Not mine anyway…
My mom didn’t wear dresses as she got older. In fact, the last time I can remember her wearing a dress was for my youngest sister’s wedding in 1984! And, I just happen to have it as well as the one she wore to my wedding. I have no idea why I have them! I do remember Mom having a white dress with a bold black floral print on it. When Mom was gone, I would pull that dress out and put it on. I was probably nine or ten at the time, and the dress didn’t even begin to fit. I cannot recall her ever wearing it. In 1971 or 1972, Mom and Dad went to Dad’s company Christmas party. She bought a white sleeveless dress with silver threading throughout it. It had a ruffled v neck and princess seams. I wish I had a picture of her in it. I wore it to my winter formal in 1973.
My dress history…
I didn’t go to Kindergarten. My school didn’t have one. The only one of the four of us who went to Kindergarten was my little sister. I’m only telling you that to give you a frame of reference. I am of the age when girls wore dresses to school each and every day. I also believe we wore the same dress for a couple of days running. This dress code was in effect, I know, until I was in fifth grade. One of my Christmas gifts was a “hot pants” outfit which was basically a pair of shorts with a jacket type top. But, it wasn’t until I was in sixth grade that girls were allowed to wear pants to school. Oh, I was so indignant over this abuse! We had to go outside for recess three times a day, and it was cold! We did have the option of bringing a pair of pants for recess, but we had to remove them afterward. So, I was not a fan of dresses in my early days!
More dress history…
Ironically, my favorite memories are of dresses my mom would buy for me. My “About Me” page tells about a very special dress my mom bought me. I also remember a tweed like jumper she bought me in sixth grade. When I was in seventh or eighth grade, I begged and pleaded for a maxi dress from the Sears catalog! It was two pieces, had a black background with an orange floral print. It never fit me right though I can’t recall why not. In fact, I looked quite a bit like a witch in it and was teased mercilessly whenever I wore it. Of course, I didn’t wear it very often which angered my mom. I don’t blame her because money did not grow on trees back then either! I don’t believe I wore dresses at all in high school with the exception of dances.
Young married life…
Nigel and I married soon after I graduated from high school. I worked at a large insurance company. The dress code would have been what we now call business casual. I mainly wore dress pants with tops and jackets. After my oldest was born, I was a stay at home mom until I started college in 1985…the year after my youngest turned one! I had a few skirts but not many dresses.
My teaching wardrobe…
When I graduated from college, there was an abundance of teachers in Indiana. I was lucky and was able to substitute teach for the spring semester as I’d finished my classes in December. The following year, I was able to fill a maternity leave for a special education teacher. I still wasn’t wearing dresses much at all. My first year of teaching ended in a RIF which in teacher-speak means Reduction In Force. I was devastated. I had the perfect job…fourth grade at the elementary school right across the street from our home. It was also the school I’d attended from first through eighth grade! I don’t believe I ever wore a dress to school that year. The following year I was hired as a special education teacher in the corporation where I’d spend the rest of my career. I was encouraged to dress professionally. It was at this point I began to add dresses, jackets, and skirts to my closet.
Retirement!
By the time I’d retired, I had a closet filled with dresses (mainly April Cornell). In those years I taught I realized dresses were (are) my jam (as the cool kids say). I love the wide variety of styles, the versatility in wearing them, and the ease. It has taken me a long time to figure out the right cuts, the correct fabrics, and the best types of dresses for my short waisted body. Do I get it right every time? Nope! There are times I buy a dress because I just love everything about it. And, it’s totally wrong for me! When that happens, I either wear it unknowingly (frequently happens), alter it so it works for me, or donate it.
Now…
These days, I try to refrain from buying dresses. They have to be really special to make the grade! I know there are bloggers who follow rules for new purchases. Sometimes, they have to be able to style something three ways or with three different articles of clothing. Other times, they take two things out of their closet for each new thing. I try to eliminate one similar item for each new one. In other words, if I buy a new dress, I’ll look for one to donate or give away. This is not a hard and fast rule for me. Right now, I have a few items on Poshmark, but they’re not moving. I recently heard of Style Encore which is part of the family of Plato’s Closet and Once Upon a Child. In the coming weeks, I’m going to explore this option.
All that to say…
I bought a new dress! As is my usual modus operandi , I just popped into J Jill to take a look at the new arrivals and peruse the sale racks. And, as is my usual MO, I just happened to make a couple of purchases. I also had to chat with my friends there! I was thrilled to see Amanda back! I swear there are no better sales associates than the ones at J Jill in Keystone! Trust me on this one! They will tell you if a color doesn’t suit you as well as find the one that does! Suzy is a master at this! Nancy knows my style and always makes suggestions! Shawn and Angie are absolute angels! But, back to this dress which is the color chutney, but I just think of it as rust! It’s an unusual color for this time of year (and the reviews reflect that). This dress is linen, and it wrinkles. If that bothers you, this may not be the dress for you! I am ok with wrinkled linen. While I am not usually a fan of patch pockets, these are so well done you hardly even realize they’re there. When I was trying it on, I immediately saw it with navy blue accessories and shoes. But, I don’t have any blue boots (I know, I know…that’s hard to believe), and our weather is back in the 30s! I am nothing if not flexible so green it was!
The Lewk!
As I was pulling this look together, I kept thinking I rarely put orange and green together because it reads too much like a pumpkin! But, that’s the route I took today! I pulled out my L’Artiste Waterlily boots which just happened to have a touch of rust on them. I added prasiolite earrings (eBay), a wrap bracelet from Victoria Emerson, a silver cuff from who knows where, two coil bracelets from Stella & Dot, and a long beaded necklace from J Jill. All of these things are old and have appeared on the blog countless times.
Not quite there yet, but…
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Wrap it up, Marsha!
As I was writing this, it never occurred to me I hadn’t always loved dresses! I laugh to think about the tiny closet Nigel and I shared in our second home! It was absolutely stuffed! There were a handful of dresses in it. Today, I have an entire closet full of dresses! The age of most of those dresses can be measured in decades, but I still love them and wear them. What about you? Are you a fan of dresses? Or, are you like my mom and don’t have a single one or very few? Please leave a comment. I promise I will reply! If you are a subscriber, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Please feel free to share my blog with your friends and neighbors!!
Where you can find me:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, My Bijou LIfe, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, The Grey Brunette, and Away from the Blue. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, Being a Wordsmith, and Mummabstylish. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I’m also a co-host on the Weekend Traffic Jam (here).
Hello Marsha from a new follower! (I live in Melbourne, Australia and am in my early 60s.) This dress looks lovely on you. It is a colour that is currently ‘on trend’ here at the moment. (I think they call it terracotta here..)
Welcome, Bronwyn!! I’m glad you’re here. I hope to visit Australia someday (well, doesn’t everyone), but I’m not sure Nigel would be up for the long distance travel! Thank you so much for the compliment! And, yes, it is definitely terracotta. I’ve never really thought about it, but I wonder how designers think about the differing seasons in the hemispheres.
I do hope you come back!
What a beautiful dress! Love the color and you accessorized the dress so well!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Thank you, Lovely! It is definitely an unusual color for this time of year in Indiana!
Love hearing about your dress history! 🙂 This one is lovely. I adore the color and that pretty necklace with it!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Thanks so much, Kathrine! I really had never thought about my own dress history until I started writing. The things we learn about ourselves through blogging, right?
This is such a cute rust dress on you! Mum always used to have us wear dresses when we were little, so I had my rebellious teen stage where I refused to wear a dress and was always in jeans, haha! Now I’m back to loving dresses – as an easy instant outfit for the “I don’t know what to wear” days, or the days I don’t have a lot of time with trying to get us all ready and fed and out the door, haha! Dresses might even be my favourite right now!
Hope you’re having a good week! Another rainy day here.
Hahaha! It’s funny because I rarely wore dresses when my kids were little. You are wiser than me because they are so easy when you’re in a hurry!
My daughter wore dresses all of the time when she was little. I used to make her dresses and tops in coordinating fabrics. The teachers always said she looked like she was on Little House on the Prairie!
I am not a fan of dresses; I mean I love them and I buy them but I rarely wear them. I just don’t find them practical for the style of life I lead. I would say I have a handful of dresses in my closet and I will wear a few in the summer or when we go on beach vacations but I never think of wearing them in winter even though I have a few sweater-weight ones. I’m the same way with skirts too; I think I own 4 and hardly every wear them.
I can understand that, Joanne! You have a busy outdoorsy life…dresses would be quite cold in the winter! But, I bet you’re gorgeous in the ones you do have!
I’ve gone back and forth with dresses over the year especially as I really only started to wear pants/jeans regularly once I moved out of my parent’s so dresses were not my favorite then. Nowadays though I am always on the lookout for new ones and I really enjoy wearing them. I am pretty picky about them though so I don’t often find ones that I love.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
It seems we have the same history in a way, Mireille! I am too quick to fall in love with dresses, I think!
I loved reading this Marsha. It’s always amazing to me how so many women DON’T wear dresses anymore as they get older. Even my mom who used to wear them a lot. I keep asking her why but I never get a good answer.
But my dress section in my closet has reproduced like no other (besides sandals). They really are a wonderful clothing item and it’s so much nicer when we have options.
Love that color and I love that you wear dresses too!!
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
I have come to realize, next to sweaters, dresses are my favorite item of clothing! You can do so much with them! I do have to restrain myself at times, but, as you can see, I do buy a fair amount of them!
The dress is such a yummy color! I think the green boots are great with it. I never thought “pumpkin.”
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Thanks, Michelle! I didn’t really think pumpkin with this look either. I guess it only occurs to me in the fall!! I’m a goof sometimes!
And I never liked to wear trousers! Don’t know why not. Because I could wear whatever I liked at school. The colour of your dress is just gorgeous.
Thanks so much, Nancy! I should have known you’d like it because it’s close to brown, right? I think I was convinced pants were more comfortable than dresses! And, some days they are. But, I do love wearing dresses and skirt!
Now you mention it, I don’t remember my mother wearing dresses beyond the early 70s. I can remember very clearly some of the dresses she had, and after dresses she wore some nice skirts. I haven’t been much of a dress gal, I could probably count each dress I’ve ever owned on 2 hands. But dresses really suit you, and you’ve picked a beaut for Easter.
I don’t recall my mom wearing skirts though I have her wedding portrait and I’m pretty sure she’s wearing a suit. I do love a dress! I think it’s because I don’t have to worry as much about where the skirt hits my short waist!
Thanks so much, Gail!
I was just having a discussion at work about not being able to wear pants to school until 2nd grade. And all of our clothes came from the Sears catalog too! Love the color of your dress and styling! Such a cute look!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Isn’t it funny to think back on those rules? Of course, now there are different rules! My granddaughter cannot wear anything that exposes her shoulders! I think that’s a little silly myself. But, I’m sure there is a reason why!
Thanks for the compliments! And, don’t you miss that Sears catalog sometimes?
Marsha, I absolutely LOVED reading this post. The history of your dress wearing is brilliant, and so fascinating how things have changed for you over the years. I buy dresses, and then they sit in my wardrobe for years with me barely even looking at them! I have quite a few that I just had to have lol. But I rarely wear dresses. Having said that, I wore one a few days ago, which I will share on the blog on Friday, and I’m wearing one on the blog today (but that was purely for the SIA post, I didn’t actually leave the house so it doesn’t count!).
Big hugs
Suzy xx
Oh, Suzy, thank you so much! I do have quite the collection of dresses! I have several that I keep for sentimental reasons…I do wear them occasionally…but the memories they stir up are worth so much! And, I have dresses I’ve never worn either…spur of the moment purchase, forgotten purchase, had to use the points/rewards purchase! I cannot wait to see Friday’s post now!!!