I bet you thought I was over the Duro, huh?

Well, I know I haven't posted much about it lately, but I'm still mulling over Duro and Duro-ish dresses. I'm on the hunt for more interesting fabric and color combinations ... but while I'm looking, you all should know that Hotpatterns has a new killer wrap dress! (Thanks to Jonquil for the link, click on the image to visit the Hotpatterns site.)

It's for silk (and similar) jerseys, which I've never sewn with before ... I understand silk jersey is a dream to wear, but how is it to SEW with? Seems as if it would be slippery to me.

Oh, in other Duro news, reader Lucette has asked that if you've made a Duro and have pics, you upload them to Flickr (tagged "Duro") as inspiration for others -- I think that's a great idea!

Also, if you've ever wanted to send me links, etc., but don't want to email me, feel free to use the tag "dressaday" on Flickr, del.icio.us, twitter, etc. I'll set up feeds and see whatever you tag. This year is all about moving the non-urgent stuff out of the inbox, and into the feedreader where it belongs. (If this paragraph made no sense to you, leave a comment and maybe I'll try to explain ...)

Another wrap-it-up dress

Reader Renee sent this lovely pattern image to me -- she's actually made it, and the pattern was her grandmother's.

The pattern envelope reads:

"Make it in a jiffy -- then simply slip it over your head, wrap the back to the front and button -- you're set for a dozen chores in and out of doors. Carryall pockets are a handy addition. (A) Short cobbler's apron. (B) Coverall."

Renee also helpfully sends us the back of the pattern (have I mentioned lately how much I love you all? I really do)



Because I am an evil, horrible person, before I posted this I searched on eBay and found and bought one -- in my size, even. I now recommend you do a search on eBay yourself (since I got mine). (See how awful I am?)

The only other one I found online is at SoVintage Patterns ... and it's $35.00. I would love to go find Renee's grandmother and tell her that this Saturday knock-around dress pattern now goes for $35. Worth every penny, really, but still!

The nice thing about this version (compared with the the other wrap-around dress, Butterick 4790) is that this one shouldn't have the skirt-riding-up problem that was reported. Oh, and it has POCKETS! Triangular ones!

I think what I like best about these dresses is the implied assumption that you had STUFF TO DO; stuff that might be dirty or messy, but still, STUFF, and you were going to do it, and look good while doing it. And happy. You were going to look happy, too, or at least these women were. I don't see many modern clothes with this assumption ... so I have a huge rant building up about the unnecessary disparagement of practical clothing for women. Prepare yourselves ...

And I head to Tokyo today and Taipei on Tuesday, so posting might be spotty over the next few days. If you're a recent arrival here at ADAD HQ, may I direct you to the archives, over there on the right? Scroll down ...

Rude? Or Just Clueless? Or Something Else?

So a while back (I'm not telling you how long, but I did finally resurrect it from my inbox, so if you're still waiting for me to post something you sent me, take heart) ... where was I? Oh, yes. A while back, Dress A Day reader Carrie sent me this story. It seems she had bought an inexpensive wrap dress that was featured in a "work wardrobe" story in Glamour mag -- nothing fancy, just a $20 wrap dress from Wal-Mart. Carrie was a bit nervous about it (it being $20, and from Wal-Mart) but she tried it on and it was pretty good quality and (being a wrap dress) really flattering. And it was black with a subtle purple dotted swirl pattern, which she liked. So she bought it.

She was about two weeks into a new job (thus the acquiring a work wardrobe part) and had to go to a training session at a customer site. Great time to pack a wrap dress, right? It doesn't take up much space in a suitcase or wrinkle. (Carrie is in clinical sales; she was traveling to a hospital to represent her company and train a few people in the lab on how to use a piece of diagnostic equipment. Having worked in the field for a few years, she figured that it would be business casual, meaning no jeans, but no suits, either.)

Carrie thought (and I agree) that the dress was simple enough and could pass for business casual or slightly nicer. She wore it with pumps and hose and small silver hoop earrings. Unexceptionable, right? But her two coworkers told her that she was overdressed and would intimidate the customer! In a $20 Wal-Mart dress!

Carrie responded only by praising the comfort and convenience of the dress, and tried to let it go ... only to have dinner weeks later with two colleagues who ended up mentioning that they had heard about it!

I think that her co-workers (or cow-orkers, in this case) were way out of line. First of all, it's a hospital, full of doctors ... doctors are not going to be intimidated by a simple wrap dress. Then, of course, it's always rude to comment on peoples' clothing, unless you are complimenting them (or telling them a slip is showing, etc.). It's doubly rude to say something deflating if the person has no chance to go and change.

(To make the story complete we have to give you Carrie's description of her critics. "The 'business specialist' [basically a technical sales person] wore navy dress 'slacks', a hawaiian button-down shirt, and an ill-fitting khaki blazer. The other co-worker, the woman doing the training [Carrie was observing her to learn the training] wore khaki dress pants and a coral sweater twinset with a ring of smallish faux crystals along the neckline.)"

I can't imagine that "intimidating the customer" was really the issue ... I'm sure it was something else. Hazing of the new girl? An international conspiracy of pants manufacturers to bulldoze dress-wearers into pants-wearing compliance? What do y'all think?

(The dress above isn't the one Carrie bought, but a similar one from Wal-Mart.)