Not many people wear dresses as often as I do, and I think that’s a shame; dresses are amazingly versatile, and super-easy to wear. I’ve written about how to accessorize dresses a lot in the past, and I hope to do so more in the future.
love,
Janice
Dresses make me feel feminine, but finding dresses of an appropriate , flattering , and well below the knee length is difficult, especially if one's height/ weight ratio is not ideal…and that includes me! Please keep pisting lots of wardrobe capsules deaturing dresses. Thank you.
I'm with the two ladies immediately above. While I would love the versatility and variety of outfits that skirts and dresses afford, lower body weight and shape force me into pants, especially as I have gotten older –and heavier ! Darn !
I'm very sympathetic to the comments above about the look of legs and dresses / skirts. My legs are pasty, stubbly, and covered with prominent veins and broken blood vessels. My knees are knobby, my calves flabby, and my ankles prone to swelling. I'd rather not discuss my thighs. I hadn't worn a skirt or shorts or a dress for many years. However at some point in the past year I think I just decided that I don't care. See there was this series of critical business meetings in a hot city in high summer in a poorly air-conditioned office. Suits were required. My boss told me I was lucky I could wear dresses because they'd all be dying in the meeting in their suits.
So in preparation, I started shaving regularly and used a tanning lotion to keep the gams from being completely "dead fish" and you know, with some reasonable heels, and a knee length suit dress, it worked OK. Certainly I was one of the most comfortable people in the room, which gave me lots of confidence. Plus I found the exact right length for me. It's like magic how a quarter of an inch makes your legs go from "OMG she's got elephant stumps" to "the legs of a mid-40s woman who's there for business and knows she a professional." I will NEVER be a leg model, but hey, that's OK by me.
After all, my arms are equally pasty, hairy, flabby, (with knobby elbows and wrists too boot), but I still wear short sleeves.
The dress thing stuck a bit after the meeting and I started wearing more dresses and skirts. Bare legged in summer and with comfy woolen tights in the winter. I've also looked at the super-sheer stockings you can find at places like mytights.com as an alternative for when I want to look more polished without looking like an escapee from the 1980s.
So I guess I'm giving a shout-out to all of us without perfect stems. It's still possible to rock the comfy summer wear.
Ivy, I'm with you on noticing that just an inch or two can make all the difference in how a skirt or dress looks. I'll sometimes buy petites to get just the right length
Me too (even though I'm not technically petite). And I've recently started getting skirts tailored (even inexpensive ponte ones) and it makes a world of difference. I find that the skirt is completely uneven when laid out (longer in back shorter in front) but of course is perfectly even when worn. My tailor said that many people have one leg longer than the other and the tailoring makes the skirt hang evenly and looks much better.
I love dresses, too, and know how to style them for the office or evening. What I'm struggling with is how to pair dresses with ankle boots for a more comfortable smart casual look. Would you be willing to do a post showing us styling options for that?
If I wear dresses and skirts, they need to be past the calf and there are few options. I'm not talking about ankle length because that looks a bit ridiculous in the Florida heat. I have unsightly broken blood vessels and age spots, a lot of extra weight, and poorly shaped legs so short dresses and skirts are not an option. These reasons could be why other women don't wear as many dresses. And then there's the thigh rub (bike shorts!) and pasty skin (embrace!) issues. I've worn a lot of dresses and skirts in the past and still do but am leaning more toward pants in the future because suitable dresses are harder to come by.