This summer is all about personal growth! Risk-taking!
Am I making amends? Sky-diving? Practicing “my Spanish” with actual Spanish speakers? Nooooo.
I am wearing styles that are outside my comfort zone.
Ironically, but fortunately, they are very comfortable styles. Behold the city-prairie dress, toughened with an assertive belt.
Floaty tiers in a small, flocked pattern that suggests calico.
A friend of mine came over for dinner a few weeks before a trip to Marrakech and mentioned the difficulty of finding lightweight dresses that covered her legs and arms.
Perhaps she did not realize that she was waving a red flag in front of a bull! No sooner had she left and I was searching the Internet for possibilities. I sent her a bunch of suggestions and then, because I am bonkers, I ordered a bunch of dresses for her, figuring I would “take a look” and then pass on any good candidates to her. Neither of us had great success, but I decided to keep this dress for myself.
You may wonder why I didn’t pass it on to my Morocco-bound friend? Two reasons. First, she is thinner and has a more delicate frame than I do; I thought there was too much dress in this dress for her. Second, as you will see in the last photo, the dress is semi-sheer. It seemed to me that sheer fabric would really undercut the convention of covering one’s arms and legs.
R: If you are reading this post and thinking “I can’t believe she kept that dress from me” — I am sorry! We can share it.
Is this dress the most flattering thing ever? Well, no. But I like it all the same. It has a winsomeness to it.
Finding this dress was not just a cross-cultural challenge. I like the idea of long sleeves and covered legs for summer to protect me from The Sun.
The dress is a dark blue somewhere between navy and slate, so I have paired it with black (patent) sandals and a navy (patent) bag.
With the Unforgiving Patron behind me, you can see how transparent the fabric is. The dress came with its own, slate grey cotton knee-length slip and I think the length of the slip is perfect. A full length slip would be a little drab.
Have a fantastic weekend! Things to look forward to in the near future: In her continued quest for enlightenment and growth, The Directrice wears a v-neck top.
Dress: Max Mara; Shoes: Donald J. Pliner; Bag: Coach Poppy Tote; Belt: Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti
I’m not sure what to make of this outfit. Where will you wear it? To work? Nonetheless I applaud your adventurousness!!
If you ever tire of the length you can always get your wonderful seamstress to shorten and you’d enjoy a tunic. I would totally wear this at the beach house… or my Utah family reunion.
I think this looks beautiful!
I immediately thought of that famous Princess Diana picture when I saw the last photo.
I’m a slim pants person so I would wear it as a tunic as well. It does look comfortable and winsome.
How about a very thin belt or no belt ?
I follow a couple of “modest” bloggers and they’d probably have layers things under the dress to avoid the view. IMO your slip is modest enough.
I like the dress, but I would love it if it were shortened to just below the slip. The dress has such a lovely neckline.
Loved it and can see how it works for the summer look you have put together with great shoes.
Beautiful.