It's almost Labor Day, time to think about holiday parties

Since the fashion cycle has gotten so wonky, and since the advent of air-conditioning, and because of who-knows-how-many other reasons, quite a lot of dresses that no one in their right minds would wear in July are now sold then. Which means that by Labor Day, they are all on sale.

Take this one for instance, at Bloomingdale's, in a small range of sizes (although that range includes 24W!) going now for $69-79. It's all silk, and it's quite elegant. And yes, it also comes in black. (Click on the image to visit the catalog page.)

This is a perfect holiday-party dress for those of us who think bare arms and shoulders in December is a great way to catch a cold, and/or folks who hate managing a drippy shawl, or who just want to look a little more covered-up. It's so rare to find a holiday-party dress that's not bare and still looks witty and dashing and elegant -- something that is the female equivalent of the tuxedo, in fact, which I suppose is why this one works!

I think I would wear this with huge cloisonne beads or very large cloisonne cuffs, and high heels -- as high as I could manage. Maybe black patent heels with a very square heel and a round (or at least not very pointy) toe, so they would look like men's classic tuxedo pumps, and a black patent clutch. And red lipstick. Definitely red lipstick.

I would NOT wear it with a pin or brooch that featured any of the following: Christmas trees, Santa, candy canes, holly, blinking lights (especially not blinking lights that were intended to represent, say, a reindeer's NOSE), or the words "Ho Ho Ho." There's festive, and then there's festooned. There's a difference.

Would someone please throw a party?

Seriously, would someone throw a party? I know at least five people who need an excuse to wear this dress. We may have to wait a while, because flocked gingham (flocked TAFFETA gingham) isn't really a late-July, early-August kind of thing, but still.

Here are the requirements for the kind of party needed to showcase this dress:

• grown-up drinks


• soft lights


• 'sophisticated' canapés, circa 1955 -- e.g., pigs in blankets


• a nice low armless chair so you can sit and spread out the skirt


• red lipstick

That last requirement is for the wearer, not the party ... not everyone at the party has to wear red lipstick, although it wouldn't hurt. But seriously, that's it. How hard is that?

This dress is from seller Tori at Flashbak58 Bombshell Frocks, and it's a nice larger size ... B42,W34!

The only thing is that I'm late posting this so there's only half a day left in the auction (I don't usually like to post things with less than three days to go ...). Click on the image to grab your winter party frock now ...