A friend once told me, “learning how
to wear a dress is a life lesson, like tying a tie or learning to
swim”. Setting aside the fact that he was in the midst of an
alcohol induced rant in the back seat of my car in a Save On Foods
parking lot, he had a point. Concealed beneath my laughter was a
spark of curiosity. Something about that statement had rattled me,
making me ponder the meaning of a dress and the lifelong impact it
can have on a women, or any person for that matter.
There's nothing comparable to the
feeling of looking in the mirror and seeing not the everyday figure
that always stares back at you, but a reinvented version of yourself,
draped in silhouette flattering fabrics and beaming confidence. What
is it about a dress that fills our pool of self-worth? Is it the way
it can hug every curve in just the right way or show off the perfect
amount of leg to make you feel sultry yet sophisticated? Maybe this
wonderful feeling has nothing to do with the dress itself, but the
moment it represents.
Imagine a sky blue floral print linen dress
that hangs loosely and ties around the waste to keep you cool and
airy as you walk the beaches of a place so peaceful you wonder of
you'll ever return to reality. Something as simple as a thick black
sweater dress keeps you warm enough as you brave the brisk walk to
work. And even though you'd be much warmer in pants you know in your
heart it's worth the chill because there's nothing like the feeling
of wearing that noir ensemble. Besides, the thick black tights don't
just show off a little leg, but also your bravery and femininity.
Even this bright Orange Ronny Kobo dress represents something for me. Being quite petite and far from curvy has always left me hesitant to wear this figure hugging style of dress. And even now, as I scroll through the photos you see before you, I'm continuously dragging myself down with criticisms. Yet when I put on this dress, I feel powerful. Maybe it's about jumping over a hurtle with this particular one.
Couturiers have been exploring the wonders of the dress for over 100 years. Tastemakers and icons like Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Paco Rabanne, and so many others completely altered the way women not only dressed but found their source of empowerment and beauty. As Sarah Jessica Parker once said via the channel of Vogue, "what the world needed was love, and Dior delivered it in the form of a dress".
If any dress is representative
of life, it's the white one. You will always remember the way it felt
to put on that white dress, the symbolic key to the rest of your
life.
It seems fitting that I'm writing this post almost a week after my older sister tied the knot. What an incredible day, and what an incredible dress. Fabric is fabric, but these moments are
what make up our lives.
Of course any piece of clothing can be life altering, but there's something intangible that comes when wearing a dress and I can't quite put my finger on it. I don't have all the answers, just the questions, so please share your thoughts in the comments below. Can you think of a dress you've worn that changed your life, or made you see yourself differently?
Thanks for reading.
-Emily
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