Our friends are getting married next week, and so I went out to the shops in search of a dress to wear. My criteria were simple, or so I thought.

1. Fits well

2. Classic style (ie: I’ll wear it again sometime)

3. Not White

4. Not Black

5. Comfortable and summery

I went out during lunch hours and after work, I looked in the high street shops and down the side streets. I tried lots of things on, even things I wouldn’t normally think to wear. And oh, the frustration! Apparently every woman must look like either a pastel-pink 50′s housewife or a slinky patterned fluffy ruffle. I did find one dress that made me fall in love with my reflection: a dark teal green silk dress cut in a retro 20′s style, with a round neck with only the most tasteful ruffles, and a knee-length slightly asymmetrical skirt made of several panels of fabric stitched together, which created a lovely wavy texture in the skirt without overdoing the ruffling. And it fit me like a glove. Price tag? €425. Oh, the pain!

With rising panic I went out at lunch yesterday, determined to find something, anything. And I found a dress quite unlike a dress I would normally wear: pink and green, patterned, strapless, and cut in a 50′s style. But the combination of the cut, the particular pattern of the fabric and the tone of the green makes it absolutely adorable. What gets me is that I couldn’t escape the tyranny of fashion. When the fashion houses decree that the 50′s have returned, that means that they have returned with autocratic force. No other affordable, wearable style exists in the shops. A small bonus, I guess, is that I have discovered there is something flattering about the return of the natural waistline. But do I believe the time has come for me to bring out my sewing machine more regularly, time to learn how to draw patterns and create my own style.

Filed under:
Uncategorized by michelle