Feminine vs. Feminist

I saw a meme posted to facebook with the saying "Feminine is not anti-Feminist".

I immediately loved it!

Part of this weird experiment of mine is to examine if being/dressing more feminine influences the stereotypical idea that dressing more like a woman promotes misogyny.  In the relatively small time I've spent in a dress, I have found that in many ways it has been empowering.  I think that is why the above saying resonates with me, and I am not alone in this assessment.  While talking with a school teacher and me explaining why I have been so dressed up lately, she also said that she feels more powerful when she is in a dress.  Curious.

Could it be that accentuating the differences that define us from our male counterparts, is one of the things that can be used to gain favor?  And, is that anti-feminist?  I don't know exactly.  I do know that there are inherent physical differences between males and females, and I also know that women are every bit as capable as and should be afforded every opportunity that a man is.  Does ignoring those differences have to be a prerequisite to being a feminist?  Choices placed before women should be every bit as broad and available and we, as women, need to celebrate every opportunity to choose - even if that choice is made while wearing a dress!!

This was my dress for Monday.  It's actually a jumper that I have worn before.  I just added a vintage sweater over the top.  Either the dress was a little too bulky or the sweater a little too small.  I just ended up looking a little frumpy.  I do like the idea of throwing a sweater over the top of a dress.  It's a nice way to stretch your wardrobe.  Don't you love how the plaid and it's placement makes me look like I am expecting?  No worries, it's just a food baby.

I've also worn this gray jumper before.  I just switched out the blouse underneath.  I love this thrifted, orange, polka-dot, tie at the neck blouse.  It's everything I love all in one piece.

This is a dress that I made a few months back and today was the first time I've worn it.  It was made from a vintage pattern that I found.  I, personally, love it, but it is a little outside the norm - even by today's standards.  I spent the day with my friend, Wendi, and my oldest daughter, Emilee.  As we walked around City Creek, I couldn't help but feel out of place.  I think maybe this dress is better suited for another place/time. 

Choosing

Let's just start off by getting dresses for the past couple of days out of the way.  Thursday was Hannah's senior night for basketball.  I was aware that I somewhat had to look more "normal" in my dress so that when we stood in front of the crowd, I wouldn't embarrass Hannah.  

I am not sure that this qualifies as a dress.  It is meant to be a dress, but at my age, I think this would be categorized as a long shirt.  Thank goodness for leggings.  This whole outfit I bought new at Forever 21 in Vegas.  I first spotted the dress with a bow at the collar and once again, had to buy it.  I also have a weakness for polka dots and well, it seemed to pair nicely, so I just had to purchase them both.  I do like this outfit a lot.  It might be a little young for me, but my inside is much younger than I appear.  Did I just admit to being immature????

*FYI - Hannah had an awesome senior night.  She was high point man for the game.  What a way to end her high school basketball career at home.

Friday was mostly spent doing the mundane.  I have been longing to go see the Hobbit and suggested that we catch the early movie that evening.  It is a rare thing not to have somewhere we HAVE to be.  My offer was met with mixed emotion.  After being gone so much, it's hard to be motivated to do anything but sit at home.  I was a little disappointed by the reaction I received.  David went out to chore and I shortly got a call to "Go get ready.  You deserve a night out."  So that is exactly what I/we did!  It was nice to spend the night together as a family having fun.  Truth be told, I was actually disappointed in the movie, but never in my man's willingness to go out of his way to make me happy.  Love ya, David.

 Aside from my cardigan and leggings, the rest of my outfit was all thrifted.  Even the boots were a hand-me-down from my daughter's friend.  Are you ever too old for hand-me-downs?

Now, in the spirit of being truthful, Saturday was super hard for me.  It sounds apocalyptic, doesn't it?  It kind of felt that way.  I have to admit it was the first day that I've truly HATED wearing a dress.  I didn't love what I was wearing - maybe that is why it slipped my mind to take a picture - and as I sat and looked at all of the normal ladies around me in their cute levis, I felt frumpy, dumpy, and like the rotten apple in the basket. This feeling hit me mid-afternoon during Herman's basketball game.  It would have been okay if after the game I was headed home and could hide, but we had a reception to go to and then out to dinner.  I hated being seen in public.  It probably sounds superficial, but it overshadowed the nice events that I was attending and I couldn't wait to go home and get into my pajamas.

I am pretty determined to try and wear a dress everyday for as long as possible, but I can still choose to be done whenever I want.  Part of this experiment for me, is to try and understand those ladies that by religious or cultural beliefs are made to wear a dress everyday.  I understand that it is still ultimately their own choice whether or not to wear a dress, but is it really more a consequence of a much bigger choice......or possibly a lack of choice, just by being born into the circumstances that they are?  It takes a very strong person to change that in which they were born into and define it for themselves.  To choose something that is beyond the scope of what is expected can be brutally painful and isolating.  I spent a lot of time thinking of  these ladies and wondering what I would do if I were in the same situation.  Would it be worth the social backlash to own that decision or would it be easier to just work through the confinement felt by certain aspects of belief?  Then, I was at least grateful for the freedom of expression that I have through my own dress wearing.  I can wear a long dress, a short dress,  or a very colorful dress.  I am not held back by religious or cultural constraints in any way.  Although I do realize that my age can be a barrier in some forms of expression when it comes to attire.

Just my thoughts for today.  As I sit in my house coat and watch the snow come down, I am happy to know that whatever attire I CHOOSE to wear, I am at least free to do so.  It is my choice and I am grateful for that.  Choosing to continue this crazy psycho-social experiment is not always going to be easy but trying to understand and examine something new usually isn't.  So for now, I am going to press on, regardless of how frumpy and dumpy I look.

Thrifted Thursday

Over the last week, I picked up a few treasures at my local thrift store, so as promised, I will share.  My first find was this red geometric print dress.

The fabric is pretty light weight, so I won't be wearing this anytime soon.  It's just too cold.  I am thinking about adjusting the length a little and pairing it with a white belt just for fun.  We'll see.

Here's a photo of the collar.  I love it just because it is so different.  I also fell in love with the retro buttons.

I also picked up this sunny yellow dress.  

It has this really cool cut work down the front.  Once I got it home, I tried it on with a wide red belt and was really happy with how the belt transformed the look.  I just need to find something to put under it or.....oh my, so scary!!

The last dress I picked up, I found at an antique store.  I paid $20 for it, but I really love it.  Still, twenty dollars is not expensive for a dress with a matching jacket.

Cute, with or without the jacket.

I adore the bow at the waist and the vintage ornate buttons on the jacket.  Plus, lately I am really drawn to green and blue together.

This picture isn't quite so dark, so you can see the color and detail better.  I think I will wear this one soon because of it's heavier fabric and it is most definitely jacket weather.  I can see it paired with some vintage pearls.

House Dress vs. House Coat

The past few days have been spent in a leisurely fashion.  This means that my time has been spent in my comfy house dresses (or so I have been calling them).

While visiting with my mother the other day, she informed me that my grandmother used to call what I call house dresses, house coats.  I was curious if there was a difference, so I did what any normal person would do, I googled it.  I had no idea there was a difference.  What I learned is that a house dress is a dress that is made of more durable fabric and is structured in a way so that house work and chores can be done in a proper fashion.  A house coat is more like a glorified apron.  It resembles a dress, but has snaps or a zipper down the front making it useful to put over a dress already being worn or just over your "unders".  Glad that I could learn the difference and I will be more clear in my description of my dress choices.

I wore the above house dress on Monday.  I ended up having to run to Logan, so I paired it with some boats, leggings, and a sweater.  I also thrifted this dress.  I realize that it's a little bright and the print is a little juvenile, but in this inversion a little bright is a good thing.

Tuesday, I spent the day tending my adorable niece, Flora, while my brother and his wife attended the Sundance Film Festival.  It was kind of an all day endeavor, so I have no pics for that day.  I wore another house dress, my yellow and brown plaid one.  It was a great day.

Today I mostly hung around the house, so comfy was in order.  I dug out a skirt I bought a few years back in Denver.  It's soft and easy to wear.  It was fun to throw on my Eagles t-shirt.  It helped me achieve that "peaceful, easy feeling".  I was home enough today that I was able to whip up a pot of my mom's clam chowder....yum!

*I'll put the recipe, if you are interested, on my other blog.  Check it out.

Business and Pleasure

Early in the week, David received an email from his Dad inviting us to a "business dinner" Friday night.  We call it business and we talk some business, but it is way more pleasurable than the other business gatherings that I have attended over the years.  Reservations were made and we got dressed up for our night out.

Look at my cute hubby!  Aren't I the lucky one!!  Dinner was delicious (I had the salmon), the conversation great, and it was just fun to go somewhere besides a high school gymnasium.  I was excited to wear my pink granny blouse.  I buy every blouse I can find that has a bow at the collar.  I find most of them at the thrift store.  I LOVE them.  This one was a mere $3.  It has a fancy feel because it's silky, so I was glad that we were going to a nice restaurant.  I also bought my skirt at the thrift store.  The rest was stuff I had on hand.  I love it when I can put an outfit together with my thrifted finds.  

*I actually think I will post my thrifted finds of the week every Thursday - Thrifted Thursday!!  Thoughts?

Saturday consisted of more basketball games.  We watched Maren win her two games, Steven dominate his, and then headed to Rigby to watch Hannah and Lottie's games.

Just like I can't resist blouses with bows, I couldn't resist this dress either.  It's one of my favorite finds.  It's also thrifted.  I think I might have an addiction issue.  

Just an FYI - Lottie's team played an intense game - 4 overtimes.  She fouled out at the end of the fourth quarter, so we took off at the start of the first overtime to go to the other gym to watch Hannah's varsity team.  They played an amazing first half, but the second was disappointing.  Sad to say, both teams ended up losing.  There are some good life lessons to be learned from losing, so not all is lost.

Sunday was spent in one of my house dresses crocheting my granny squares.  I didn't take a photo.  It's one I've worn before and I was too busy watching Mad Men.

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

Do you ever look back over the past couple of days and wonder where they went?  That is my thought this early morning.  Where did the last three days go?  The crazy thing about it is that one of those days seemed like the longest day of my life.  Ever have one of those?

Tuesday was lovely.  I spent the bulk of the day at lunch with one of my dearest friends, Linae Coats.  Love her.  We ate at one of the nicer spots in Logan, so I had no problem feeling out of place in my dress.  The gray jumper I found at Walmart last fall.  Of course it was cheap, but it has really nice structure.  Plus it's so versatile.  I found my lavender granny blouse at the thrift store and the sweater is just one that I had on hand.  I felt fancy and that felt good.  Going to lunch with a friend is a good reason for fancy.

Then there was Wednesday......

There will be no pictures of Wednesday.  It's a day that I would like to forget.  This was my very long day.  There was still only 24 hours in it, but it felt like an eternity.  A migraine will do that to you.  I did wear one of my house dresses, but spent most of my time in a horizontal position in front of the fire.  I entertained the idea of a photo, but figured that would just look like I was searching for sympathy.  Plus, it just wouldn't be pretty.

Ahhhhh.....Thursday.

Thursday was an "out to lunch" kind of day too.  Who can complain about that?  Not me!  My sweet friend, Wendi, just had her special day and so we spent some time chatting and chewing in celebration.  It was soooo much better than the day previous.  I actually really loved this outfit.  It's a dress with a vintage feel that I picked up at Kohls awhile back.  The light weight, white sweater that I threw over it, I found at the thrift store and paid next to nothing for.  I know it's vintage just by the look of the tag.  I love it!  The belt and the cardigan I threw on to complete.  It was a good day with a great friend.  I am pretty sure I could have worn a feed sack and still enjoyed myself.  (Not going to try it though)

I had one lady comment about why I mention where I buy these things.  I guess it's because I truly believe with a little creativity you can dress pretty darn cute and really cheap all at the same time.  Plus I like that the things I wear just can't be duplicated by running to the mall.  I also like to think of the ladies that wore these clothes before me.  Were they young?  old?  a housewife, like me? or a professional ahead of her time?  It's like wearing history and I like that idea.

Love Me Some Leggings

I have really grown to love my house dresses.  I wish I could find more of them at the thrift store.  It's been so cold, that even inside, I've had to wear them with leggings and an undershirt.

This was my Sunday attire.  I was so happy and comfy working on my granny square afghan for Gigi.  I actually got quite a bit done while the men of the house watched the football play offs.  Finally, David has some buddies to holler at the TV with - no more girls begging to watch ice skating or Little House on the Prairie instead.  It was fun to watch them enjoy the game together.  After the four girls, he's earned his boy bonding time.

Yesterday, we spent our day off of school (cancelled because of the cold) getting flu shots.  Well, we thought that was all we were going to get, but after checking the kids' records, we ended up with a lot more than flu shots.  I believe our family survived 22 immunizations.  Needless to say, the rest of the day was spent watching Pitch Perfect and nursing wounds.

I chose to wear a skirt.  I haven't worn one yet.  I'm not sure why.  I just wanted to make sure that I wore something that could easily facilitate my shot.  I really liked this outfit.  I like to think of this look as sexy librarian - not that I'm pulling off the sexy part.  I know my limitations.  It just makes me feel less frumpy.

I am happy to say that I have found some leggings that I LOVE.  I bought them at Shopko.  They are fleece leggings.  I have a few pairs of regular leggings and didn't think there would be much difference, but they are super warm and super soft.  I hate to take them off.  I might need to purchase another pair.  They also have this lovely band at the bottom.  It keeps them in place and snug around your ankle.  Did I mention that I love these leggings?

Why?

Yesterday was filled with more basketball.  Why do I feel like a broken record?  Could it be that this blog has only really talked about two things....dresses and basketball? 

No matter.  Here's what I wore yesterday.

A lot of dresses that I've found, I haven't worn until now, but this one I have worn to games before.  It's A line form makes it real comfy and I love the plaid with the bright red trim and buttons.  When I bought it at the thrift store, I noticed that it didn't have a tag, so some one has hand made this.  I can appreciate that.  I would like to try and pull a pattern off this dress.  I don't think it would be hard to make, but I don't want to have to tear the dress apart to accomplish it.  For now, I'll keep my eyes open for a pattern that resembles it.

Looking/thinking about the dresses that I have worn this far, I've found that I really like ones with collars.  I think I should look for or make some more that have collars.  I would really like one with a Peter Pan collar.  We'll see.

At the basketball games, I have had a few people ask me why I am doing this.  Maybe I am crazy.  I said it was because I was bored.  Maybe it's both.  I have always maintained that I was born in the wrong era.  Most people, after hearing this, proceed to tell me that I wouldn't be able to live in times past....."you wouldn't like it", "without your makeup and curling iron?", and "you would have to wear a dress all of the time".  While hearing these reasons, I am usually thinking "have you not seen me without my makeup?".  I tend to go a lot of places, especially in the summer, without my makeup and hair done.  Simply put, I guess I just want to see if I can do it - wear a dress everyday and how I would feel about it.  That's all.  A challenge for myself.

*I couldn't help  but share this photo.  I look ridiculous, but hey, maybe this whole thing is.  Thanks Hannah for the inspiration!!

Wearing What I Want

For the past few days, I have thrown my casual vs. dressy attitude out the window.  I guess I just decided to wear what I wanted - what I enjoyed wearing regardless of what I was doing and where.  Previously, I have tried really hard to match what I would wear to what kind of activity I will be doing/attending, so as not to draw too much attention to myself.  This changed with the basketball games Wednesday evening.  I just wore what I wanted.  It included a thrifted dress, a beautiful blouse I picked up at Forever 21 in Vegas, and a vintage coat.  

I was a little over dressed, but I loved what I wore.  Probably my favorite outfit so far.  

I love this coat and it's super warm.

Waiting for some fun night out on the town to wear my frocks to is pointless, as basketball is it for now.  Plus, who can complain about my good lookin' dates?  Not me!!

The other dress I have worn over the past few days is this get-up.

Not one of my favs.  I got this dress on clearance from Eddie Bauer.  It has a vintage feel and I really love the green/turquoise plaid fabric.  I think I will like it much better without the sweater and boats.  It's more of a spring/summer dress, I think.

One Week and Feeling Weak

So it's been a few days since my last post.  Not that anyone is sitting on eggshells waiting for what will come next.  I am finding that I've got a few mental road blocks in my way. 

First, I hate taking pictures of myself.  I feel goofy and awkward.  I've been having my son, Herman, take them for me.  He doesn't criticize.  He doesn't know any better.  I am pretty self conscience in general.  That means that other than I am not as young as I used to be, the pictures don't help.  We are just a bunch of amateurs around here.  Maybe with time, I will overcome this need for outside validation.

Second, I have had zero motivation to do anything.  Anything, that is,other than watch seasons of Mad Men on Netflix.  I am not sure that I would recommend this show for everyone.  It's a little racy - lots of sex, lying, but awesome vintage style.  It's eye candy for me and this project.  So, it's research.  At least that's my justification, but I can't help but wonder if there is something else going on here.  

The thought came to me yesterday as I was expressing my plight to David and it hit me.  Maybe I have a hard time getting things done because of my dress.  Culturally, dresses have been saved for Sunday attire not weekly, mundane activities.  The distinction between the two is made very clear.  Of course, dresses are worn for other special occasions, but not for grocery shopping, doing laundry, or spray painting.  So it begs the question, is my attire affecting my mindset?  Am I putting up boundaries unknowingly because of my predisposed assumptions about proper places for dresses?  And, did women decades ago feel more special in their Sunday attire when they wore dresses all week long?  A little food for thought.  David said that I just needed a break from the holidays.  Who knows?  Maybe it's just that I need a break through of sorts to make me more comfortable about all aspects of this experiment.  Time will tell, I suppose.

Sunday was spent in my pajamas mostly, so here are some pictures of Monday and Tuesdays attire.

*I also hate standing for photos.  It just seems weird.
  I tried to get a few things done around the house, but later made a trip to Logan for basketball and errands.  Most of my outfit was thrifted because I am a cheapskate. 

Yesterday I had a few things to do - hair appointment, run some errands - a lot of in and out of the car, hence the scarf, sweater, and leggings.  I am happy to say that I did finish all 52 episodes of Mad Men, so I will now return to the land of the productive.  (Not really sure I should be documenting my waste of time)

Today, I am being way more productive.  I have been working on some projects for my vintage trailer, Gigi.  You can check that out on my other blog, www.mybowlofsugar.blogspot.com, so I am in a thrifted house dress that I paid all of $2.00 for.

Oh, and I can't forget the beautiful leggings and sweater.  They are standard until the temperatures get up above freezing.  I will put on something more appropriate for the home basketball games tonight.  I look forward to that.

*Just an FYI - I found this awesome blog and it informed me that Granny Chic is an actual term.  I had no idea.  It also validated that I am not the only crazy one out there wearing frocks, leggings, and slouchy sweaters.  I love having a community!

Sweater Dress = Lifesaver

Yesterday I donned a thrifted sweater dress.  I spent a whole two dollars on it and was pretty happy with my purchase. I paired it with leggings, boots, and a thrifted blouse that I am sure used to belong to some grandma.  Is there a theme to all of this?

I've decided sweater dresses are great in below zero temps and totally comfy - good qualities for basketball games, in Janunary, in Preston, Idaho.  I did have a few people comment on my dress for the day.  I'm not sure if they were sincere about their compliments or they were just mocking me....  You know who you are!

Two days have come and gone since I last posted.  Still wearing dresses and still enjoying it.  Thursday was a super busy day -cleaning house and putting away Christmas.  I have to disclose that I did get right out of bed and get busy, so for the bulk of the day, I was cleaning in my pajamas.  I didn't want to take time to change knowing that I would have to get ready for basketball games later that afternoon.  There is nothing I hate more than getting ready twice in one day.  When the work was all done, this is what I wore to the games.

I keep thinking layers, because it is so cold.  I felt a little weird wearing a dress to the games.  I kept waiting for someone to ask me what meeting or viewing I'd been to, but it didn't happen.  It didn't seem to affect my spectating experience.  I still cheered the same.  I do have to say that I was more mindful of the way I was sitting, realizing that if I wasn't careful, people across the gym from me might see more than just the game.

Yesterday, I got right up and got dressed in my dress.....house dress, that is.  The one I wore is probably my favorite.  I got it off of ebay a few years back and have always wanted to wear it but haven't until now.  I think I like it because it has a little more detail and is more structured than a lot of my other house dresses.  I actually wore it grocery shopping and didn't feel too out of place.  I did notice one lady looking me up and down like "what the heck are you wearing?".  I did wear it with leggings and boots because it is so cold right now, so maybe it wasn't so fashionably correct.  Anyway, I've decided a great way to describe my look is Granny Chic - kind of an oxymoron, I guess.

So another day is awaiting me.  My dilemma today - what to wear to a half dozen basketball games.  It seems like I have work dresses or fancy dresses and not much in between.  I have to figure out some casual dresses.  Maybe some skirts are in order.

First Day in the Real World

It's pretty easy to wear a "pajama" dress while hanging out at home, but today was the first day I would head out into public wearing a dress.  No big deal, right?  A lot of people wear dresses for work, fashion, religious reasons, so who would take note?  A few people did.

I guess I was a little hard to miss in my bright tangerine, vintage dress.  I found it a few months back at my local thrift store.  I LOVE this dress.  I love the collar, the length, and the color.  Since it's below zero, I felt the need to top it off with a sweater.  I felt warm and cheery on a very cold dreary day.

I did have one gentleman make a fuss about my attire.  He knows me well and so maybe his reaction was just out of surprise or shock.  I also had a friend of mine say that I looked cute, but followed it up with "you look like you live in Whooville".  Not sure if I looked as cheery as I felt or just silly.  Anyway, it was fun to dress up.  I am assuming the novelty of it will wear off.

I spent most of my morning running errands in Logan, so wearing a dress didn't make much of a difference, but coming home to take down the Christmas tree posed a few problems.  I had a hard time maneuvering around the tree like I would in pants and the branches snagged the heck out of my tights. Dang.....

Wondering....

Lately I have been obsessed with vintage dresses.  They are feminine and lovely and were worn during a time when curves were appreciated.  Over the past year, I have thrifted quite a few vintage dresses and house dresses.  I love them all, but really have never worn them.  This got me to thinking - what if I wore a dress everyday just like they used to?  Would it change my behavior?  Would it change how others treated me?  Could I do it?  How would it make me feel?  Trapped or liberated by celebrating my femininity?   All these questions intrigued me.  The only thing holding me back from wearing my treasures was what others would think.  Then it made me curious what others would think.  This curiosity made me decide to give it a try and journal about my feelings and experiences while sharing some of my thrifted finds.

Today being January 1st, it was my first day of dress wearing.  Here is what I wore -

I am aware that this picture is not great.  I found wearing this house dress really comfortable.  It was kind of like wearing pajamas all day.  I now understand why a lot of ladies used to wear these.  They might not be the most flattering, but they are definitely easy to wear.