Rediscovering the Girly Me

I’ve rediscovered dresses. Okay, so not fancy, like-we-use-to-wear-to-church dresses. You remember those? They required ironing and pantyhose? No, not those dresses. I’ve found sundresses. Cute, knit ones that have an empire waist and come in fun vibrant colors and patterns. This is news only because I haven’t worn a dress in ages. It isn’t that I’m not perfectly feminine, I totally am. I’m into all things girly. But when you work at home, it’s hard to motivate yourself to dress up much.

My “go to work” clothes are pretty much the same every day—yoga pants, a tank top, and a hoodie. The only thing that changes is the length of the yoga pants—long for fall and winter, capri-length for spring and early summer, and yoga shorts for hot summer days. I counted them the other day. I have 5 pairs of yoga pants, 4 pairs of yoga capris, and 5 pairs of yoga shorts. All the same color—black—and all the same fabric and basic fit and design. This isn’t a coincidence, they all came from Land’s End and they’re called Performance Sport pants. They’re the best, most comfortable pants/capris/shorts ever! These things wear like iron, never sag at the knees, and have kept their shape through three years of regular laundering, so of course, they’re currently no longer available. Rats, anyway! That always happens to me. Falling in love with an article of clothing is the kiss of death. Once I find anything at all that I adore, suddenly, it’s no longer available. They just stop making it. So I’m a little wary of telling you about these sundresses.

Oh well, I’ll tell you anyway because these are too cool to keep a secret. When I was at Walmart the other day, stocking up on shampoo, cream rinse, cleaning supplies, and coffee filters, I found a truly darling sundress—brown with big pink flowers on it–a simple tank-style top, empire waist, and a lightly gathered skirt that hits me right above my knee. The best part? (I mean, besides the price tag.) It looks terrific, even on me. I say “even on me” because I’m rather…shall we way…bosomy. Not a complaint–I like that I’m well-endowed, but it doesn’t always work well with empire waists. It just happens that this little dress works–big boobs and all. I loved it so much, I bought three more in different patterns/colors–white with blue flowers, navy, and hot pink. Yes, I know it’s the same dress in different fabrics, but they’re so cute and comfy and they look so great, who cares?

I’ve worn a dress on a couple of different occasions this week. How lovely it’s been to feel dressed up without doing the whole pantyhose, heels, fancy-schmancy route. It looks like I’ve gone to some real effort when all I’ve done is toss on a sundress. I’ve always thought wearing dresses all the time was something only old ladies did. But hey, maybe my grandmother was on to something. These dresses are cool and comfortable and I’ve gotten loads of compliments on them. It’s funny, but wearing these feminine, pretty sundresses has made me stand taller, walk straighter, and has even put a little swivel in my step. I’m likin’ it. This may be my summer of the sundress.