What is the fashion psychology of wearing dresses?

 

 

I took this picture above at least two or three years back. I was focusing my attention on the woman on the left. I loved the way she was wearing a heavyish boot with a sleeveless dress; the juxtaposition of feminine and masculine. And who doesn’t love that she brought a bright, shiny red bag with her that day to Artesa Winery near Napa.

I came across this photo when I was in my files looking for something else. This time, it was the woman on the right that held my attention. She’s playing with her dress, in a world of her own. I want to feel the way she looks.

 

Trying to name it

I struggle to find words to describe the feelings this image evokes in me. I need your help!

Is it freedom?

Is it delight?

Is it the joy of being a woman?

Is it the sensuality of wearing a dress on a hot day?

Whatever it is, when I look at this picture, I want what she’s evoking.

 

 

And here’s another girl who is over the moon about wearing dresses. She’s telling her mommy, “I have to wear this today because I can’t stop loving this dress. I just can’t stop loving it everyday.” Oh to feel that way about a dress!

And my last dress mentor, below, is Hailee. I met her at the Oscar de la Renta fashion exhibit at the end of March at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. She wore this dress that day because she was going with her mom to see lots more pretty dresses.

 

 

 

 

Does she look absolutely delighted with her choice? Yes!

I think this is true for many of us: when we wear a dress it’s with much more intention than jeans or ankle pants. It’s festive, fun; maybe we’re attending an event. Stay with me, I still need your help. Do you feel different in a dress than pants? What is that feeling?

 

Mimicking my mentors

I was invited to a Saturday night gala at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco. I thought of wearing tuxedo pants or lace pants but then I thought about my dress mentors, Caitlin (my daughter in the first photo, the one on the right), Mila (my friend Nancy’s daughter in the Facebook post), and Hailee from the Oscar exhibit.

I didn’t have time to go out and buy a dress for this black tie event but I got some help from my daughter, Erin. She said, “Why don’t you wear that pretty dress of mine that you like so much?” Well, my first thought is “Honey, we are not the same size.” But she left it with me and I tried it on. I made a few adjustments to the way I wore it (I’ll tell you more about that in the next blog post) but when I had it on, it was a dress that I could twirl in if I wanted to go twirling. And I could pull it out like Caitlin did and go, “Whheeeee!”

I’ll give you the breakdown and the details in an Anatomy of an Outfit, but here’s a sneak peek at what I wore to the gala. In the meantime, please leave a comment and help me figure out how wearing a dress makes us feel differently in a  world full of way-too-casual wear. I need to figure this out! Help me please!

 

Save