Casually Dressed Up
April 17, 2009
Casually dressed up? “Getting dressed up is such a pain,” you say! You’d rather be dressed to the nines or wearing something closely resembling pjamas than find a happy medium that says you care about your appearance but isn’t overwhelmingly foppish and stiff in appearance. It’s hard, I know. So how about wearing a dress?
I can hear the boos now. You thought I would have stuck to jeans and a t-shirt with a piece of jewelry thrown in? Maybe, possibly, a denim skirt, but a dress? That’s going too far, dresses are fussy and impractical! Are they?
A dress can feel as casual as shorts and a t-shirt but makes a far greater impact on the wearer and those who see her wearing it, because a dress is the quintessential feminine garment. It makes you feel and act like a lady and you’ll find yourself being treated like one, too. If you came to this fashion blog expecting me to only post about outfits that are jeans and pants and clothing items that hide a girl’s femininity, you came to the wrong place. I encourage my readers to embrace their God given femininity, not by only wearing skirts and saccharinely sweet clothing pieces, or immodest styles, but by wearing mature and feminine clothing that is an expression of their femininity and personal style.
The key to wearing the quintessential feminine garment and not feeling silly or overly dressed up is in the material of the dress and the accessories that you pair your dress with. Choose a day dress that is composed mostly of washable, durable cotton or a sturdy jersey/viscose blend. In keeping the style casual, choose soft leather flats, or flat sandals (not rubber flip flops), a laid back jacket, such as a military, or denim jacket, a casual canvas/straw tote, and an accessory or two, like a watch/bracelet, and a scarf.
The above items are mostly from Boden, an English clothing co. that has an online store that sells to the U.S. I have bought several items from them now and have never been more impressed in my life with the high-quality fabrics, patterns, and construction of their garments. If their prices are a bit steep right now, wait around for a few more months and they will have a fabulous sale with affordable prices on all their summer stock.
