Every few months, I go through my clothes and donate what I’m not wearing anymore, always (so innocently) shocked that I somehow accrued four Hefty bags of neglected items. Yet there are some things I love too much to let go, even if I hardly wear them, and this Grecian-inspired dress from ASOS is one of them. My mom got it for me years ago, and I just can’t let it go.
After all, this past Saturday would mark the third time I’ve worn this to watch an opera – I wore it to see Carmen four or five years ago, then to see Siegfreid, the third Wagner’s four-opera Ring Cycle (what a week of opera that was). I reached for it again to watch Moby Dick, this time quarantined at home, and now I’m convinced that it will stay with me long enough to be specifically mentioned in my last will and testament.
[For more opera-at-home looks, check out this and this post!]
I do have to put on my brave face a bit to wear it, though – the fabric is very thin, and any type of stick-on bra or boob tape is sharply outlined to point of distraction. So … I just keep my head high, shoulders back, and remind myself that if I flash people, well, good for them.
At the Opera
As an aside, when I wore this to see the Ring Cycle, the dress caused a stir in the Ladies’ Restroom. Imagine: we’re in Night 3 of a 17-hour opera, which naturally involves drinking liberal doses of Opera House alcohol to keep your butt cheeks from going numb in those tiny seats. By the second intermission, everyone’s loopy – so it was no surprise when, in the line to use the toilet during intermission, a lady next to me hollers, “oh my goodness, your butt is killer in that dress. Girls, just look at that butt!” I twirled my way into the bathroom stall to (scattered) applause. Simpler times.
Thankfully, watching an opera at home has no rules for attire, so a nip-slip is much less of an intrusion on generally accepted propriety. Although I might add that, as I looked over the outfit photos Rodrigo took this past Saturday, there was one that notably featured my butt and only my butt. Go figure.
Styling: Grecian-Inspired Dresses and Draping
The lovely thing about Grecian-inspired dresses is that they’re truly classics and look wonderful on most people of any age or size. Draping is a celebration of proportions, whatever your measurements or body shape may be, and it strikes a magic balance between body-conscious and graceful ease. There’s something powerfully female about it, and I just love it (btw, so does Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director of Dior – read about her Spring 2020 Couture collection here).
As far as accessories and jazzing it up: keep it simple. Let the design of your clothes do the talking.
Do you have that one dress you keep coming back to? Ladies’ bathroom stories? Let me know!
love,
Stig
Grecian-Inspired Dresses to Tickle Your Shopping Fancy
