Getting reacquainted with a younger version of myself these days and that younger version was all about dreaming, creating, and playing with all of the dresses… so refreshing!
I grew up on old movies and I remember the first time I ever saw Ginger Rogers dancing with Fred Astaire in an old black and white film. Her dress did a deep v in the back and came to a point with a big bow, and every time she kicked her leg out when they would dance her dress would float up in the air.
It was magic…
I think that was the moment when I fell in love with fashion because it made me feel something.
Later, I learned that Ginger designed all of her clothes herself, with the intention of how they would look when she would dance and that only made me more enamored.
From that point on dresses were my jam. In fact, I would go as far as saying that I feel my very best and most me in a dress (or at least something that is flowy), which is ironic because I wear predominately jeans these days.
Something I’ve been thinking about though is why I stopped wearing dresses and there were actually some reasons that made me learn about myself:
- Capsule Wardrobes – I got rid of all my clothes about 4 years ago and paired down to a capsule wardrobe so I did not see dresses as versatile as basic tops and bottoms, especially because I didn’t really like the plain neutral dresses that would go with a lot.
- Wanted to be taken seriously – This seems silly to me now, but I have felt most of my life like I wanted people to listen to me and take me seriously, and well… dresses (I thought) are just not the most “serious” of the clothing bunch.
- Dresses made me “too much” – I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus here, but there were people/situations in my life that made me feel shame about wanting to express myself with clothing (in a normal and healthy way). So at times, it would make me feel bad about myself to wear something that was more than jeans and a simple shirt and I’ll just leave it at that!
I’m sharing this with you because I think it’s easy to accumulate untruths about the way we should live our lives and what’s interesting is that something as simple as clothing can really tell us a bit about ourselves if we take time to think about it. At least that has been my experience!
Mine showed me that I had too many structures (not that some structure is bad) that I put in my life and that I cared too much about how people received me or if they would judge me, and frankly those are all things that I’ve let go of and I’m just so thankful for that!
Now step by step I’m working to build up the dress situation in my closet because dresses to me symbolize so many things that I am. Free, playful, tender, beautiful, feminine, and not afraid to be seen! And they also are my first love in the world of fashion thanks to all those old movies I watched growing up.
This dress and these boots, in particular, are old but I’ve linked a few midi’s and white shoes for summer right here so you too can channel your inner Ginger if you are feeling it:
Necklaces
Coin Necklace Set | The Queen Pendant
Dresses
Vintage Inspired Midi (responsibly made) | Midi (under 50) | Similar Midi to Pictured Dress (under 30)
Shoes
White Booties | White Mules (under 50) | White Sandals
Mmmk time for a quick dance party…
So glad to be back in dresses and so glad to be growing and changing with each passing day I can tell you that much!
Would love to know – what is something that you’ve stayed away from in your closet for a long time that’s just sooo you? And have you ever asked yourself why?
So much love,
Mary Beth
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