I've been a little blue lately. I don't want to go into it at length here, but I'm just sort of feeling a bit crushed under the day-to-day. Anyhow, I've been looking for ways to improve my outlook. And I know it may seem silly, but one of the things that always improves my mood is a good outfit. Getting dressed has always been a creative act for me, but lately I've really gotten stuck in a frump rut. You know, same old jeans, same old t-shirt, same old cardigan. So I have challenged myself to dress up during the days. Yes, I know, I'm a stay-at-home-mom, and no one besides my kids and the occasional random service perons really sees me during the day. But never mind! For at least a week I'm going to get dressed up. UP I tell you! Into something fun, and impractical! Something I'd gladly wear to a gallery opening or to meet a fabulous friend for tea. A good outfit.
And luckily, it is the Hallowe'en season. My favourite thing about getting ready for Hallowe'en is doing a little thrifting because stores like Value Village and The Salvation Army collect items all year long that they classify as "costumes" and then put them out during the month before Hallowe'en. They may call them costumes, but I just call the clothes. There are often some stellar vintage pieces in there among all the old figure skating costumes and cheap hallowe'en capes. Anyhow, here's an awesome little dress I picked up at our local Salvation Army.
I can totallly see how this could be a Hallowe'en costume (evil dolly comes to mind, just needs some striped tights, crazy make-up and pony tails, and yer done) but I also think its just an adorable everyday dress. I've paired it with some thick red tights, and a pair of short high heeled boots that I got from the Value Village a couple of weeks ago.
I know, right? So cute. And they were $9.99. Can't beat that with a stick. I have been wearing the heck out of these this fall.
Also, this dress is amazingly comfortable - very fitted in the shoulders and neck, but no waistline to speak of, so there is plenty of room for breakfast. And second breakfast. And elevenses.
The fabric is really lovely, with two differently scaled, but otherwise identical dot prints. What you can't see in this photo is that there is a very light stripe, in a softer shade of black, running in the background between the dots. Its a really nice effect. Also, I adore the tiny collar.
This dress is not that old - I'm gonna say probably the early 80's - but what I love about vintage stuff (and find sadly lacking these days in the ready-to-wear market) is good detail. Note that the bib/frill thing is carried right around to the back of the dress. My pet peeve when I'm in stores these days is items that only have the detail on the front. Like sequins or embroidery that don't carry around to the back. Total cheap-out. And this one has a nice little set of hook-and-eye closures that help the collar to lay just right in the back too. The label says "Morine", which doesn't ring any bells, but that is neither here nor there. I've already worn this dress out once, and then around the house yesterday, and I'm sure I'll get much more wear out of it than that. Not bad for $5.99!
But more importantly, it made me feel happy. The flounce at the bottom flairs up beautifully when I run down the stairs, and it made me smile. You really can't ask for more from a dress than that.
You look fab!! Such an eye for clothes!I am jealous---shopping is my worst possible chore; and you come out of VV looking fit to kill!!
Posted by: Leni | 10/31/2013 at 10:18 PM