Those New Dresses

 It is a relief that my computer is working and I'm able to post, because I have been in a kind of puzzle all day trying to get my phone to let me have my pictures on my blog. I finally found a back door way to it, I think.  

We have been through cameras and digital cameras, and now using phones, which sometimes give us fits: there is nothing like the panic of not having photos of your loved ones after an event, and the fear that those moments won't be recorded. I'll have to learn to do quick sketches of everything so these days can't get away from me.  

Do you miss the old ways when we sent the film away and got it back in the mail with all those nice photographs ready to put in an album under plastic pages?  I don't like being stuck in this photo-taking system, with each step dependent upon the other. 

Now on to the fashion photos. I think you should know these are not air brushed for the publication. You get to see my double chin, but I understand everyone likes reality shows much better these days.

I have been telling you about these Time and Tru rayon dresses, which have been going on sale in various Walmarts. The lowest price I've seen across the country on our travels has been $5.00 each and I have managed to get duplicates for my girls as we traveled across the country on our 10 day road trip. We stopped at a Walmart every day to stretch our legs  and get fresh food, so I was able to walk through the store (and I needed the walk after so many hours in the car).  The prices  of these dresses can be $16 full price, then reduced to $11.00 and in most places the lowest price is $9.00. I noticed even when I wear this dress in the store where I purchased it, that ladies ask me where I found it.  It is very easy to walk in and there are no cuts up the sides.

These dresses closely resemble April Cornell styles, above, and except for the gathers in the skirt, they are the same!

I wore the dress in the rain:

Do you see how colors of the dress and jacket co-ordinate with the nature scene?  

 These dresses are completely button down the front from the neck to the knee, and very comfortable to wear. 

Although I passed this one up several times because of the mustard yellow color, a shade that I never thought looked very good on me, I discovered that it actually was okay. I'm a "summer" and prefer the pale yellows and not the golds, but this dress  really made me feel happy and energetic because of the color.  In the photos I wore a lip balm called "blackberry" that looked okay with the burgundy roses on the print of the dress.

Here is my hint for making a dress look good on you if the color is not one that looks good next to your skin: wear a scarf, jacket, necklace, lip balm or hair accessory that repeats one of the other colors in the dress that compliments you better. In my case, I wore a plum corduroy blazer and blackberry lip balm, and a mauve colored hair tie. These colors will "bring out" your best color and make the other color recede.  I must say how surprised I am at how this color is on me, since I never wear yellows, browns, olives or oranges. Because of the burgundy roses, the color is fine with me.

It always looks better on the dress form/mannequin:

The dress has the look of the old fashioned house dress, and at first I thought it was rather plain and dowdy but after wearing it, I came to feel it was quite stylish and youthful. I wore it to a formal dinner  where everyone was dressed up,  and it fit right in with all the fancy outfits others were wearing.  

I wore it to rake leaves.

Mr. S. thinks he is quite dapper after church in his Sunday-go-to-meet'n' clothes.

He's an only child now, so I dote on him and take pictures of him. Maybe I can make a fashion icon out of him for men in their 70's. What do you think?

I wore the dress all day at home and I put the other two in a package to mail to my girls. 

If you buy one, I would strongly suggest taking two sizes--your regular size and one larger,  and  going  to the change room and try them on.  These dresses are made very roomy in the bustline but you do need to try them on. Note: the change room mirrors are always horribly deranged the way they make you look in new clothes, its a wonder anyone ever buys any thing after seeing themselves in those warped mirrors.  However do not let that discourage you if you are trying one on. Just go for how it fits and feels, not how it looks in those crazy mirrors that make you think you are ten times your size and 50 years older! The dress will look much better on you at home, and what's more, if you feel happy when you are wearing it, you'll be younger. Since they are all made the same style, you won't need to try one on every time you go to the store if you already did that and know which size fits best. 

I bought two other dresses in different prints, and both were the style of this one. It has a very loose fit, and that is why it looks so billowy in the outside pictures.

Once again, here are the other dresses from web pictures:

They come in XXl and extra small, as well

This red check one is what I wore the first day of our road trip to the southwest.  If the sleeve bands on these dresses feel too tight, they loosen up after a good washing and drying. They are actually longer than shown on the models. This is probably because the models are so thin, they wear the smaller sizes. I like the length of mine.

I should get a commission for all the plugs I've done on these rayon dresses.

Outside of the US and Canada, Walmart has different names so check your local stores.

It is nearly bedtime now, and I have spent all afternoon trying to get the computer and phone to work, but I am glad I finally got to see you all and post for you.

Thank you for those two kind ladies who made donations this month and thank you all for your comments.  I do hope to make a video soon and I would like to learn to make videos around the house about things I do daily or other subjects, however, I am thinking of going to podcasts because they take less space when downloading, and you can listen while you do other things. 

I hope you in the northern hemisphere will do what you can to be cheerful in the dark winter months and think of  good things. You might be able to make a list of things you would like to do and things you need to do, and work a little bit on one of them each day. By the time summer arrives you will be awfully glad everything is sorted out and cleaned and you have more time for summer activities. I usually  put a scented wax melt on the warmer and put on a favorite video in the background and then start on the most grueling jobs, and it helps ease the pain ;-)

Maybe you wonder what you can do in this life when it seems that the world does not really need you or you feel invisible. One thing that is within your power is to look your best. It doesn't take an extreme makeover to get a new dress and fix up your hair, even if only your family will see you.  This is so important for your morale and to brighten the dark days for your family. We know of course as homemakers, we are likely to see other people throughout the day, because it is impossible not to. We have to go to the grocery store, and other places, so we might as well make it nice for others by looking as good as we possibly can. I've shown you a very affordable way you can do it with dresses like these. 

In countries outside of the US and Canada, Walmart is the equivalent of Big W and other names.

Last year I gave out a few hand made cards with the words "Low Tea" on them, offering tea time for those who feel low or depressed. I had not heard a word from anyone, and today I was in the grocery store and the lady in the florist department saw me and said, "I almost called you yesterday, as I had such an awful day."  I told her the offer was still there. I better keep that front room and the tea table company ready!