Dressing for the home is important, because it sets the tone for your day. When you aren't feeling well, it helps just to dress well. It seems to improve your mood and even your health. It is important to dress up when things are not going well. When the house is in chaos and the family is full of troubles, it is so debilitating that the homemaker may feel too low to dress up. Dressing up, however, helps you to rise above some of these problems. Even if the problems do not go away instantly, at least anyone who is troubling you, will see that you were not crushed by their remarks or their actions.
When the house is in disarray, it is good to dress up because it helps you approach the problem areas in a professional manner. You feel you are dressed for something important. You may be more careful and more methodical in what you are doing. It makes you less irritable if you will dress up. You can see a sample of feminine dress at www.thepleasanttimes.blogspot.com It looks on the surface as though we are too dressed up but these are sturdy, cotton clothes and they withstand the rigours of housework, cooking, cleaning, and care of children.
All around you may be things you need to clean up or put in order. You may be making the problem worse by neglecting your appearance. If you have to go somewhere, you'll be prepared, if you are properly dressed. Pants and sweats just do not inspire me and do not make me feel ladylike or delicate and feminine, so I wear skirts and dresses even at home. Even if the day is going to be "ordinary" and no one is coming to tea, I try to dress up. If I don't, those nice clothes hang in the closet and go out of style and just take up room. I like to wear them out and then get something fresh and new. Dressing up for the day really helps me feel more organized.
The second thing that helps the homemaker is the appearance of the home itself. When it is dark, dreary, messy, unclean, cluttered and lacking in beauty, it puts a damper on her mood. It makes it hard to get motivated and really keep house.
When women wanted to be homemakers full time, and the home was exalted as the most important element of society, the appearance of the house was of utmost importance. The decorator herself was considered even more important. She knew that the house would have an effect on a person's spirit. Life was more than just eating and sleeping. Everything was to be noticed--things in nature and in daily life.
The appearance of the home could ennoble or debilitate those who resided there. The way it is kept has a refining influence on people, and can have a motivating effect on members of the family. We recently visited an Italiante historical home and noticed that you could not go but a few steps before something beautiful or ornate caught your attention: a column, a ledge with carvings on it, a painted scene on a wall, staircase rails with raised work. Even the steps and porch leading up to the doorway--the doorway being embellished with interesting designs, evoked a feeling of importance. One did not just walk into this house. One's senses were prepared on the pathway to this house. The family name was carved into the bricks on the steps. The tree on the front lawn seemed to be reflected in the woodwork in various places on the house.
During an upheaval, such as when moving or rennovating, there can be little areas set aside that still look good. We have a lot of areas in our home that are just plain grunge, but I try to have one or two rooms that look good, so that I have somewhere to go that will evoke a feeling of rest.
These two things: personal appearance, and the appearance of the home, really help boost
Aria by Firelight
