The Dress Girl

There is a girl that I see when I'm out and about on occasion. In every instance, she has worn a dress. It doesn't matter what she's doing or where she's going it's always the same. As I did not know her name, I labeled her to myself, The Dress Girl. Cute dresses. Usually above the knee. Various colors, patterns, and styles. But always a dress. She looked perfectly at home in a dress. The Dress Girl has inspired me to reconsider The Dress.

This may not be big news to you, but to one who has spent her entire life trying to find ways to avoid wearing dresses, this was a thought of 180 degrees. In fact, if I wear a dress other than to church or special events, people say things like "Why are you so dressed up?" or "What's the occasion?". It's quite possible that The Dress Girl has labeled me The Jeans & T-Shirt Girl.

I have always thought of dresses as restrictive and to have this amazing ability to confine you to certain proper behavior. Uncomfortable, knees together, you can only sit in certain ways, have to watch the wind, bending over's a potential risk, etc. As you can see, I have built an inward solid case against The Dress.

As usual, you can generally find the roots of your mentality in your childhood. As a child, I wore dresses to church services, weddings, and funerals. My sister, JoAnna and I always had to wear dresses to church. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. No exception. You stuck one toe across the church threshold and you better be wearing a dress. Which is fine and dandy for sitting in a pew, but what about when you want to go play with the other kids and there was afterward a pick-up game of Wall Ball or kickball or something? This is where dresses got a bad rap in my head I guess. I didn't dare ask to wear pants on Sunday morning, but I did try to get out of wearing a dress during the evening service. "Mom, So-and-So's mom lets her wear pants to night church." This was a clever plea in hopes that maybe Moms succumbed to peer pressure from other Moms too. Answer: "Well, you are not So-and-So and I am not So-and-So's Mom and our family wears their best clothes in God's house." And then handed me my plaid jumper. Well, I gave it a shot.

So you can see how a tomboy becomes averse to wearing a dress. But let's face it. I'm not so much of a tomboy anymore and I don't remember the last time I played Wall Ball so maybe I should give The Dress another chance. After all, the dresses that I have are not necessarily the casual type so maybe I should try the kind you can wear all the time. So I did. And I have found some positives about The Dress.

The Dress is so breezy and perfect for Texas summers. Oh my gosh they are so comfortable and cool.

As it is so hard to find shorts these days that aren't too short, The Dress is the perfect way to get around that problem while still participating in the summer dress code.

The Dress tends to hide "problem areas" that would otherwise be accentuated in shorts. It's surprisingly not as constricting as shorts or pants that are tight around the waist. Well, provided you're not wearing a skin-tight one. I'm going to assume all of my 5 readers are not wearing one of these.

It's all one piece and you just zip it up or throw it on and you're done!

The Dress makes you feel really feminine and put together. Have you ever noticed there's an air about women who wear dresses? I think this must be their secret. They put on a dress. There's some kind of magic too it.

It's not so bad. In fact I like it. So what happened to The Dress? I guess we got too caught up in Women's Lib and equality with men that we forgot why we liked our femininity. Like me trying to get out of wearing a dress to church, nobody likes to wear something they have to. All the same, is it possible to have lost something so dear to us and not know? Apparently so.

So if you see me wearing a dress, this is why. Right now, I don't have enough dresses to be labeled a Dress Girl, but I hope to slowly build up my inventory. I also don't see myself entirely giving up The Jeans & T-Shirt. Too ingrained, too comfy, too familiar.

If you are like me, and have counted The Dress out except for special occasions, I am suggesting that you might reconsider. Try it. Just once. Wear a dress when it's not expected. See what happens.