Retro

9/15/2018

In the paper this week, clothing designers are showing "prairie" dresses. Ah, but this is not the first time that women wore this style of dress. A similar dress was worn by me, and my classmates, in the 60's. And, everybody had to have one of these long, generally gingham dresses. My dress was pink and white squares and back then I thought I looked really good.  Thinking back on it, we girls probably just looked old!

But now, designers are making prairie dresses, and so this design is now new again. It may be new, but I won't be participating in this new fashion trend. It might have been a tolerable look for me, but the trend came and went very quickly.

Today's prairie dresses by fashion designers are making these dresses to be modest, with their high necked collars and reveal little skin. So now, we have fashionable dresses that show a lot of skin, versus these that don't show much skin. You as a consumer, have to decide for yourself on how you want to look. While I don't want to wear what I now consider a "granny" dress, I also don't want to show off my body - because folks - it ain't so pretty right now! Forget that I'm not a size 12 (not even close to that size), but as you age, these "wisdom" spots begin to pop up on your skin. I don't know how much good those "wisdom" spots are doing on my back, and I don't know how they even showed up.  

The next fashion fad might be bell bottom pants again. This fad also came and went pretty quickly. To be sure, retailers are selling pants with a slightly flared bottom now, but nothing like the old pants of my youth.

Mother didn't much care for my wearing pants. There was a dress code when I was in high school, and there were no torn jeans or short little shirts. And, girls wore dresses and/or skirts, pants were now allowed in school.  I got my first pair of jeans, when a friend of mine took me shopping. Oh, I felt liberated. Fortunately for me, Mother didn't make much of a fuss about them. I've never had a "jean" bottom, even when I was a teenager. But, certainly not today. When I buy clothes, I avoid anything that has spandex as part of the clothing item. Spandex is not my friend, never has been and I won't buy any piece of clothing that isn't 100% cotton. I wear what is considered by most women old "foggy" (did I spell that right?) clothes. Since I seldom leave the house, it really doesn't matter what I wear. I can even wear clothes that don't match or go together - how liberating!

To be sure, if Jeff and I are going to some kind of event, I have appropriate clothes to wear. But, as we all know, jeans appear now to be de rigueur, and can be worn to theater performances, etc.

For me, I'm going to stick with my "old lady" pants (elastic waist), and cotton shirts. Definitely not a fashion statement.

P