Dress-love...

I am in love with this dress. I know, I know, I said I would swear off dresses but I have to tell you; it's not going so well. I really try, honest I do, but in the end they just seek me out. This one, Boo and I saw when mooching in town. Boo said 'that dress would look nice on you Mummy.' Eeeek. Yep. Damn, she's right. So I had to go back there today just to visit it. However in the interests of not spending any money whatsoever I left said dress in the shop; it was feeling fairly lonesome and neglected, I am willing to bet.

...yummy dress from Cabbages and Roses...

The thing with a dress like this is that only women will get it - and only some women at that. It's not a man's dress. Peter Pan collar? No thanks. But I love it. I also love that it has shocking pink silk lining. These are the simple pleasures that make me smile. How much shall we bet that this makes its way into my wardrobe by the end of the month?

Notwithstanding the dress-love, I started thinking about whether we dress for other women or for men? My friend P noted the other day that she finds herself taking in every detail of a peer's appearance from shoes to hair and everything in between, in the split second of meeting. I agree; I think women have an incredible capacity to notice details of dress without even really knowing it.  Even those women who are disinterested in clothes themselves, still notice the clothes of others.

I am almost sure that many of my dressing decisions are for other women. My husband likes what I wear but he is not that fussed; as long as I don't look like a dog's dinner I don't think he minds. I have been thinking about this lately as with his new job there is a much higher degree of corporate wifery required. My presence at various social functions. This feels instinctively like a minefield of dressing choices; getting that crucial balance between stylish, elegant, age-appropriate, quirky and interesting but not too interesting. What is a girl to do? Go classic, timeless, try very hard to exude confidence... :-)

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