awhile now, my fingers are getting tired.  Originally I intended to include my new purchases from this past weekend (in addition to the light blue dress) but now I'm thinking, it'll just be Part Two which I'll put together another day.  Which day?  I don't know for sure, but it'll happen.  Stay tuned.