Dress to Impress

I have a small problem, but it is ever expanding. Dresses, I love dresses. I can't seem to stop buying them. Last night while I was pondering what I would write my first blog about, I remembered that I ordered a dress on EBay...

EBay dress will be dress number 40. Yes 40. That's not including a couple of pastel bridesmaids dresses, my wedding dress, as well as a pirate and snow white costume. I don't know what the typical twenty- something, married female has in the way of dresses, but this seems like a lot to me.

My problem probably stems from my mother always dressing me up when I was little, which I didn't mind. The dress problem was pushed aside during my tom boy stage, and during high school, when I just wanted to wear what all the other girls were wearing, but it seeped back into my life during college.

Dress-oholism started out slow, like any addiction. Many bridal showers occurred during college. Naturally I needed something to wear, a dress! For each occasion I would buy a separate dress. Not that I won't wear the same dress twice, it just gave me an excuse. So off to JCPennys or Macys I would go. The dresses never hindered the bill paying or savings account, so I figured it was justified.

Then I got my current job and started making money, a lot more money. I didn't buy dresses right away because almost as fast as I started making money, my waist line started to expand. So many potlucks on night shift and little sleep was not good for my rear.

A friend from work had a wedding reception at her house, the perfect occasion to buy a dress. Dress shopping was in the cards. I remember trying on two dresses and just couldn't make up my mind. So I bought them both! I made my husband decide which one was cuter. Promising myself I would return the other. Two years later the other dress is still hanging in my closet, unworn.

This past year dress buying has grown exponentially. I started losing weight, thanks to bike riding, and my workout crazy, paleo eating husband. Of course this meant shopping was more fun. Forever 21 opened up a giant store in the mall, and if you look hard enough you can find a few dresses that don’t resemble a 1980s hooker. They are cheap too, twenty to thirty dollars per dress at most! I have also discovered a website called Modcloth. It has amazing dresses. Unique vintage inspired dresses, some I admit are a little out there, but I continue to check the site every day because I know that the perfect dress will pop up at anytime.

I started buying dresses just to wear for no reason at all. Instead of my usual jeans and a blouse, I would wear a dress. It didn’t help that my friend from San Diego moved back in town and has a similar dress philosophy. Whenever we go shopping, dresses are sure to be purchased.

I must admit there are some dresses that I haven’t got around to wearing. There's the little black dress I found at Gottschalks, on sale for something ridiculous like 70% off. I had to get it, Gottschalks was closing forever, and this was the summer of weddings, so I was bound to wear it! Summer has gone, and I still haven’t worn it. I do love it. Very Audrey Hepburn-esque. The problem is it’s a pencil style bottom, so I can’t just wear that anywhere, it has to be a formal occasion, and one that doesn’t require lots of movement. There’s the polka dot baby doll dress I found online for 8 dollars. I had to buy it. Of course I didn’t get out a measuring tape to make sure it would fit me correctly...too big. But not to fear one day I will be pregnant and it will fit perfectly! There’s the white sundress I purchased at JCPennys, just before our wedding, I had this idea of me and my husband walking on the beaches of Puerto Vallarta on our honeymoon, bare foot, me wearing a gauzy, romantic dress. Instead we were at the buffet eating oodles of guacamole. I have one that I bought when we decided to go to Las Vegas. It's not the typical "Jessie" dress, black on top, tighter throughout the bottom, with small layers of black and white ruffles on the bottom. Very short. Well short for me. It seems like the typical "Vegas" dress. I got home put it on again and realized it's pretty short, plus who wants a bunch of ruffles on their butt? I just kept thinking, “Ruffle butt. I’m a ruffle butt”. Oh well, I’m not sure if the typical "Vegas" look is for me anyways. There are more. They each have their own story, justification, and a plan for the right moment to wear them.

Dresses are perfect for my body shape. Well let me correct myself. A line dresses, cinched at the waist, flowing away from the hips. I feel good in a dress, I don’t have to worry about if my butt looks big, I can wear flip flops or flats and be just as comfortable as the girl next to me wearing jeans and sneakers. Too short? Wear leggings. Want to dress it up? Heels. From casual to formal there is a dress out there for the occasion.

The thing about a dress is its special, even if it's just a simple day dress; it makes a girl feel nice. I wonder if I continue down this path if they won’t be special anymore? Dress after dress...day after day...dress overload. But then again who am I kidding, I still wear jeans and a blouse most often, I don’t like to wear the same dress too often, I do have to put on scrubs 2-3 times a week, and there aren’t enough casual dresses in my closet for me to wear one every day. I know I will continue adding to my dress collection, and I don’t really care. I love them, and there will always be a wedding, a baby shower, a girl’s night out, or just an ordinary day to wear one of my beloved dresses. Besides summer is coming, and I'm sure there are some glorious designs that I must have, lurking around the corner.