D is for Dress


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This week is the letter D.

I love Dresses! I’ve always been a girly girl and nothing makes me quite as happy as getting dolled up in a pretty dress. Here I am all fancied up for the red carpet at a movie premiere with my granddaughter, Trinity:

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When I was younger (and not yet an old grandmother with arthritic feet) I was an edgy dresser. You probably can’t imagine that can you? Okay, so maybe you can. I was shopping at vintage stores and wearing recycled clothes before it was cool. I loved mixing odd items such as a boy scout shirt with a fluffy green skirt. Yeah. That was me. The weirder the better.

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I love unique shoes, too!

You can see some of my strange taste in clothes on my My Style Pinterest Board.

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I wish I knew how to make this!

I’d still dress weird if I could get by with it, but as a pastor’s wife, I have to tone it down a bit. There’s still a side of me that loves strange fashions. Thankfully the side that likes pretty dresses has won out in my old age.

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Polyvore.com is a great site for putting together outfits for your book characters as well as yourself!

When I’m writing a story, I enjoy choosing what my heroines are going to wear. In my current work in progress, Flora Jean has the opportunity to wear beautiful gowns. I base all my fashions in the book on actual pictures I’ve found of clothing from the era. If a dress I love isn’t exactly from the right date, I change the description of it to fit the date but still use the colors and the idea of the dress. I have her dresses sent from France, so I’m able to use that as an excuse for the dress to be a little more ahead of the typical fashion of the 1830s or more unique as they are made by exclusive designers.

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Flora Jean’s first dress

I find it fascinating that the iridescent colors of the beads in the dress above are made with fish scales on the inside of glass beads, don’t you?

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1830s fashion

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I would so rock this vintage gown! Okay, maybe I wouldn’t, but I’d sure like to try!

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Simply gorgeous! I’d love to know what it feels like to wear this!

I have several other Pinterest Boards that include beautiful Dresses from the past:

Vintage Clothing

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Research

Pandora Dolls (These are antique dolls wearing authentic antique styles. Wealthy ladies had them sent to them with the latest fashions and that’s how they shopped for the new season’s clothes.)

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What is your favorite item of clothing to wear (besides pajamas!)? If you could wear anything at all to a fancy event, what would you choose?

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 Tweet this: What’s your favorite way to dress?

 

 



Comments 12

    1. Post
      Author

      I admit that my favorite way to dress at home is PJs. Or at least stretchy, clothes like tights and a big roomy shirt. Never anything constricting! But I can’t kick the “going out in public” paranoia. Gotta look good! And like Grandma always said, “it hurts to be pretty.” The older I get, though, the less concerned I am about pretty and the more I prize comfort. I just invested in some ugly shoes because they are soooo comfortable. I’m wearing them today as I’m subbing for a science teacher at the high school. When it comes to being on your feet all day–comfort trumps glamor!

    1. Post
      Author
  1. Oo-oo-oo! I love the pink beaded dress. Stunning. J’nell mentioned Scarlett’s dress. Anyone remember the Carol Burnett spoof of the dress? Howled laughing at that skit.

    1. Do we have to keep our current bodies or do we get to pretend we have a modified form for this fancy event? This 5’2 & shrinking bod [it’s true, I measured myself the other day :(] would love to wear some of those dazzling red carpet thumbs-up-list numbers, but… I’m stuck in reality. I’m currently in my sweat pants & sweat shirt (it’s barely 40 outside) but I’m dreading life in about 10 minutes that will involve me changing into “real” clothes because I have to go into my son’s school today. I can’t be a total fashion-slacker. I am mostly slacking, but even I have standards. No pajama pants in public <– that kind of thing.

      1. Post
        Author

        Exactly! If I had any body I wanted, I’d definitely be making some different clothing choices. LOL. And I can’t wear PJs in public, either, although a lot of people around here do.

    2. Post
      Author
  2. Favorite thing to wear would be ruled by comfort. I like a sweatshirt and knit pants for around the house—anything stretchy and soft. As far as what I’d like to wear, that lovely pink confection that Flora Jean wore would be wonderful. However, these days, I usually wind up having to settle. I have an idea of what I’d like to wear, but I have to find what looks most flattering. Trying to bring those two factors and budget together can be a chore!

    1. Post
      Author

      I am the same as you, Kathy. What I’d love to wear would look silly on me. So I have to settle for budget and granny styles. I think I’ve finally come to terms with it, though. I shocked myself the other day and dressed for comfort rather than style. Big change for me. I guess it’s a sign I’m getting old.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  3. Oh my, that blue dress is gorgeous! Its the reason, I clicked on your post to read it first. LOL
    My all-time favorite dress is comfortable clothes, meaning sweats in the winter or cotton shorts and T-shirts in the summer. But to get dressed up? I simple adore fifties fashion. I’d wear a June Cleaver dress every day of the week if I could afford to. They’re so stinkin’ expensive!!
    Fun article. 🙂 I’m all into vintage, and if I was brave enough I’d wear weird clothes too!

    1. Post
      Author

      April, I love 50s clothes! LOVE them. I admire people who dress like that all the time. At the last writing conference I attended several young writers were dressed in ’50s garb and it made me long to be young again!

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