It’s A Women’s World

When I was in high school retro clothes were not considered cool. By the time I entered college the clothes that I had spent only a few dollars on at local thrift stores became wildly popular and expensive. After some ridicule for my wardrobe I was quite shocked at the popularity retro clothes gained seemingly overnight. At first I was not annoyed at the sudden acceptance that retro clothes were granted. It wasn’t until retro clothes became too expensive that I became irritated.

For many years in high school I shopped at thrift stores and secondhand shops and spent only a few dollars on an entire outfit. Once the cultural shift happened and retro clothes became trendy again I was unable to afford them. This went against everything that retro clothes and wearing them stood for.

It seems that fashions get recycled and regurgitated over and over. It is as if the fashion industry has run out of fresh ideas and must constantly revert to the past and what has already been done in order to fill the next season’s catalog. With all the money that clothes and couture pull in, you would think that you would see more innovative designs in the middle sector.

It may have taken me several years, but now I love that retro clothes have come back in fashion because they compliment my natural sense of style. My favorite aspect of retro fashion has to be the jewelry. Everywhere you go now you can find antique looking jewelry. I am obsessed now with chandelier earrings and ornate necklaces. I have found super affordable jewelry at Kohl’s and Target that satisfy my craving for vintage fashion.

It is difficult now to find the great pieces of retro clothes that I used to find at thrift stores. You have to go to real stores now if you are looking for vintage fashion and everything is getting more and more expensive. There is a double edged sword here because I don’t want retailers to stop carrying these clothes that I love, but I also miss the super cheap prices that I used to find them at.

I will have to accept that some day retro clothes will once again fall by the wayside and be forgotten by major retailers. By that time, there should be such a supply of used clothing that I will find those vintage inspired pieces I love so much at thrift stores once again. The recycle circle goes on and on and I plan on benefiting from it again.

It is very easy to buy dresses in the summer, as the weather is warm and most dresses are just made for that type of temperature. They are often cool and light, and that makes wearing them a breeze in the summer. Some even work well in the fall and the spring for the most part. I love to put dresses on my little girl and she always wears them when she goes to church on the weekends. When it comes to winter dresses, I sometimes have problems keeping her as warm as I would like her to be.

There are winter dresses out there for sale and they are warmer than the ones you would wear in the summer, but that is not enough. Most of them have thicker material and they do keep the torso warm. When it comes to the legs, neck and arms, there are other problems. You can’t imagine how easily these areas can cause someone to shiver unless you have stood out in the winter without those areas being covered. They make a huge difference and most winter dresses to not cover them.

The best we can do is to buy her stockings that are thicker than normal nylons for her legs and to put long sleeved turtlenecks under her winter dresses. This might seem like a lot under a heavy winter jacket, but I have yet to see her complain about being too hot with that much on her body in the winter. In fact, she seems to be just fine. This seems to work under thinner types of dress as well, but we do try to buy her heavier winter dresses so that she can remain warm.

She’ll be starting school next year and I think I will try to refrain from sending her in winter dresses unless it is a special occasion. When she is old enough to decide if she wants to be cold on her way to school in the winter, then she can decide if she wants to wear them or not. I don’t remember wearing a lot of dresses to school when I was a kid and that was because of my long walk to the bus stop. I thought it was because I was a tomboy, but perhaps my mom just had my comfort in mind as well. Some days I was cold, but it wasn’t because I was wearing a dress.