The Elusive Not so Little Black Dress

The bad news is I got rid of all of my formal wear after "giving birth to the Toddlers". I had a great selection, however I hated looking at them hanging in the closet. I swear I could hear them chuckle every time I touched them. So after the babies, I got rid of them, gave them to a friend of mine. Good riddance. It was a freeing experience. I had gorgeous gowns of all colors, golden, cream, pewter....I had one little black dress....Worn once. I prided myself on never having to depend on it as a staple.


I have always prided myself on being "stylish" on a budget , which is something I have had to work on, and study. I grew up wearing almost exclusively 2nd hand clothing and hand me downs....Ugly ones at that. I had to teach myself what to buy, and how to buy a couple of basic great pieces that would expand my wardrobe. I had a great closet.....

I did learn an important lesson after being pregnant and stopping smoking and deployments. It is hard to be larger than a size 5 and look great in "anything".....
When you are a size 5, you have a certain capability of carrying off MOST clothing. Clothing does not even necessarily need to be made well when you are a size 5 or under. Almost anything looks great.

This changed for me when I grew out of those clothes, and that size.

I had to spend more time looking and more money trying to look stylish...UGHHHH.

So my wardrobe reflects that. I haven't bought much. Quite frankly my Dear Husband has a better eye than myself when it comes to dressing my new figure.

Today I went to "the Maul" against all good and reasonable judgment. Guess what? The children were fantastic. I tried on 20 dresses. 20 of them. The children were great, helped me pick colors, sang me songs and told me stories.

One dress fit better and looked better than all of the rest. I knew I had shoes that would look great. I knew the fabric could be worn season round. The neckline was a modified boatneck, my sweet pearls will look fantastic. The length skims the bottom of my knees. A kickpleat in the back. Fully lined, nice construction, flattering. Oh and the best part, the back dips down just a teeny bit, and there is nice detailing at the back.

I was a little sad that I was taking the easy way out, after all, the dress was "a black one", but I went ahead and hung it on the hanger took it to the sales lady.

I about fainted when she told me the price......$35.00. I am still smiling.

I can wear the darn thing gardening, trimming hedges, heck even fingerpainting!!