Wednesday, June 20, 2012

(Over) Dressed for the Occasion

I'm a big fan of historic movies where they all have horribly boring lives, but always stick to the requirements of society, and make "dressing for dinner" look like so much fun. Women had a dress specific to every occasion, whether it be for afternoon tea, riding a horse, or evening wear.

These days, society requirements have become a bit more casual, but we still have clothing specific to an occasion, and most people want to be in line with what everyone else is wearing. Well, after an experience I had today, I say it's time to step up the formality and let the jeans take a vacation.

I wore the Fantasia in red brocade to an appointment today. On my way home I decided I better save myself a trip and stop off at the grocery store. At first I felt a bit conspicuous walking up to the door with my long fish tail train swaying behind me, but before I could even pull out a grocery cart, a woman leaned over and said "Beautiful Dress!" I smiled and said thank you. As I looked up, I could tell right away this was going to be a different shopping experience. Right away, people made eye contact, nodded, and smiled at me. I didn't even make it to the produce when an employee asked me if I found everything alright (there is nothing in my basket yet!). As I make my way through the busy store, men step aside for me, women are friendly, and employees are exceptionally helpful. In my 30 minutes there, I received 4 compliments centered squarely on what I was wearing. Then I locked my keys in my car (that's another story altogether!). While I waited for my husband to come to the rescue, I contemplated on how what I was wearing completely changed my experience.

In the midst of my contemplation, my husband drives up. "I unlocked it for you...and by the way" he says "....you look lovely!" That makes 5!

4 comments:

  1. You are so right about how people react when you are well dressed. It's kinda fun! I love your dress--it is just lovely.

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  2. I love the dress and the reactions you got. When ever I/we (my "soon to be" and I) are out in our clothes (1950s) we always get gawked at. I get asked if I am in a show (the side effect of living in Vegas I suppose) or a play. I always love the, 'Do you normally dress like this?' Glad you had a much pleasant experience.

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  3. What a sweet story. And that dress is beautiful but better yet is how it helped your beauty to shine. We all should feel better when we 'dress up'. A few weeks ago I had a funeral to go to in the middle of my 12 hour work day and I was fortunate enough to get off for a few hours to go. I was in a bit of a rush getting back so I walked the halls of our hospital in a dress and high heels. A coworker I've known for 17 years was walking toward me and I could tell it took several double takes before I was recognized. So dress up, add a scarf, a pin, some jewelry and just watch the reaction of others. What fun!

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