Midriff bands, midriff bands

Check out this dress from Dandelion Vintage, which features three of my current obsessions: orange, paisley, and a wide midriff band. If this dress weren't way too small for me (B32) it would be MINE, as it is only $30.

I don't know what it is about the midriff band, lately, but it's all I want to sew. I'm not even sure it's that flattering on me, frankly, but I don't care. This puts me firmly into the Diana Vreeland camp, I guess -- people who are so in love with the IDEA of some particular fashiony thing that they don't give a damn how it actually looks. I do *hope* that it looks good, but when it comes down to a fight between my aesthetic theory and um, actual aesthetics, I'm afraid my (crackpot) theory will win out every time.

After much urging I have broken down and bought that "Trinny and Susannah book" about what you really, really shouldn't wear. (I bought it on half.com for seventy-five cents, so it wasn't a huge investment.) I'm dreading reading it. I'm sure it will tell me to avoid full skirts and cardigans and bright loud fussy prints and suggest boring streamlined black dresses and low-waisted bootcut pants. Pants! I don't care if pants supposedly make me look better -- I don't FEEL I look better in pants. I guess I shouldn't be worrying about what two (admittedly odd) British women might or might not suggest I might or might not wear until the book actually shows up, huh? Sufficient unto the the day and all that.

Don't mind me. I'm just going to be over here, thinking about orange paisley.

Comments

[Jilli]

I'm sure it will tell me to avoid full skirts and cardigans and bright loud fussy prints and suggest boring streamlined black dresses and low-waisted bootcut pants. Pants! I don't care if pants supposedly make me look better -- I don't FEEL I look better in pants.My Sister!I used to watch the British show with Trinny and Susannah; they weren't horrible or evil, but yeah. They didn't have enough of a sense of whimsy to make me happy. (So says the woman wearing a full, petticoat-enhanced skirt made out of b&w skull-print fabric right now.)

[Anonymous]

I don't even own pants. I feel better in skirts and dresses. I watched them once and felt they weren't giving good advice, or rather it was they were dressing girls in a boring way.

[Ellen]

I don't own pants either. Never have. People think I'm religious, but I just don't like the way pants feel. I don't do anything athletic, so have no need for pants.This quirk worked to great advantage when playing a game where you got points for things you'd never done. Although a 15-year-old kid won (he never had a credit card, went to college, drove a car, etc.), I got big points for "I've never owned a pair of pants."

[vintagecrochetgirl]

I could probably wear this dress without a bra, but I think that would be a little uncomfortable.

[enc]

I've got three of their books, and while they've got some interesting and good points, they're quite militant about covering up what they think are 'flaws.' For example, they insist that women who don't have trim ankles CANNOT wear capris, etc. I think that's cr@p, and that women need to judge for themselves. Showing un-trim ankles is not a crime against humanity. They're also very hot on that most annoying and head-scratching style of wearing a long dress over trousers/jeans. ??? And the long coat, they're forever pushing the long coat. On the other hand, they've got their color suggestions and proportions down pat. I think you can take it with a grain of salt. After all, though they're trying to help people (which they do), it's a book, which is entertainment. You have good taste. If you don't agree with them, all you have to do is look in a mirror and use your common sense. You'll do fine.

[Anonymous]

Hello I saw Trinny and Susannah on a talk show a little while back. I was in shock... They basically ripped this poor woman's pants off in the middle of the shopping mall. Where I am from that would have been assault. Yes some people wear inappropriate clothing but that is their choice. :):) Who is to dictate what is right or wrong. Wear what is most comfortable for you. I grew up in a small western town were all anyone ever wore was levis or wrangelers and t-shirts. There was one girl in high school who wore 1950's dresses with the big skirts and all the crinolines. I was so envious of her.. I was not brave enough to take the heat. Now That i am older and wiser. I wear skirts 95% of the time. I am just more comfortable in a skirt. I still get tons of questions of why I want to wear a skirt all the time or if I belong to some religious sect.. They just can not comprehend that I do it for my comfort level :) Do you ladies get the same treatment?kelly

[Jonquil]

My firm delusion is that the clothes that make you happy make you look great. I *always* get compliments on the clothes I bought because I couldn't bear not to.