Brighten Up Those Buckets of Rain

Cats and dogs?! More like tigers and wolves, the rain we've been having. Doing my hair is pointless, and any fabric that can't be wrung dry sitting in the car won't be of much use. Umbrella? Forget it, better to just make a run for it and hope for the best. With the heat, it is a bit like stepping into a shower each time I go outside, so obviously a raincoat won't help either. Instead, I grabbed the lightest, brightest, silky dress I own and made my own damn sunshine.

 

This is my second Diane Freis dress. There wasn't much I liked about 80's fashion, but I really like these dresses. They're flattering with a waist that can be worn drop, or on the natural waist thanks to an wide elastic band, the drape is attractive, and the sleeves, well...

You know how I feel about massive sleeves. I didn't need to do any housework or cooking today, so I made the most of my impractical dress. I probably won't need to cook for a week-I made about 100 vegetarian dolmas yesterday (lentils and rice work as a nice substitution for lamb) in another bout of stress-cooking. Rolling lentils in grape leaves is therapeutic in the same way that making dumplings is. I've often thought I missed out on a career as a factory worker-I'm really good at repetitive tasks. But not in big sleeves. You don't wear big sleeves to cook. You wear big sleeves to go to the craft store!

Wide eyed anticipation?

Relax, I'm just going to crochet some dishrags, and I needed cotton yarn. I do wish I were making something more exciting, as I have this great close up photograph of my eyeball. Don't worry, this isn't going to turn into some surrealist film...

Blondin! You get the hell off the birdfeeder!

Now!

Sorry. Got a bit off topic there. I had a successful trip to the Hand-Me-Ups store as well. The 17 yards of yellow polka dot fabric I had my eye on when it was $14.00 moved to the 1/2 price room, so I pounced. I also bought a vintage Donegal Tweed blazer, a velvet and Lurex suit (because obviously, I needed that), two vintage cardigans (one, Amana Woolen Mills) three vintage blouses, a couple of patterned tops, a pair of shoes, two wooden bowls from Hawaii, vintage embroidered napkins, a deck of old playing cards, a pin, and a boatload of clip earrings. The financial damage was minimal. I really do adore thrifting, I feel a little sorry for the suckers paying top dollar at department stores though. OK, I really don't.

 Outfit Particulars:

Diane Freis Dress (80's)-Goodwill
Madden Girl shoes-Goodwill
Necklace-Von Maur ages ago
Red bracelet-can't remember
Green clamper bracelet-K Mart
Earrings-Mum's, Mexican Shop, Evanston Illinois
Red tights-Walgreen's store brand (and they're terrific tights!)
1960's Lucite handle bag-A thrift store in Western Massachusetts years ago
Rings-here and there

 Funny story about the wedding band/engagement ring. A woman commented that it was beautiful today, and I told her the truth-it is glass. She couldn't believe it, so I told her, "Everything I have is fake, except THESE" and I grabbed my boobs. It took her a minute before she could let herself laugh, but she finally did.

 I like these shoes a lot, but I wish my Goodwill would stop writing the price on the bottom with permanent marker. There's a limit to how much thrifty pride I'm willing to display.

This is my other Freis dress, which has some lovely beading on it. I know these dresses are sought after nowadays, but I don't think I'm ready to part with either. I'm not a fan of purchasing for a label (though obviously there are exceptions) particularly if I don't intend to wear it. I try never to say, "never" but I hope to get some good wear and enjoyment out of these before I consider moving them along. Clothes that flutter as you walk are worth holding onto if for no other reason than they feel great to wear. As I've grown older, I'm less willing to be uncomfortable in clothing. I may not be ready for a pair of yoga pants (unless in the very unlikely situation where I might find myself doing yoga-that made me giggle at the mental image just typing it) and a pair of gym shoes, but I'm not willing to cause nerve damage from a pair of tight fitting jeans. Have you heard about that? People are getting numb patches on their thighs from the skinny jeans.

This dress took all of ten seconds to pull over my head, and I was dressed. I'd still be trying to pull up a pair of skinny jeans if I'd tried to wear them. With a pliers to close the zipper.

I'm off to do a ton of laundry, and start making dishrags (excitement!). Hope your midweek is treating you well.