Lady in Red — Costume Parade

Last week, I was feeling uninspired in the rule-breaking department and called in a phone-a-friend. I thought I'd do a mom-special. I'd ask my mom what she wished I'd wear, and construct an outfit around her ideas.

I called, she answered, and then said, "I don't know, Rebecca. I really don't think you dress badly."

Now to give this some context, on numerous occasions my mother has told me I dress like a 50 year-old woman. On one particularly unfortunate instance, she said that and then Christian replied with, "Ya, you really do." So, as you can imagine, I was expecting her to have a laundry list of ideas for what she preferred I be wearing. When I brought this up to her, she clarified that it's not what I wear but the amount. She said that at my age I shouldn't feel the need to drown myself in so much material.

This was a tough blow to bear. I love layers.

So, I phone-a-friended Christian instead. I asked him the same question, and he had the SAME ANSWER.

So in response to both of them, I'm beginning this post with my visible bra straps. I know it's just through a keyhole cutout, but for me, that felt a bit daring. And if you can believe it, that's not the only rule I'm breaking!

Let's get down to business:

THE EVENT: I was invited to dinner/drinks and a play by my director from the last show I was in. She's also one of my very favorite people.

THE BROKEN RULE: Hold onto your seats because there's a whopping FOUR broken rules.

Don't wear anything too revealing (I know, baby steps on this one.)
Never wear anything too girlish. (This dress has ruffles, man.)
Heels are too much. This is Seattle, after all.
Round faces shouldn't wear high necklines.

THE OUTFIT: I am really excited about this outfit. I ordered this dress from Modcloth, and I almost returned it. I love almost everything about it, but there is no zipper, just a thick elastic band around the waist. I'm shortish and short-waisted and I couldn't quite get the waistband to sit in the right place. Then I belted it, and my love was restored. I pulled on these knee-high, heeled black boots with whipstitching around the toe and I was feeling really fancy. Prancing around the house fancy. As I was getting ready to leave, reality set in. To go outdoors I'd need to layer. I (begrudgingly!) added my black blazer. Then my wool jacket. And then something fun!

Last week, when I talked about going to the Kate Spade outlet I said I got a new purse. I wasn't entirely truthful. I actually got two. (!!!!!) The second one is small and black with a shape reminiscent of the Gucci Soho bag. And I love it. I love it so much I made a gif in its honor:

Anyway. Back to the task at hand. :)

THE EXPERIENCE: I had a fabulous time in this outfit. It's always fun to be out in the world with a like-minded friend and a champagne cocktail on a Saturday night. We ordered a healthy dinner and a not-so-healthy dinner and split the two (also, the best), then headed over to the theatre. While the play wasn't quite what we anticipated, the evening was wonderful, and, in all seriousness, I was happier because my outfit matched the occasion. It also helped that my friend appreciates dresses (and wears dresses!) just as much as I do!

THE CONCLUSION: I must confess: I almost changed my shoes three times. Part of me wanted to turn down the volume of this outfit with nondescript flat boots. I would have before this experiment. I recognized the impulse as it happened, but knowing that my outfit was going to the blog kept me from deviating. And man, those boots made a difference. The outfit would have been entirely different without them, and I just loved wearing this outfit the whole time I was in it, even if it was loud(er).

In the past, I've said that I like clothes because you can express on the outside how you're feeling on the inside. On Saturday, my outfit felt like a really accurate representation of me, and that was fun. Really super fun.

To more loud outfits!