Feminine and Frugal Dress Monday
Written by admin on February 1st, 2010It’s time. I’ve been rattling on about sharing a week of feminine and frugal dress and today’s the day to start! This may appeal to some of you, and not at all to some or many of you. I do get e-mails from time to time, however, asking me about my choice to wear dresses. I think dresses are modest, pretty, feminine, and just plain fun! Getting dressed in the morning should be fun! Do pants have to always be a not-modest choice? No, I don’t think so. I believe pants can be modest. I have a few pairs of overalls for heavy gardening. The bottom line is that I just feel more at peace in a dress or skirt.
The outfit above includes an oatmeal-colored corduroy skirt made by WilliSmith. You know me, the always-sleuth. For this post, I began to search for information about this particular label. I honestly am not much for labels, though I do take note when I find a high-dollar item for a couple of bucks. Anyway, in my searching I found this about Willi Smith. Apparently he died in 1987, if that tells us how old my skirt is. Or maybe someone continued the label with his name. The skirt, however, remains in excellent shape and is one of my favorites. With the cold weather we’ve been having, I paired it with a light teal blue turtleneck sweater and a 100% cotton off-white v-neck sweater. Black tights, secondhand Sam and Libby boots, and a warm, furry cape kept me warm outside. Of course I’d be wearing one of my pins, too!
Capes and shawls are my weakness and I rarely find what I’m looking for secondhand. I usually buy one new one each year, after Christmas when the large department stores put them 50% or more off.
Tights? I also have a weakness for tights, leggings and socks, and I also shop for them during the winter’s end department store sales that go on. I was lucky enough about four years ago to hit the Dollar Tree when they had just gotten a large shipment of very nice, black, cable-knit tights. I think I bought about 20 pairs! I am still using some of them!
Total cost:
turtleneck sweater 3.00
cotton sweater 3.00
skirt 3.00
tights 1.00
boots 5.00
cape 25.00 (half off)
“Why do women want to dress like men when they’re fortunate enough to be women? Why lose our femininity, which is one of our greatest charms? We get much more accomplished by being feminine than we would by flaunting around in pants and smoking. I’m very fond of men. I think they’re wonderful creatures. I love them dearly. But I don’t want to look like one.” ~ Tasha Tudor
For more feminine and frugal dress ideas, visit Hannah’s blog, Cultivating Home. She posted about the same topic all last week!
for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
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Good Morning Lynn!
I LOVE your blog entry!
The cape is spectacular… and Willy Smith is a good brand.
I would of snatched up the black cable knit stockings, too!
Looking forward to tomorrow’s post!
Michele/ivy
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Lynn, you look… as always… absolutely adorable. I love the cape, especially. You may be interested to know that Willi Smith was one of my favorite designers back in the day. lol. I still remember a certain pair of jeans very fondly… they had a yoke on the front and zipped up the side. Soooo cute! and very reminiscent of the styles of the 30’s or 40’s. They would still be in style now- 25 years later! I probably still be wearing them if I still wore pants (and if I were still a size 4, but let’s not go there, shall we?)
Great quote by Tasha Tudor as well!
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I love reading your blog. Today was no exception. I’m a dresses gal, too. People look at me like I’m from Mars. You definitely look great.
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Dear Lynn,
The cape is just gorgeous.
You have such style! In the first photo you remind me of one of the March girls.
I can’t wait to see your outfits for the rest of the week. Have a blessed day in the Lord!
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Dear Lynn,
Very sweet post! You are very much the Winter Queen.
Capes and shawls, who can have enough? And what a wonderful find, that many tights at the dollar store! There are treasures to be found at every hand, if you know where to look!
Love,
Marqueta
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Lynn,
Very pretty! It is definitely your personal style. It’s so refreshing to wear clothing that reflects how we see ourselves.
Have a grand day,
Diane
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Thank you, Michele! Wish we could get together and shop.
Diane, thank you so much. One thing that has come from this week of feminine and frugal posts is that I have started looking more closely at labels. In searching the brands on line, I’ve had fun learning about the designers behind them. I had never even heard of Willi Smith!
Ginger, thank you so much! I do love dresses.
We’ll be Martians together.
Emily, thank you so much. And I LOVE Little Women, so I take that as a very high compliment.
Marqueta, dear me, now that I am the Winter Queen perhaps I should begin delegating some responsibilities to others and just relax for a few days!
I always enjoy hearing from you.
Diane M, I think that’s a large part of anyone’s fashion — they are in what they wear, literally and many times emotionally! That saying, you are what you eat? Well how about you are what you wear.
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I love it Lynn….what a great idea… I also really love to dress feminine…I love wearing dresses and if I ever get up the nerve, I would love to dress in the Regency time period…very Jane Austen…pants may be nice for some things, but ride in all the wrong places….give me a dress anyday.
Love,
C~